What is Reader’s Theater? In its simplest form, Reader’s Theater is an activity where students read a play aloud with the scripts in hand. They often do so without having memorized the script. They may […]
Guide to Stories Without End
Our latest book, Stories Without End by Taylor Sapp, came out last week. In case you missed it, or the subtitle “24 open-ended stories to engage students in reading, discussion, and creative writing,” wasn’t clear, […]
Teaching students to be honest: the pragmatics of brutal honesty
We’re not making this up. It’s National Honesty Day and we have some ideas for and ESL lesson about honesty using pragmatics, or the social and cultural rules that determine how we communicate effectively. People […]
If the students love it, who we to argue?
When I asked our latest author, Taylor Sapp, to collect some review quotes and blurbs about his new book, he did something I’d never thought of! Sure, he asked his colleagues and some big names […]
I’m looking forward to trying this out with my students
I just wanted to share a kind review of Her Own Worst Enemy from Clare Mass, English Language Lecturer at Universität Trier, Joint Events Coordinator for MaWsIG, the IATEFL group for Materials Writers, and blogger at http://clareseltcompendium.wordpress.com/ […]
Can We Measure Rapport?
We all know we’re supposed to build rapport with our students. But what are the concrete steps we can take to do that? What exactly do we mean by rapport? Is it something we can […]
10 Ways to Teach English with Plays
Why teach English with plays? Plays are a natural resource for the English language classroom. They offer opportunities visit and revisit language in action, particularly if the play was written in natural dialogue. Furthermore, when […]
Four Conditions for Creating Community in Your Classroom
Most teachers I talk to agree that we need to create strong communities in our classroom. Now a few teachers do claim that relationships in the classroom don’t matter much, and that we should focus […]
Why Do Drama in the Classroom?
Speaking lessons are my favorite lessons to teach. I love writing a really interesting role play and having students go at it. At their best, students get so absorbed in the role and the situation […]
Resources for Classroom Community Builders and Icebreakers
SoOn this page, we’re collecting some great resources for classroom community builders and icebreakers. That includes particularly useful back-to-school activities and articles to build community and get your students and classroom ready to work hard, […]