Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Writing
Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem
In this book, Jack Prelutsky uses easy tips and humor to get even the most reluctant writer started with writing the poetic form. (Amazon listing)
The Elements of Style has been the standard of English composition since 1913. The book has useful examples of all the little mechanics of writing such as the proper use of commas, parentheses, quotations and more. This link goes to the book's Amazon.com page.
AdLit.org: Computer-Assisted Instruction and Writing
This article from The Access Center, featured on AdLit.org, discusses what computer-assisted instruction is, what it looks like when used with writing, and how it is implemented, as well as a list of resources.
This resource offers comprehensive list of strategies for each phase of the comprehension lesson — before, during, and after reading.
AdLit.org: Teaching Writing to Diverse Student Populations
This article from The Access Center, featured on AdLit.org, discusses areas of difficulty for students with writing problems, qualities of strong writing instruction, strategies for building and assessing advanced writing components, and ideas for integrating writing instruction with content area learning.
These templates were created to accompany Janet M. Parady, M.S.Ed.'s article, "Helping Your Child Write an Essay: Organizing and Brainstorming." Ms. Parady is head of the high school Language Arts Department at Landmark School in Prides Crossing, Massachusetts.
Electronic Forums for Written Interaction
This page provides a round-up of electronic forums in which content material can be conveyed and students can exchange written information, within the confines of the classroom or across the globe.
ESL Writing Wizard: Handwriting Practice
This site lets you create your own handouts of words that students can practice writing. The paper is lined and the word is outlined in small dot print. Good for ELL students developing initial literacy skills.
Ghotit offers unique writing and reading online services for people who suffer from dyslexia or dysgraphia. Ghotit's first service is an online context sensitive spell checker. Ghotit was founded by people that suffer from dyslexia and it's mission is to improve the overall quality of life of a dyslexic.
Helping Your Child Write an Essay: Organizing and Brainstorming
A basic introduction to organizing and writing an essay. Straightforward and clear language is used in the examples of the thesis statement and supporting details.
LD OnLine: Reinvigorate Your Students' Enthusiasm for Writing
This article, featured on LDOnline.org, discusses effective ways of motivating students to write, including the use of graphic organizers.
LD OnLine: What is Dysgraphia?
This article from the National Center for Learning Disabilities, featured on LD OnLine, discusses dysgraphia and its warning signs, as well as strategies for addressing it for different age groups.
Make Beliefs Comix, created by acclaimed "Make Beliefs" author Bill Zimmerman, allows kids to create their own comics in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Latin.
National Geographic Photography
This site offers many intriguing photos, including a photo of the day, news photos, photo gallery, and short video clips. These can be useful for supporting content instruction, fostering dialogue with emerging English speakers, and creating writing prompts.
The Online Writing Lab provides materials for English as a Second Language (ESL) students and teachers, including resource pages, handouts, and exercises.
Peer editing checklist for student use from Time Savers for Teachers.
Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening (PALS) : Early Literacy Activities
The Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening (PALS) Program is funded through Virginia Reads grants and the University of Virginia. This site provides early literacy activities, organized by skill type.
Printing Press: Student Publishing Tools
This page, sponsored by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), is designed to help students create all types of newspapers, brochures, flyers, and booklets. There are many templates to choose from, as well as a variety of publishing tools to add interest to the final product.
Reading Rockets: An Introduction to Letter Writing
This article from My Child Magazine, featured on Reading Rockets, offers samples of different styles of letters (from thank-you notes to letters to Santa) and style guidelines that children can follow.
Reading Rockets: Inviting Personal Narratives Into the Classroom
Article from Reading Rockets discussing the use of personal narrative in writing exercises.
Reading Rockets: Writing Webcast
Reading Rockets webcast featuring Dr. Steven Graham, Dr. Louisa Moats, and Dr. Susan Neuman. These three renowned reading and writing experts address why writing is important, what the latest research tells us, and what educators and parents can do to support our children's development as writers.
ReadWriteThink offers a variety of fun, interactive writing activities, including the Comic Creator. Students can fill in comics with their own words and storylines.
ReadWriteThink: Peer Editing PowerPoint
PowerPoint tutorial introducing students to peer editing.
Taft College: Online Writing Lab
This online writing lab includes essay samples as well as information about different kinds of essays.
TeacherVision: Language Arts Graphic Organizers
These graphic organizers can be used to prepare for a five-paragraph essay, organize sentences in a paragraph, map concepts and events, compare topics with a Venn Diagram, organize notes for a presentation, create a double-entry journal, and much more.
The TESL Reading and Writing Forum
A forum to share teaching tips, handouts, syllabi, lesson plans and more!
Voces del Corazón: Voices from the Heart
The National Writing Project (NWP) presents a Literacy Night event where students read, write, and reconnect with their families. This article provides some guidelines on how to prepare a creative and inviting environment for a positive reading experience.
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