Free Activites

Movie Matching – March 19th Releases

In this activity, students read synopses of new movie releases and, using the visual and textual context provided by the posters, match the movie description with the correct movie poster.

These movies will be released in theaters in the United States and United Kingdom on Friday, March 19th.

Download the free printable PDF here: Movie Matching Activity

2010 Census (with free 3-page activity packet)

To download a 3-page cross-curricular (ESL, Social Studies/Civics and Math) activity packet about the census, click here: 2010 Census Activity.pdf

Beginning next week, every American will be receiving a census form in the mail. But what is a census, why is it important and what does it mean to you?

What is the census?
Every ten years, the United States government mails out forms to count and gather important information about all the people who live in the United States of America. This count is required by the Constitution. The census forms ask questions such as:

.
-How many people live in your house?
-How old are you?
-What is your sex?
-What race are you?

.

.

Why is the census important?
The census is important because the government uses the information to see what areas of the country need what things. For example, if there are more children in a community now, then more schools need to be built. The information is used so that each community can get their fair share of money for things such as:
-Highways
-Health care facilities
-Schools
-Public transportation

The census data is also used to determine the number of representatives each state and community receives in the Congress and state legislature.

Key Vocabulary:
Government – the group of people that has power to make laws and important decisions for a nation.
Form – a document with blank spaces to be filled in with information.
Count – to give each thing in a group a number to learn how many there are. (1,2,3,4,5….)
Required – something that you must do.
Sex – in this context, it means whether you are male or female.
Race – a group of humans that share certain common physical qualities.
Community – a particular area where a group of people live.
Data – individual facts, statistics, or items of information.
Representative – a person who speaks or acts for a community.

Questions for Discussion:
1. How do you think census data has changed in the past 10 years?
2. Do you think it is important for the government to do the census? Why or why not?
3. How do you think the census will affect you?

Guest Post – ESL Logic Problems

This is a guest post from Dave at Learn English Online and ESL Teaching Ideas.
Learn English Online is a website for students. It has lessons on many things like grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and pronunciation. It also has many music videos with listening comprehension exercises. ESL Teaching Ideas is a blog for teachers, and it has many posts on activities, lessons, and games for teaching English as a second language.

Here is his logic problem activity. Thanks Dave!:

ESL Logic Problems

This activity is good to practice food vocabulary and to improve your logic. Read the instructions and answer the questions.
For teachers, these problems work very well when you read the clues and have the students discover the answers. They will practice listening comprehension and must understand the clues to solve the puzzle.

6 people are talking about their favourite foods. These 6 people all have favourite foods that are fruits and vegetables. The people’s names are Rob, Rebecca, Mike, Megan, Luke, and Lori.
Use the clues to decide who likes each food the best.

1. Rob does not like broccoli.
2. Luke does not like strawberries.
3. Lori’s favourite food is not fruit.
4. The person who likes bananas does not have a name that starts with M.
5. Rebecca’s favourite food is a fruit.
6. Rob does not like oranges.
7. The two people whose names start with M do not like fruits.
8. Luke does not like vegetables.
9. Luke does not like oranges.
10. The person who likes broccoli does not have a name that starts with M.
11. Megan’s favourite food is not the colour orange.

Answers:

For more ESL Logic Problems, check out ESL Teaching Ideas’ page on logic problems.

To download a printable worksheet of this activity, click here: Food Logic Problem

Movie Matching – March 5th Releases

In this activity, students read synopses of new movie releases and, using the visual and textual context provided by the posters, match the movie description with the correct movie poster.

These movies will be released in theaters in the United States and United Kingdom on Friday, March 5th.

Download the free printable PDF here: Movie Matching Activity

We Are The World 25 For Haiti – with Lyrics, Artist List and Cloze Activity

This song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. This updated version is a tribute for Haiti and features many artists. It was recorded on February 1st, 2010 in the same studio as the original 25 years earlier.

Download the cloze activity here: We Are The World 25 For Haiti Clozeline

Do you like this song? Why or why not? Who’s your favorite singer in this video? Tell me in the comments!

Update: The Spanish version of this song, “Somos El Mundo”, was released last night. You can see the video and read the lyrics over at our sister site, Actualidades: Somos El Mundo en Español

Click here to read the lyrics and find out when your favorite singer appears in the video and the words that they sing.

Printable Crossword – Common English Sayings (C)

The following printable crossword puzzle can help you practice some common English sayings, as well as possibly teach you some new ones.

For this puzzle I have selected sayings that begin with the letter “C”. Crosswords based on the other letters in the alphabet will be posted on a regular basis. I have also included a page that lists all the sayings in the puzzle and their meanings.

Can you guess which saying this picture represents?

Click here to download the crossword – Common English Sayings (C)

National Anthems

During Saturday’s curling match at the Olympics, fans in the curling arena spontaneously broke into a rendition of “O Canada” to encourage their team. With plenty of time to spare, the Canadian team let the crowd finish, then went on to score two points to beat Great Britain 7-6.

Here is a free printable activity that uses excerpts from national anthems to explore the shared vocabulary and themes among them: National Anthem Activity.pdf
.

Note to teachers: Before starting this activity, explain to your students that it is ok if they don’t understand every word in the excerpts – there are several advanced and/or archaic words in the lyrics to the anthems. The most important thing is for students to understand the overall themes and common vocabulary of the songs.

Movie Matching – Free Printable Activity

In this activity, students read synopses of new movie releases and, using the visual and textual context provided by the posters, match the movie description with the correct movie poster.

These movies were released in theaters in the United States on Friday, February 12th.

Download the free printable PDF here: MovieMatching2010_02_12.pdf
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

New Feature – Art Puzzles

I’m very happy to introduce a new feature to the site – Art Jigsaw Puzzles! Not only are these interactive puzzles fun, they are also great learning tools that engage spatial and visual intelligences through the use of authentic art.

You can get to the puzzles by clicking HERE or by clicking on “Art Puzzles” in the top bar. I have started with some selections of American Art, such as works by Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe and Winslow Homer.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Global Issues – Getting Paid to Go to School

In many countries around the world, families are too poor to send their children to school. To combat this problem, some governments have started programs that pay parents a stipend to help offset the cost of their child’s education.

Click HERE to download an activity about this subject. This activity includes an article with key vocabulary highlighted and questions for discussion.