How technology can improve your writing skills (Online resources)

The writing skill is the one that my students most struggle with and I think it's due to the lack of the knowledge of those tips and techniques that can make their art of writing more attractive.

Here are some amazing effective online tools that can help your students:

 

 

 

ReadWriteThink – Student Interactives

This page is a great source of interactive tools that help students accomplish various goals, from organizing their thoughts to learning about different aspects of the English language. Some of the most popular tools for grades K-12 include Story Map, Persuasion Map, Word Family Sort, Acrostic Poems, Trading Card Generator and Comic Creator. You can choose different tools based on the grade level, capabilities, student interactive type, theme, and learning objective. 

 

 Interactive Sites for Education

This website serves as a resourceful guide to English language arts topics. You can find educational, interactive games and simulations for grades K-5 in the categories of grammar, compound words, capitalization, phonemes and words, punctuation, poetry, reading and sight words, parts of speech, writing and rhyming. These activities work well with an interactive whiteboard. However, you can also recommend them for individual learning at home. 

 

Graphic Organizers 

Young students can hardly manage all the ideas they get if you leave them in front of a piece of paper and saying they should write an essay right away. The process requires pre-writing stages, where these graphic organizers will be of great help. Your students can use them as a way of putting their ideas and notes in order. Then, the actual writing stage will be much more focused. 

 

Teach the Children Well – Language Arts

This website may not be that appealing in terms of design, but it’s a great base of resources that will help you become a better teacher. This is actually a collection of awesome articles related to writing. Every educator should spend time examining these resources as they progress through different teaching methods.

 

Free Writing Resources

Time4Writing.com is mostly known for the eight-week online writing courses it offers. However, the website is also a great source of free resources in seven categories: teaching writing, writing skills, writing sentences, writing paragraphs, writing mechanics, writing essays and standardized-test writing.

 

Guide to Grammar and Writing

This website offers comprehensive lessons on all aspects of English grammar and writing. You will easily locate all materials you need in the Index, which includes links to all resources of the Guide to Grammar and Writing, as well as Principles of Composition. This online source is like the grammar textbook you always wished to have. Now you can use it to make the lectures more accessible for your students.

 

WordCounter

When you assign a specific word count for a piece of writing, you want your students to respect it. This tool will help them achieve that goal. It will not only provide them with a correct number of words in their essays, but will also enable them to locate repetitive words and phrases.

 

Teen Ink

This well-established magazine publishes high-quality essays and other written forms created by students. The categories at the website include nonfiction, poetry and fiction. There is no need to subscribe to the monthly print magazine; all you need to do is recommend the website as a source of inspiration. You can select some of the featured essays and read them in class in order to show great samples of academic content.

 

 My Access! is an award-winning writing and assessment solution that provides immediate feedback on your content, motivating you to write more. The program covers more than 1,500 topics in social studies, language arts, science, and math. When you create the paper, this tool will immediately provide you with feedback in the following categories: Language Use, Voice, and Style; Organization; Content and Development; Mechanics and Conventions; and Focus and Meaning.

 

Odyssey Writer is a convenient tool that makes the process of composing content much more efficient and less time-consuming. The tool will stimulate your desire to work on papers by making writing fun. Odyssey Writer will navigate you through the four writing phrases by using interesting techniques.

 

StoryBird will enable you to express your thoughts more creatively by helping you to create short stories inspired by beautiful art. You can also read other users’ stories on the website, as well as share your own creations.

 

TutorsClass is a tutoring platform where you can communicate with licensed tutors and ask for any type of academic help you need. When it comes to the quality of your writing, you will appreciate the feedback from a real educator who will prepare you how to get great grades from your teacher at school. If you don’t have any ideas about a particular topic and you need a little push, the professional tutor from this service will help you with valuable advice and feedback.

 

 

 

 

Sources:

https://thejournal.com/Articles/2015/06/25/15-Online-Resources-That-Help-Improve-Essay-Writing-Skills.aspx?Page=2

http://collegepuzzle.stanford.edu/?p=3891

 

11 fascinating facts about English

Do you speak English?

