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Book Activities |
 About the U.S.A. -
135 pages - About the U.S.A. is an American
Studies reader that examines the customs, government, and history of the
United States of America. The text provides a wealth of information on U.S.
geography and history; the roles of local, state, and federal government;
national holidays and symbols; the Constitution; and citizenship. The book,
which was written for intermediate to advanced learners of English, contains
a range of activities for language students to practice listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. (opens to a new PDF window)
Great English reading
practice. |
 About
America -
Learn about the fascinating history and government of
the United States of America. Lessons include content on
American Government, American History, and Integrated
Civics. Handouts with interactive games and
student-centered activities encompass all four language
skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Great English reading practice for
beginning to intermediate students. |
 U.S.
Citizen - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers lesson
plans for ESL instructors preparing students for U.S.
citizenship. Lessons include content on American
Government, American History, and Integrated Civics
covered in the Civics Test as well as language needed
for the reading and writing portions of the English
Test. Handouts with interactive games and
student-centered activities encompass all four language
skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The
following is a collection of those resources.
Learn all
about the United States of America.
Great English
reading and vocabulary practice. |
 Dialogs for Everyday Use -
61 pages - Dialogs for Everyday Use is a collection of thirty
situational dialogs that focus on a wide variety of communicative situations
and natural encounters in English. Each dialog is accompanied by a
contextual illustration and can be used as a springboard for extended
listening and speaking practice. The text also includes language notes that
provide useful information on grammar and intonation patterns. This text is
suggested for intermediate learners of English. (opens to a new PDF window)
Note:
Click here to do these conversation
lessons in an easy to read format. |
 More Dialogs for Everyday Use -
44 pages - More Dialogs for Everyday Use contains thirty-six
situation-based dialogs that present spoken American English in a natural
way. The text is similar in instructional approach and format to Dialogs for
Everyday Use, but includes longer conversational episodes. A photo is
included with each dialogue to provide additional contextual support. This
book also includes short language notes that focus on specific grammar
points. This text is suggested for intermediate to high-intermediate
learners of English. (opens to a new PDF window)
Note:
Click here to do these conversation lessons in an easy to
read format. |
 Everyday Conversations: Learning American English -
72 pages - This resource can be used by teachers and learners. Everyday
Conversations is intended for sixth- and seventh-grade students of English
as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL). Students
can read dialogues in English. Topics of the conversations
include introductions and small talk, shopping, asking for directions,
hobbies, and giving advice. (opens to a new PDF window)
Note:
Click here to do these conversation lessons in an easy to
read format. |
 In the Loop -
134 pages - In The Loop is a reference guide to American English
idioms. It will not only help students learn the meaning of American idioms,
but also give them an understanding of the history, culture, values, and
beliefs these idioms reflect. In addition to the idioms themselves, the book
contains lists of idioms by theme, some ready-to-use classroom activities,
and an index that identifies the original listing and any cross-references
to the idiom. (opens to a new PDF window) |
 Developing Writing -
157 pages - Developing Writing is a reading and
writing skills text designed for beginning to intermediate learners of
English. Each of the twenty chapters in this book is introduced by a reading
selection that incorporates the lesson’s model structures, mechanics, and
grammar points. Each reading in Developing Writing focuses on some aspect of
American or world culture. Each reading passage is followed by composition,
vocabulary, and spelling activities. An irregular verb list, grammar rule
index, and answer key are also included. (opens to a new PDF window) |
 American Teens Talk! -
72 pages - Americans Teens Talk! is a collection of interviews of
American high school students. Each interview is accompanied by vocabulary
notes and discussion questions. The interviews in American Teens Talk! give
learners a view into the lives of adolescents in the U.S. Through the
written format of the interviews, learners are able to increase their
vocabulary, practice their reading and listening skills, engage in
discussions, and learn more about U.S. culture. These
interviews come with audio programs.
Great English listening and reading
practice. |
 Sing Out Loud Children's Songs - Sing Out Loud Children's Songs includes popular children's songs in the U.S.A. Posters accompany the
individual Sing Out Loud Children's Songs. These
songs come with audio programs.
