Bedtime Story

Princesses
Once upon a time there were three beautiful princesses there names were Kimmy, Katie, and Kristen.  Kimmy was 3, Katie was 5, and Kristen was 8.  They all lived in a manor.  With butlers, maids, cooks, and lots of people.  But the princesses did not treat them like slaves they treated them with respect and kindness.  The princess’s mothers name was Krystal.  She was very kind, and taught her three girls how to treat all people with respect and kindness.  The mother had long flowing black hair.  The princess’s fathers name was Kevin.  He taught his three girls to be lady like.  He had man like blond hair.  He was very nice man.  They also had a tutor named ken.  He had light brown hair.  He was very handsome.

One sunny morning a messenger came with very sad news.  The mother’s mother was very ill.  The mother and father had to leave.  They left the princesses with the uncle.  The uncle was very mean to every one.  His mood made everyone in the manor miserable except the princesses.  One time he told the cook to make steak and spaghetti.  The uncle changed his mind but didn’t tell the cook.  The cook could not read minds so he still made what the uncle said to cook.  When the uncle saw this he stormed off.  The cook was not happy.  But Kristen told him it was ok.  So that made the cook feel better.   Everyone else ate what he made and it tasted delicious.
Another time the butler made the beds as usual, but when the uncle inspected them, he did not like what he saw and he blew up at the butler making him feel awful.  Kristen saw this scene too.  After the uncle left she told the butler it was fine.  She made the butler feel better.
He did this to maids and lots of other people to.  One day after dinner Kristen told her two little sisters about these scenes.  The girls agreed to have a meeting in there tree house and discuss how to make there uncle learn a lesson to be respectful and kind to others just as they had been taught.
The girls made a plan to be very kind to there uncle hoping to teach him a valuable lesson. 
First, while eating their breakfast they said to the cook, “Thank for our breakfast, this is a very nice meal.” As the uncle watches his niece’s polite behavior, he feels awkward that he has never said anything nice or polite to the cook.
Later on that day, the girls offered to help their very special butler with his chores.  The Uncle sees this behavior and reacts with anger telling the girls to stay in their rooms for the rest of the day.   He does not want the girls to do butlers job.
The angry uncle goes into the library to think about how he has behaved towards the butlers, the maids, the cooks and also his three sweet nieces who he made very sad.
As the uncle was thinking about them, the girls were thinking about their uncle hoping that he had learned a lesson.
After the uncle had time to think, he let the girls out of their rooms to have a talk with them.
“I have been acting silly these past few weeks.  I have been yelling at cooks, maids and butlers.  I have not been respectful to anyone in the manor.  Watching the three of you be kind and polite to everyone, has taught me to be kind and caring to others as well.  Thank you for teaching me this valuable lesson and I am very sorry I have not been so nice to you”
The girls thank their uncle and are happy that they taught him the lesson of respect, kindness, and love.
The next day a messenger came and reported that the mother and father would be arriving home within the next few days and that their grandmother was feeling much better. 
The uncle was on his best behavior for the rest of his stay with the girls.
The mother and father never found out about their uncles bad behavior.  The girls kept this a secret.  A secret they only told to their children, and their children’s children.  And this lesson was passed down to many, many more.
 The End!

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Teaching Tips

Using Music in the ESL Classroom

quotemarkMusic is the universal language of mankind.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
When students make a major breakthrough in learning, it is music to a teacher's ears. There is nothing more rewarding for a teacher, than seeing their students smile and laugh while they learn. The same can be said for students. Students who are taught in a fun and creative way, love coming to class. Using music in the classroom is a great way for teachers to achieve success with L2 learners. Oliver Wendall Holmes suggests taking a musical bath once a week, saying that music is "to the soul what water is to the body."

Benefits of using Music

Have you ever heard of anyone who doesn't like music? Some people may not like art, dancing, reading, or movies, but almost everyone likes one kind of music or another. Most people like many different kinds of music. Studies have shown that music...
  • improves concentration
  • improves memory
  • brings a sense of community to a group
  • motivates learning
  • relaxes people who are overwhelmed or stressed
  • makes learning fun
  • helps people absorb material
"Music stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of deep concentration and focus in which large amounts of content information can be processed and learned." 