How much do you know about this language? Look at these fascinating facts provided by Pearson English that you probably didn't know:

1. English is the language of the skies

You might know that English is the language of many lands (it’s the official language of 67 countries) but did you know it’s the language of the skies, too? That’s right, English is spoken by all pilots to identify themselves on flights, regardless of where they are from – yet another way in which learning English improves employability, to join our examples in tourism and multinational companies.

2. You or me?

We use the words ‘you’ and ‘me’ all the time, but which of the two do you think is the most widely used? You might be surprised to learn that while ‘you’ is the 18^th most commonly used word in the English language; ‘me’ is way back at number 50. So what is the most used English word? Exactly that: ‘the’.

3. One in a billion!

If you were to write out every number in order as words (e.g. one, two, three, four…) you wouldn’t use the letter ‘b’ until you reached one billion!

4. No repeats!

‘Subdermatoglyphic’ is the longest English word that can be written without repeating any letters. It has 17 letters in it, and it’s the medical name for the layer of skin beneath the fingertips. Slightly easier to guess the meaning of is the word ‘uncopyrightable’, which has 15 letters without any being repeated, and refers to something that can’t be copyrighted or owned.

5. Shakespeare was an architect of the English language

The legendary playwright was responsible for many of the things we say and write today. These include the words ‘fashionable’, ‘advertising’ and ‘laughable’, and the phrase ‘fight fire with fire’, which means to respond to attack with a similar form of attack.

6. New arrivals to the dictionary

A new word is added to the dictionary every two hours. The newest and strangest include ‘nerdjacking’ (to hijack a conversation with detailed explanations), ‘undorse’ (to reverse a policy) and ‘Mx’ (a gender-neutral form of address instead of using Mr or Ms).

7. Same word, different meanings

You may know a ‘twerk’ to be a popular, thrusting dance but in the 16th century ‘twirk’ (spelt with an ‘i’ not an ‘e’) meant ‘to twist the hairs of a moustache’. Speaking of twerking, here’s a selection of some of our favourite modern words and slang terms you should know.

8. The origins of English

English originates from Old English, which is its earliest historical form from the 5th century. There was no punctuation until the 15th century. The oldest Old English word still used today is ‘town’.

9. Time to move

‘Go.’ is the shortest grammatically correct sentence in English.

10. The enemies of poets

There are no words in English that rhyme with ‘mouth’, ‘orange’, ‘silver’ or ‘purple’.

11. What’s an ‘aegilops’?!

The longest word in English with its letters in alphabetical order is ‘aegilops’, which is a type of plant.


Aren't they fantastic? :)


Source: http://www.english.com/blog/fascinating-facts-about-english

MyWordBook 2 App - Improve your vocabulary

MyWordBook is a fantastic Android app to improve your vocabulary; it's amazing! Now you have no excuses to be a vocabulary expert! ;)

This is what you can do with this interactive vocabulary notebook:

Learn the most important words in the English language through sets of interactive flashcards. Each flashcard contains pictures, sounds, example sentences, translations and notes to help you remember. All word data comes from Cambridge University Press' learner dictionaries.

Choose a topic and learn words related to clothes, sport, transport and more! As you expand your vocabulary from the 75 pre-installed words in the app, pick an area of interest and buy more word packs according to your level and interests. 

Practise new vocabulary through a wide range of activities. Once you’ve learnt the word, the word is removed from the flashcard bank into the Review section.

Quickly review words you have learnt at a glance, checking the translations to make sure you remember the meaning.

Create your own flashcards for new words you  want to learn and add images, sounds, notes and translations.

Use MyWordBook 2 every day to build your vocabulary and improve your English. Add new words as you meet them so you never forget them.

Source: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/apps/mywordbook-2

If you want to download and install it, go to: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imf&hl=en

Have fun! ;)

GOOGLE Books

Google Books is a research tool for teachers and students that allows you to find books that are in the public domain. You can share all or just part of a book in an electronic format; thus, it's very useful for teachers. If you are a student and were told to read a book in class, you can search for it here and download a free ebook or even create a bookshelf and share it with your friends ;)


According to Richard Byrne, these are Google Books challenges:

1. Search for a book by using the "researching a topic?"  search box.

2. Use the advanced search menu to refine your search to "full view only" books. 

3. Use the advanced search menu to refine a search by date, author, or publisher. 

4. Search within a book for a name or phrase. 

5. Download a free ebook.

6. Share an ebook via the link provided or by embedding it into a blog post.

7. Create a bookshelf in your Google Books account and add some books to it. 

8. Share your bookshelf with someone else. 

You can try here: https://books.google.com/

Australia Day - 26th January

Australia Day is the official National Day of Australia; it is celebrated annually on January the 26th (today!). Most Australians take the day off and schools close. 