Great English listening and reading
practice. |
 Sing Out Loud Traditional Songs -
70 pages - The Sing Out Loud Traditional Songs
collection contains 13 traditional American folk songs and song lyrics.
Listen to the songs online, read the lyrics, and collect the posters that
accompany the songs. These
songs come with audio programs.
Great English listening and reading
practice. |
 Sing Out Loud American Rhythms -
70 pages - Do you love music? Want to use it
to learn English? Check out the hip-hop inspired song "Peace" from Sing Out
Loud American Rhythms. American Rhythms includes a variety of musical genres
from many different artists in the U.S.A. These songs will appeal to teens
and young adults. These
songs come with audio programs.
Great English listening and reading
practice. |
 Why English? Comics for the Classroom - This
resource can be used by teachers and learners. It includes notes for
teachers and activities to use in the classroom at the end of each story.
The stories in Why English? Comics for the Classroom – written by teenagers
and young adults – will appeal to learners of all ages. These stories
provide an enjoyable opportunity to increase vocabulary, reading
comprehension, listening, speaking, and writing. The stories and exercises
together are a whole-language anthology designed to improve communication
skills. This book provides exercises that employ the
cooperative/collaborative learning philosophy and address multiple learning
styles. These
comics come with audio programs.
Great English listening and reading
practice. |
 The Lighter Side of TEFL - The Lighter Side of TEFL is a
collection of activities taken from "The Lighter Side," a recurring feature
section in English Teaching Forum. The text
includes word games, crossword puzzles, idioms, limericks, jokes, riddles,
and international folk tales. Each activity is self-contained on one page
for easy duplication by the teacher and includes teaching suggestions and an
answer key. There is also an audio component featuring humorous short pieces
for listening comprehension. These
lessons come with audio programs.
Great English listening and reading
practice. |
 The Lighter Side
-
The Lighter Side is a
collection of activities and a recurring feature
section in English Teaching Forum. The text
includes word games, crossword puzzles, idioms, limericks, jokes, riddles,
and international folk tales. Each activity is self-contained for easy
duplication. These lessons are similar to the lessons
above but without audio programs. |
 The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories - This
collection of short stories by O. Henry gives the reader a wonderful
selection of characters from the United States of 100 years ago. The classic
short story The Gift of the Magi is the most famous of O. Henry's stories,
but the stories that follow in this collection give the reader a deeper and
richer sample of O. Henry's storytelling. This collection of short stories
gives the reader a wonderful selection of characters from the United States
of 100 years ago. These
lessons come with audio programs.
Great English listening and reading
practice. |
 Trace Effects
Trace Effects is an English
language comic for students. Who is Trace? Trace, the main character, is a
university student from the year 2045 who has accidentally traveled back in
time to the present. In order to get home, he must complete a challenging
mission to change the future for the better by helping six different young
people accomplish great things and have a positive impact on the future.
Geared toward young people, Trace Effects exposes users to American society
and explores themes related to entrepreneurship, community activism,
empowering women, science and innovation, environmental conservation, and
conflict resolution. |
|
|
 Activate Games for Learning English - Guess What?
Guess What? is part of the Activate: Games for Learning American English
collection. Guess What? cards can be used for a variety of games in the
classroom to provide an opportunity for students to practice making
descriptions in English and to learn English vocabulary. For this card game,
you will find downloadable cards, game instructions, and game variations. |
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About Guess What? -
4 pages
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Guess What? Cards - 6 pages
- Note: all 6 of the following Guess What?
games use these cards.
-
Guess What? Template -
1 page
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Creating Guess What? Card Instructions -
3 pages
-
Guess What? - In Guess What?, players take
turns using English to describe words on Guess What? cards. In turns, one
player describes the items with as much detail as possible, while the
remaining players try to guess what the student is describing. This game
works well in groups of 3-4. It can also be done as a whole-class activity
or as a competition among groups.
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Guess What? -
1 page - Instructions
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Guess What? - Mime the Words - In Mime the
Words, the Describer is allowed to say the topic and nothing else. Instead,
the Describer must describe the words on the Guess What? card using mime.