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Words for Wisdom

Everywhere you look, you can find literary elements. They are all over the place. This is just another way of perceiving life and what it means to you. Take it as an expansion or extension of what you already know.....the world becomes a little more colourful and so is your mind.




  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

For Teachers

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Animal Sounds

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Karaoke with Justin Bieber

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Lets us Karaoke with Salena Gomez

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Video on Grammar

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

How to Teach Grammar

It's important to teach English grammar to promote growth, understanding and knowledge, and to improve writing performance, creativity and insight. Discover how English grammar skills can provide a tool for learning other languages with help from an English specialist and president of a theater group in this video on English grammar.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Phonics Song

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Happy Birthday

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

For Fun

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Enjoy It..hehheehee

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Tips on GAMES

What is a game, really?

In this definition every activity that brings pleasure is a game. For example, people dance, play musical instruments, act in plays, and play with dolls and model trains.

A game always has components and rules.
In most games, the rules are more significant than the components. But there are games where these roles are reversed: where the components are significant and the rules not very important at all. Usually, these are action games like Looping Louie.
The components are the hardware, the rules are the software. Both define the game. Both can exist independently from each other, but separately are not a game.
Archeology finds ancient game boards and game pieces, but no one knows what rules these ancients used to play their games. We will never know how these games were played.
Components and rules can be combined:
  • a set of components may be used with different rules.
  • a set of rules can be used with different components.
Suppose we just had the rules for Halma, but not the board and pieces and had to reconstruct the game.
  • What should the board look like?
  • How many spaces should it have?
  • What shape do the spaces have: square, hexagonal, or round?
  • How are the spaces laid out?
  • Are all the spaces the same size or are they of different sizes?
  • How many pieces are there?
  • What do the pieces look like? Does a piece take more than one space when played?
The rules are not sufficient to define a game! (Unless the rules have pictures of the components and game situations.)
What criteria must a game have?
There are criteria which apply to all games and those that apply to the "games with rules". First, I will describe the criteria that apply to "games with rules".
  • Game rules
  • Goal
  • The course of the game is never the same - chance
  • Competition                                                                                                                                

Games Rules: As already discussed, the rules and the components define the game. Everything that is in the rules is part of the game. Everything that is not in the rules does not belong in the game. The rules are the borders and the heart of the game. They only refer to the game and never exist outside of the game. Although the game has rules which are like laws, playing a game is voluntary and cannot be forced on the players. Whoever plays a game, voluntarily binds himself to the rules. Where force is involved, there is no game. All games without rules are not "games with rules".

Goal: Every game has a goal. Thus, there are two definitions:

  • The victory condition or requirement.
  • The strategy needed to win the game.
I would like to make clear the difference between the two definitions with an example. In the game Go, the victory condition is to earn the most points. In order to achieve this, a player must win space. Thus, the strategy, which players use during the game, is to win space. Therefore, I define the game goal as the strategy, which the players work on to win.
There are thousands of games, but only a small number of game goals. That means that most games have the same game goal. At first this seems surprising. But when we look at it closely and see that every has a winner and a loser, the goal of the game must be something measurable, relatively simple to measure, and depicted in a game.

The course of the game is never the same - chance

This attribute, of all entertainment media, is only found in a game. Someone who reads a book, watches a movie, or listens to music, can repeat the experience at any time, but the course and the content is always the same. You can play a game any number of times, however, and the course will always be different. Also, with each game, the course is unknown and it is uncertain who will win the game. Uncertainty and unknown, that is what make games so exciting and delightful. The reason for this is in the game rules and the chance, which play a larger or smaller role in each game.
Playing is experimenting with chance (Novalis). Chance will be experienced in a game by luck (or bad luck). Games, which are mostly based on chance, offer little development possibilities for a player and are usually boring.
On the other hand, chance makes games unpredictable and interesting, and causes the game's course to develop differently each time. How does chance get into a game:
  • with a random generator (e.g. dice)
  • with different start-up situations (e.g. dealing cards)
  • with incomplete information (e.g. moving at the same time, unknown strategy of your fellow players) 
  • with a very high number of move options
Pure strategy games have some chance elements. If that were not so, the game's course would be too deterministic, and we wouldn't like a game whose result was known at the beginning. In strategy games, chance is shown in the large number of possible moves. Because of the many moves, no player knows the winning strategy, which leads to victory.
All games which have the same course, by definition, do not belong to "games with rules". For example, this would be puzzles, quizlets, and brain teasers, which lose their attraction when they have been solved. Solitaire games which follow a different course each time belongs, for me, to "games with rules". For example the card game Patience. Very interesting and informative in this connection is the Games Cafe article What Is a Puzzle? by Scott Kim.