If you want to know what's happening today in Australia, watch this:

What does Australia Day commemorate? 

The creation of the first British settlement in Australia in 1788. And this is a summary of history: Captain Arthur Phillip, the very first Governor of New South Wales, set up a community to run a prison in what is now Sydney. 

However, not all Australians celebrate this day. Many Aboriginal Australians do not like the idea of a day to celebrate the British landing. Aborigines have dubbed the 26 January as "Invasion Day" or "Survival Day". The latter name celebrates the fact that the Aboriginal people and culture have not been wiped out.



Classroom plans suggestions

If you want to learn more on this beautiful country, you can try the following resources, full of great ideas:

http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/01/australia_day.html

http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/australia.php


Another interesting idea I use with my students is to watch this clip for them to learn the Australian English; the main differences in vocabulary and pronunciation between British and Australian English:

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. Feel free to comment your ideas or opinions below ;) and...

From ELS, a group of students honoured Australia Day by making a representative poster. They highlighted what they think are the most important things in the country. After this, we played a quiz game where they could show their knowledge of Australia. 

These are the pictures taken during the project:

Burns Night - 25th January (Scotland)

On 25 January, Burns Night is celebrated in Scotland. It is an annual celebration that marks the anniversary of the birth of Scottish poet Robert Burns. But who was Robert Burns? Well, he is one of Scotland's most important literary figures, best known for his poetry (his most recognised works include Auld Lang Syne - often sung at Hogmanay on New Year's Eve, and Scots Wha Hae - the unofficial Scottish national anthem). He was born in Alloway on 25 January, 1759 and died in Dumfries in 1796.

What is the celebration about? The poet's close friends gathered in a supper five years after his death, and this tradition of the Burns Night supper still continues to this day. Nowadays, suppers can range from an informal gathering of friends to a huge, formal dinner full of ceremony. People recite or sing Burn's poems as an act of remembering Robert Burns. The Selkirk Grace, also known as Burns' Grace at Kirkcudbright, is usually recited in the meal in Scots:

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it,

But we hae meat and we can eat,

And sae the Lord be thankit.

What's a Burns supper?

Haggis is common, but other recipes include Scottish smoked salmon, cock-a-leekie soup or stovies, of which the basic ingredients – meat, potatoes and onion – make a great winter warmer. The meal is washed down with Scotch whisky.

(Information taken from: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/burns-night-2016-what-celebration-scotlands-national-poet-all-about-1539222)

If you want to know more about Robert Burns and his work, you can visit the official website: http://www.robertburns.org/

And if you are interested in the events that Scotland holds every year, visit: http://www.scotland.org/whats-on/burns-night/

You won't be disappointed ;)

HAPPY BURNS NIGHT TO ALL MY SCOTTISH FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

From ELS, a group of Primary students did a project about Scotland, taking advantage of this national Scottish festivity. It was completely made by themselves (I just drew the map outline) and I must say they were very creative! They searched for information about the country at home and then they created this wonderful poster in class. After this, we played a game about Robert Burns' life, making use of the past tense of the verb 'to be' (Was Burns a poet?, was he friendly?, etc.). They enjoyed it a lot!

Total Physical Response (TPR) - a teaching approach

If you are a teacher or even a parent interested in this teaching approach, you should have a look at this wonderful explanation made by the Teaching English Section of the British Council:

TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR)

• Where is it from?

• How can I use it in class?

• When should I use it?

• Why should I use it in the classroom?

• A few useful variations

• Are there any disadvantages with using TPR?

Where is it from?
TPR stands for Total Physical Response and was created by Dr. James J Asher. It is based upon the way that children learn their mother tongue. Parents have 'language-body conversations' with their children, the parent instructs and the child physically responds to this. The parent says, "Look at mummy" or "Give me the ball" and the child does so. These conversations continue for many months before the child actually starts to speak itself. Even though it can't speak during this time, the child is taking in all of the language; the sounds and the patterns. Eventually when it has decoded enough, the child reproduces the language quite spontaneously. TPR attempts to mirror this effect in the language classroom.

