Thanksgiving Vocabulary Strategies for ELLs: Building Social Studies Content Through Games I sometimes hear ELL teachers complaining that their students aren’t picking up vocabulary—especially content-area vocabulary—quickly enough. They often say,…

Do you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? It’s a Thanksgiving tradition filled with music, color, and giant balloons floating through the streets of New York City. Now imagine bringing that same excitement into your classroom—while celebrati…

From Trick-or-Treat to Giving Thanks: My November Lesson Plans for ESL Students Last week in my classroom, everything was about Halloween — trick-or-treating, costumes, and all the fun spooky words that go with it. My students loved learning vocabul…

Haunted House for Sale: A Spooky ESL Halloween Writing Project That Builds Language Skills October in the classroom can feel a little crazy, can’t it? The kids are buzzing with Halloween excitement, you’re juggling costumes, candy, and class parties…

Celebrating Diwali in My ESL and Multicultural Classroom Every year, I love bringing a little extra light into my classroom — and Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is the perfect opportunity to do just that. As an ESL teacher, I’m always looking for m…