Competition: 

Each game demonstrates competition. Players compete in a game. There are winners and losers. Even in cooperative games or when players work as a team, competition exists. In this case, the players compete against one of the predetermined situations, that means the players play cooperatively against the game system. The same applies to solitaire games (e.g. Patience, Solitaire). A competition needs a system, in which the game results can be compared. The competition and the measurement of the game results are criteria which limit the game and the cause that certain feelings won't be fulfilled throughout the game as in books, movies, and music. For example, love, freedom, harmony, pain, sorrow, etc. The criteria "competition" is also the reason why it is so difficult to develop games which are not aggressive. 

Basic Criteria

For judging what is or is not a game, the basic criteria, which not only apply to "games with rules", but to all games, is as important as the special criteria for "games with rules". Here are the criteria which all games have.
  • Common experience
  • Equality
  • Freedom
  • Activity
  • Diving into the world of the game

Common experience: Games bring people together, regardless of gender, generation, and race. Most games are multi-player games which lead to group experiences, which linger after the game is over. But there are groups of games which are played alone. These are the so-called solitaire games and most computer games.

Equality
In a game, all players are equal and have the same chance to win. Where else in this does absolute equality exist? I think that is one of the reasons that children love to play games, because in a game with adults, they are equal partners.
Freedom
Whoever plays a game, does it from his freedom of choice. He is not forced or coerced by anyone to play. Playing games is not work, not commitment, nothing you have to do. Therefore, we can say that playing games means being free. This freedom is basic to all games. Here the embracing game term has its value.

Playing means being active
Whoever reads a book, watches a movie, or listens to music, consumes or acquires, but does not act. While nowadays most leisure activities seduce people into passivity, the game makes people act. Depending on the game, the following activities may be undertaken:
Spiritual Area
  • thinking, combining
  • planning
  • making decisions
  • concentrating
  • training your mind
  • receiving knowledge
  • understand the impact of systems
Emotional Area
  • rules, accepting laws
  • to learn how to work with others
  • to learn how to lose
  • to learn more about yourself and others
  • to use fantasy and creativity
Motor Area
  • practice skillfulness
  • practice reactions
I am sure that games do not fulfill a purpose, but are not useless. Activity is basic to all games. Here again, the embracing game term has its value.

Diving into the world of the game: 

Whoever plays, leaves behind reality and dives into the world of the game. These game worlds are comparable to reality. This statement still applies to the big difference between the two worlds. I want to substantiate that the course of reality and the course of the game world will be steered by the same factors:

  • laws/rules (natural laws and human laws - game rules, which are like laws)
  • chance
  • your own doing (within the frame of predetermined laws)
  • competition (achievement of the best)
  • course and end are unknown same language and means of expression
Despite these similarities, the game world is not the everyday world and reality is not a game world. Game worlds have a limited space and have a different understanding of time.
A game is only a game, when everything that happens in the game stays within the game world. This is not the case when the outcome influences reality immensely. In this case, the game is reality, for example games of chance (Roulette, Poker, Black Jack) or with professional sports activities (Rugby, Baseball, ice hockey, Cricket, Olympic games, chess championships and so on). With all reality games, the principal of freedom gets lost. With the reality games, you play the game from commitment not freedom. The game results directly effect reality.
Games are entertainment and fun. The players may only take their emotions from the game world into reality. Whoever spends an interesting and fun evening playing games with friends, takes this happy feeling into reality. By crossing this small border between the real world and the game world has the result that during the game one is relaxed and can escape from the real world and then return relaxed and happy.