How can I use it in class?
In the classroom the teacher plays the role of parent. She starts by saying a word ('jump') or a phrase ('look at the board') and demonstrating an action. The teacher then says the command and the students all do the action. After repeating a few times it is possible to extend this by asking the students to repeat the word as they do the action. When they feel confident with the word or phrase you can then ask the students to direct each other or the whole class.

It is more effective if the students are standing in a circle around the teacher and you can even encourage them to walk around as they do the action.

When should I use it?
TPR can be used to teach and practise many things.

• Vocabulary connected with actions (smile, chop, headache, wriggle)

• Tenses past/present/future and continuous aspects (Every morning I clean my teeth, I make my bed, I eat breakfast)

• Classroom language (Open your books)

• Imperatives/Instructions (Stand up, close your eyes)

• Storytelling

It can be adapted for all kinds of teaching situations, you just need to use your imagination!

Why should I use it in the classroom?

• It is a lot of fun, students enjoy it and it can be a real stirrer in the class. It lifts the pace and the mood.

• It is very memorable. It really helps students to remember phrases or words.

• It is good for kinaesthetic learners who need to be active in the class.

• It can be used in large or small classes. It doesn't really matter how many students you have as long as you are prepared to take the lead, the students will follow.

• It works well with mixed-ability classes. The physical actions get across the meaning effectively so that all the students are able to understand and use the target language.

• It doesn't require a lot of preparation or materials. As long as you are clear what you want to practise (a rehearsal beforehand can help), it won't take a lot of time to get ready.

• It is very effective with teenagers and young learners.

• It involves both left- and right-brained learning.

A few useful variations
When I use TPR, first I get the students to do the actions and then I do them and drill the students (chorally and individually) to give them an opportunity to practise making the sounds. They are then ready to give commands to each other.

A game I like to play is to organize the students into a circle around me, I say the word and the last person to do the action is out. This person then stands behind me and watches for the student who does the action last. Eventually there is only one student, she is the winner.

You can extend this by playing Simon Says. This time when you give a command, students should only do it if you say "Simon says..." at the start. I might say, "Simon says, 'slice some bread'" or "Simon says, 'chop an onion'" and the students must do the action. However if I say, "Whisk an egg" the students shouldn't do this. If anyone does the action that Simon doesn't say then they are out and have to watch for the mistakes of the other students.

Are there any disadvantages with using TPR?

• Students who are not used to such things might find it embarrassing. This can be the case initially but I have found that if the teacher is prepared to perform the actions, the students feel happier about copying. Also the students are in groups and don't have to perform for the whole class. This pleasure is reserved for the teacher.

• It is only really suitable for beginner levels.
  Whilst it is clear that it is far more useful at lower levels because the target language lends itself to such activities I have also used it successfully with Intermediate and Advanced levels. You need to adapt the language accordingly.
  For example, it helped me to teach 'ways of walking' (stumble, stagger, tiptoe) to an advanced class and cooking verbs to intermediate students (whisk, stir, grate).

• You can't teach everything with it and if used a lot it would become repetitive. I completely agree with this but it can be a successful and fun way of changing the dynamics and pace of a lesson used in conjunction with other methods and techniques.

All this information can be found in: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/total-physical-response-tpr

Have a look because it's worth it ;)

Where in England is your accent from? An English Dialects App

An English Dialects App has recently been developed by University of Cambridge researchers. It easily guesses which part of the country you're from.

As an English teacher, I firmly believe it's a great development since students can use this App as a way of learning about English dialects.

You can learn more on this here:  http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/do-you-say-splinter-spool-spile-or-spell-english-dialects-app-tries-to-guess-your-regional-accent

I also read this piece of news in the following website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/12092668/Where-in-England-is-your-accent-from-This-app-can-tell-you.html


Have fun! ;)

Blue Monday (3rd Monday of January)

Blue Monday is the name given to the 3rd Monday of January and it's reported to be the most depressing day of the year. Today (18th January, 2016) is the 3rd Monday of the month, so 'Keep Calm and Happy Blue Monday!'.