I'm Judie Haynes, an ESL teacher from New Jersey, USA, with more than 28
years of teaching experience. In addition to my classroom work, I have authored and co-authored four books on ESL, co-written a chapter for TESOL's Integrating Standards into Classroom Practice and am contributing a column for Essential Teacher magazine.
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Walking by the Wall: A Virtual Trip to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial lesson plan To many tourists the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a “must-see” spot in Washington D.C. For students who cannot really make the trip, this lesson provides them a virtual trip. Through this lesson they do not only see what the Wall is like but also read about it. They may come up with deeper thoughts toward wars or make life connections. Includes classroom resource picks.
Growing Flowers lesson plan Welcome Spring with this lesson on growing flowers for your young English language learners. Teach students to record observations in a journal as they watch their plants grow from seedling to flower. Includes downloadable activities and classroom resource picks.
Ribbit! Ribbit! A thematic unit on frogs lesson plan Your English language learners (ELLs) will love this unit on frogs. Tie it to a thematic unit about the pond habitat and it becomes perfect material for transitioning into Spring. Includes downloadable activities and classroom resource picks.
DSL - Digital as a Second Language teaching tip Today's students are "digital natives." They have grown up in an environment that has always included computers, the Internet, cell phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Teachers, on the other hand, are "digital immigrants" and speak digital as a second language. Find out how this affects the way we teach our students. Includes classroom resource picks.
Preschool Teaching teaching tip One of the most frequent inquiries on the Ask Judie Bulletin Board is from preschool teachers all over the world. They have asked for themes, lessons, and materials to implement in their preschool classes. Here are some ideas that will help answer their questions. Includes classroom resource picks.
"Help! I am teaching four and five year olds. What do I do?" you ask. Have you searched the internet? There is a wealth of information on early childhood or preschool teaching. These sites are designed to teach basic concepts to native English speakers but lessons can be adapted for ELLs.
Hot Topics
ESOL ask judie Marie writes: Angelo is a new student in my 4th grade class. Both Angelo's parents & grandparents speak Spanish fluently; however, Angelo has only attended English speaking schools. Angelo was never ... More
Extra Time For Exams ask judie Ken Fleisher writes: Hello. I have a friend who is taking classes at a university. She is very intelligent, but she is from China and struggles a bit with English. She has ... More
Getting into the job ask judie Krista writes: I'm having a horrible time finding any concrete information on actually *getting to* an ESL position. What education is needed? What do schools look for?
Currently, I have ... More
When is a certified teacher required? ask judie Jessica writes: I am an ELL teacher in a rural town in Connecticut. Each year, the number of ELL students continues to decrease and I'm starting to get nervous that my ... More
ACCESS test ask judie Judy Tucker writes: I would like your thoughts on the following. In 2007, my school did not make its 65% improvement rate on the ACCESS test. The students that did not show ... More
Teaching Resources: Independence Day, Magnetism and More Independence Day, materials science, magnetism, astronomy, RNAi, old master drawings, dance, national memorials, and key decisions of 20th century presidents are among the topics of new resources at FREE, the website that makes teaching resources from federal agencies easier to find.
New Grant Opportunities Notices inviting applications have been issued recently under ED programs that include the Smaller Learning Communities Program.
Teacher of the Year and Secretary Spellings Secretary Spellings and the National Teacher of the Year, Andrea Peterson, discuss music, NCLB, and good teachers in this brief video.
Featuring more than 66 lesson plans, 45 teaching tips,
230 downloads, 830 discussion
topics, and 90 classroom resource picks.
New book by Judie Haynes!Getting Started with English Language Learners provides a practical resource to help educators who are new to the field of English as a Second Language understand the needs of English language learners. Learn more
Quick Tip
Two methods of helping your English language learners (ELLs) acquire content knowledge are: Provide plenty of visual clues to meaning and assign "hands-on" tasks. Visuals include pictures, photographs, realia, maps, graphic organizers and charts.
Hands-on activities that help ELLs are collaborative projects such as mobiles, murals, demonstrations, science experiments, timelines, and pictures with labels. »More quick tips
Resource Pick
Mother's Day Activities website Mother's Day is on the second Sunday in May in most of the countries that celebrate this day. Look at these activities provided by hotchalk.com »More resource picks