Summary
Games are objects which consist of components and rules and have certain criteria: rules, a goal, always changing course; chance; competition; common experience; equality; freedom; activity; diving into the world of the game; and no impact on reality.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

GAMES

http://www.sesamestreet.org/games

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Cute

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

New

I believe that seeing correct and typical English sentences helps a lot to learn how to use English properly. It is also important to read and read again every structure that is new to you, so that you can remember them. If you only read the book without taking any pause to think carefully about the "new" sentences, you will hardly remember any of them.
I've read all Harry Potter books straight myself, and when I opened them again, I realised I had viewed loads and loads of useful structures whithout remembering them - which was such a shame! I'm reading The Full Monty (Penguin Readers collection) using the "pause and think" method at present. Now after a few days of daily reading, when I take a look at an English text, many structures are familiar to me - "hey, I remember reading this one in The Full Monty!".
Therefore, I believe this method is efficient and I would advise it to all learners.
Sometimes, we don't realise how wealthy a single book can be - loads to learn just in one of them.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Step 1
Vowel
names
 a A  
 ant
 egg
 i I  
 o O  
 u U  
Step 2
Consonant
names

 cat
Step 3
More vowels

 bee

 foot
Step 4
More
consonants

  w
et

 which
Step 5
Clusters of
vowels
Step 6
Clusters of
consonants
Step 7
More vowel
sounds
Step 8
Consonant
clusters 2
Step 9
Vowel
clusters 2
Step 10
Various
other spellings
AppendixDays of the weekMonths of the yearNumbers 1-1,000,000

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Learning ENGLISH is lots of FUN.

Learning ENGLISH is lots of FUN.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

The Animal Sounds Song

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

FUN in SONGS

Songs are a FUN way to learn English

You can't expect young children to learn English without a LOT LOT LOT of repetition...Making this repetition fun is down to the skill of the teacher and the resources you choose.

Songs are absolutely IDEAL for language learning as children love them and will want to hear them over and over again - perfect for vocabulary acquistion and language learning.

You may have noticed that if you expect your child or pupils to sit still and listen to you while you show them flashcards, you will not have their attention for long!

Successful ESL teaching is all about variety, movement and using resources that appeal to young children. Young children love games, they love stories and they love songs.

That's why I created these particular songs, as they go hand in hand with the first ten preschool stories, and this was really a missing element in the toolbox. However let me add right now that you can use these songs alone, without the stories too - more on that at the bottom of this page.

Too many words for ESL

One problem with English songs is that very often there is far too much vocabulary and language for ESL learners - after all they were conceived for native speakers.

If you want to get your pupils to the point that they can actually SING along to these songs then you need simple ones, not too many words, and it's even better if the words match up with what you are already teaching in class.

Using games, stories, drama and songs you are now equipped to tackle any topic with the variety that young children need. Otherwise they have a tendency to be bored in two minutes flat.

Teaching English Songs Review

So now for a quick review of the songs themselves - then you may want to listen to the extracts further down...

Simple and repetitive, written especially for young ESL / EFL learners.
The vocabulary and language in the songs matches stories 1 to 10 - Use to sing, move to and act out the stories.
Suitable for teaching individuals, small groups and classrooms
Downloadable activity sheet included for each song. Sing along, dance, do special actions and play suggested games to use during the song.
Activity sheets include ways to act out each song - for individuals and small groups.
With English learners you want to get to the point where the children can sing along, not just listen, and you can do that with these songs.

Musical development in the songs - it's not "tin-can" looping because instrumentation varies as the song moves along making for more satisfiying listening and appreciation, and keeping the song interesting for a long time.
Varied musical styles - give the children a musical education as well as teaching English.
Most songs are originals with some classics with words adapted for ESL and fresh arrangements.
The songs are written to go hand in hand with the two sets of preschool stories. HOWEVER they work on their own too.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Goggle Search

.

Quotes

.