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1. PBS Kids

   Format(s): Website

   PBS Kids helps to educate young learners in creative and fun ways. The educational content is aimed at children, with many interactive games and activities to aid in learning.

2. The Happiness Game: A Board Game for Almost Any Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2023, Volume 61, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   Daniel Clausen created The Happiness Game in part because he believes that “teaching should be a happy profession and that students should come out of the classroom with a smile.” The article includes a game board and sample game cards—although teachers and students are encouraged to create more of their own. The game is adaptable for multiple learning levels and is designed to give students practice in English … and, of course, to make them happy.

3. TRY THIS Skim, Scan, Run

   In: English Teaching Forum 2018, Volume 56, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   Here is a step-by-step guide to getting students out of their seats and moving around – and skimming and scanning reading texts.

4. Teaching Weak Forms

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article describes a pronunciation concept referred to as the weak form, a compression of sounds used to keep the rhythm of spoken English. The author uses the word “that” as an example. Stressing or not stressing the word “that” when reading aloud the sentence “John thinks that man is evil” changes the meaning. Reading “that” as unstressed is an example of the weak form. The author provides examples of how to teach the weak form to provide students with better spoken English and better comprehension.

5. Save the Lofty Trees

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This is a script for a play called “Save the Lofty Trees,” intended for students use in ESL classrooms and is intended for young learners. This play gives students a chance to take part in group work by acting out the various scenes of the script. This will provide students with opportunities to use their skills and build fluency.

6. Story Retelling with a Twist

   In: English Teaching Forum 2020, Volume 58, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This is a step-by-step guide to carrying out a versatile, well-scaffolded activity that can improve learners’ speaking skills and keep them engaged through the use of stories and jokes with surprising and unexpected endings.

7. Online Breakout Rooms: Jigsaw Discussions and Presentation Practice

   In: English Teaching Forum 2021, Volume 59, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This is a step-by-step guide to helping students use online breakout rooms to work in groups to become “experts” in a topic, then share their knowledge with other students in a jigsaw format, as a way to interact and prepare to give more formal presentations.

8. Character Press Conference

   In: English Teaching Forum 2021, Volume 59, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This is a step-by-step guide to helping students conduct a “press conference” in which some students play the role of journalists and others play the roles of characters from a work of fiction in order to give all students a deeper understanding of the characters and the text.

9. Small Talks: Daily Speaking Practice for Vocabulary and Grammar Mastery

   In: English Teaching Forum 2021, Volume 59, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This is a step-by-step guide to helping students review recently learned vocabulary and grammar through quick, focused conversations with classmates at the beginning of class. Variations and suggestions for extending the activity are included.

10. Lesson Plan: Greetings from Sunny New Mexico

    In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 2 Format(s): Text

    The New Mexico lesson plan for this issue is a self-contained 1 1/4 to 2 hour lesson with a complete pre- during- post framework for interacting with the main text - a letter from a friend living in New Mexico. The focus here is on the vocabulary and grammar of description (e.g., words for scenery and weather, relative "that" clauses). Extension activities are provided for multi-session lessons (e.g., written response, class survey).

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