Activities for ESL Students

http://a4esl.org/

This site features a variety of games and activities for developing vocabulary, grammar, listening and reading. Grammar games have three levels of easy, medium and difficult covering all components of grammar. Quizzes are designed to introduce interesting facts about countries, making them reflect cultural aspects. Vocabulary quizzes also provide questions for different levels of students, covering various themes ranging from clothes to musical instruments.

It also contains audio and video materials which can be used for developing listening reading skills. Covering a variety of topics, these visual resources will keep students updated and interested what is going on around the world. In addition, this site has “external links” section which connects you to even more great sites.

Level: Intermediate – Advanced (Elementary school - Adults)

Vocabulary Games

http://www.vocabulary.co.il/

This site offers hundreds of different vocabulary games including hangman online, cross word puzzle, memory game, and match game. Another attractive aspect of this site is that it suits students from kindergarten to high school students. It has games aimed at practicing analogy, synonyms, antonyms, idioms, suffixes, to name a few. It even has SAT word games for the high advanced learners. Each game section has several subcategories according to recommended grade levels. Students can select games that are most suitable for their interest and levels. This site will help students build vocabulary skills in the most fun way.

Level: Beginner – Advanced (Elementary - High school)

Kids' Poems

http://gigglepoetry.com/

This is a great site to encourage kids to read and write poems. It has poems written by students, teachers and principals. Poems are also categorized according to themes which are relevant to kids and very fun to read: school lunch poems, school bus poems, love poems, classmate poems. Children will find these poems very enjoyable, and gain some inspiration and desire to write their own. In addition, children can publish their own poems and get feedback. It has poetry class where they offer easy ways to appreciate and write poems and this will give teachers good tips how to lead a poetry class. This inspiring site will make your class more fun, enjoyable, and educational.

 Level: Intermediate – High advanced (Elementary/middle school)

Pre-school Themes

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/books.htm

This website offers pre school lesson plans, fun and educational activities and crafts and guidelines on books for younger kids. These books are categorized so that visitors can find what they want easily.  Also, each book has activities so that kids can learn beyond what they read in books. In “First Preschool Themes” section, hundreds of books are recommended according to themes: alphabets, animals, colors, music, weather, etc. In “Books” section, hundreds of books are recommended for different types of stories including biographies, fables, fairy tales and nursery rhymes. Teachers or parents may want to use this site as a guideline in choosing a book for kids and use activities and craft worksheets for post reading activity. “Holiday and event” corner features holiday related activities and celebrations for each month’s special days.

Level: Low beginner – High intermediate (Elementary school)

All about Games

http://www.eslkidstuff.com/Classroomgamesframe.htm

Here’s a great game site that gives you numerous games in alphabetical order.

I can assure you that you will find some really good ones for your students’ age group. These games will suit the needs of elementary and middle school students. Games such as Last Letter, First Letter and Action Race will bring loads of fun to the students! Games are something you can spice your class up and spend time wisely especially when you have some spare time after your lesson.

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Clifford

http://www.scholastic.com/clifford/index.htm

This website is probably the most fun one for kids because it’s all about Clifford the Big Red Dog! I’m sure everybody is fond of this cartoon. It offers listening, reading, and writing all at the same time. Read & Write section includes a story telling program that shows the text as it reads the book out loud so that children can follow along. On top of that, the last word of the last sentence has a blank for children to fill a word of their choice. This will encourage kids to be an active reader. See & Hear section provides about 10 actual episodes from the cartoon. This website also provides numerous games. Some may be too easy for elementary students but most of them are suitable for them!

Level: Low intermediate – High intermediate (Elementary school)

Storyline Online

http://storylineonline.net/

Storylineonline is an awesome site for reading. Celebrities read books as if they were grandparents or family members of children. Listening and viewing this site will help children develop reading habits and just make them love books. It offers guidelines for many activities you can utilize, including retelling, personalization, prediction, writing, etc. You can lay back on the couch and enjoy the storytelling.

Level: Intermediate – Low advanced (Elementary school)

Learning conversation

http://www.usalearns.org

This is a site developed and maintained by USCIS for immigrants in the U.S. It is divided into 3 courses according to proficiency levels. Each course is then categorized into topics and stories. This site provides useful tools for self-learners. Every story has introduction where they cover vocabulary and listening warm-ups before watching the video. As post activities it contains exercises on comprehension, grammar and writing. The video shows real life of America as well as cultural backgrounds. Even though it was designed for adults, it can be useful material for middle school students since it features basic things regarding life in the U.S. A great way to learn the language and the culture.

Level: High beginner – High Advanced  (Middle school)

PBS Kids

http://pbskids.org/

This site features videos, games and songs presented by kids’ favorite characters including Arthur, Barney, Curious George, etc. Videos will help kids develop listening and reading comprehension skills. They cover diverse topics from stories to environmental issues. On top of that, engaging games will help kids learn and practice alphabets and words. Its beautiful graphics will grab kids’ attention and maintain their interest. Enjoy!

Levlel: Mid beginner-Low advanced (Elementary school)

Kids National Geographic

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/

This site presents animations, videos and games on diverse topics. The topics covered are animals and cultures of countries around the world. This site is not only useful for language learning but also for understanding cultures of different countries. Videos of real animals and different places contain educational contents so they will be perfect resources for content-based instruction.

Level: Low advanced – High advanced (Elementary/Middle school)

Fun Games and Pen Pals

http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/writing/Kids_Writing.html

Kids will find this website easy to approach because this is full of interesting games about alphabets, phonics/spelling, and grammar. The games included hangman, crossword, and sight words. This site has games on grammar and writing which will help kids learn sentence structures. One of the most interesting sections here is pen pals. It has lists of children who want to have pen pals. They are from all over the world. Making friends through pen pals is a great way to learn English as well as cultures from each other.

Learn English

www.learnenglish.org.uk/kids

This site features huge number of games, songs, and craft materials that kids will love. In each of corners there are comments section where children can post their thoughts and opinions on the given materials or activities. This is a great way for children to interact with their peers from all around the world.

It helps students to enhance reading skills through interesting stories. One of the most fantastic features is that worksheets are provided for each story. They are easy to follow and have a variety of different types of activities. If teachers show the video and then cover the worksheets, it will be a very well-organized lesson.
                                 Level: Mid novice-High intermediate (Elementary School)

Phonics and Readings

http://www.starfall.com/

This is a great website for younger kids to develop phonemic awareness, practice phonics and learn language arts. It contains many interesting activities which will lead kids to expand their phonics as well as reading skills.

This site has four components.

1.     ABCs: Designed to help kids practice alphabets, this section contains wonderful descriptions and authentic pictures that kids will love.

2.     Learn to Read: Focusing on diphthongs and blends, this section has short stories that highlight each focused sound.

3.     It’s Fun to Read: As the name indicates, this section features interesting activities
     including riddles, poetry, and tongue twisters.

4.     I’m Reading: As the last stage in this site, it has 40 stories under six categories of plays, fiction/nonfiction, comics, folk tales, Greek myths and Chinese fables.
                  Level: Low novice-Mid intermediate (Elementary School)