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Guess What? - Mime the Words -
2 pages - Instructions
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Guess What? - Yes, No, Maybe! - In Yes, No,
Maybe!, the Describer tells the Guessers the topic on the card and the
Guessers must ask yes or no questions until they discover what the words on
the Guess What? card are.
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Guess What? - Yes, No, Maybe! -
2 pages - Instructions
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Guess What?- You Don't Say - In You Don’t Say,
the Describer describes the topic on a Guess What? card without using any of
the words on the card. The goal is for the Guessers to guess the topic of
the card (rather than the words).
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Guess What?- You Don't Say -
2 pages - Instructions
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Guess What? Guess the Topic - In 'Guess the
Topic', the Describer says the six words below the topic on a Guess What?
card, slowly, one at a time. The Guessers try to guess the topic after each
word is read.
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Guess What? Guess the Topic -
2 pages - Instructions
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Guess What? Guess the Words - In Guess the
Words, the topic of the Guess What? card is given. The Guessers race to call
out as many words that appear on the card as possible in 1 minute.
-
Guess What? Guess the Words -
2 pages - Instructions
|
 Activate Games for Learning American English: Picture
This
Picture This is part of the Activate: Games for Learning
American English collection. Picture This cards are a set of cards that can
be used for a variety of conversation and word games in English classes. |
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About Picture This -
4 pages
-
Picture This Cards - 48 pages
- Note: all 13 of the following Picture This
games use these cards.
-
Picture This - Picture This cards are a set of
cards that can be used for a variety of conversation and word games in
English classes. These cards form the foundation for conversational games
that give students the opportunity to practice speaking with each other
about a variety of topics. Picture This cards stimulate conversation through
a series of thematically related questions and interesting images that
engage students, activate background knowledge, and help match vocabulary
words with concrete objects.
-
Picture This -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Picture This - ABCs - ABCs provides students
with vocabulary practice by asking them to think of vocabulary words that
are related to many different topics. Students use Picture This cards as a
starting point for each topic. Then they come up with related vocabulary
items that begin with many letters of the alphabet. This game works well as
a whole-class activity or as a competition among groups.
-
Picture This - ABCs -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Picture This - Same & Different - Same &
Different provides students with the opportunity to use their background
knowledge about the items on the Picture This cards to create descriptions
that compare and contrast two items on a card. This game works well groups
of 3, having one student select the two items and the other two students
alternate comparing and contrasting the two items.
-
Picture This - Same & Different -
2 pages - Instructions
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Picture This - Questions, Questions -
Questions, Questions gives students practice forming yes/no questions. Using
a Picture This card, a player chooses one item, and the remaining players
take turns asking yes/no questions to try and guess the item.
-
Picture This - Questions, Questions -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Picture This - Name It! - In Name It!, players
take turns using English to describe the items or ideas pictured on the
Picture This cards. In turns, one player describes the items with as much
detail as possible, while the remaining players try to guess what the
student is describing. This game works well as a whole-class activity or as
a competition among groups.
-
Picture This - Name It! -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Picture This - Guess Which Challenge - In
Guess Which Challenge, students create sentences that use one of the words
on a Picture This card, and they say the sentence out loud, omitting the
word from the card. One student tries to complete all six sentences with the
correct word, and then he or she guesses the topic of the card based on the
six words. This game works best in groups of 3-4 students.
-
Picture This - Guess Which Challenge -
2 pages - Instructions
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Picture This - In a Minute - In a Minute
provides students with practice forming questions that begin with wh- words:
who, what, when, where, why, and how. First, players read and respond to the
six questions on a Picture This card. Then players race to write as many
questions as they can in a set amount of time. This game works best in small
groups.
-
Picture This - In a Minute -
1 page - Instructions
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Picture This - Questions Quiz - In Question
Quiz, students practice creating questions that contain very specific
information about one item from a Picture This card, so that there is only
one correct answer to the question. This game works best in groups of 2-4
students.
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Picture This - Questions Quiz -
1 page - Instructions
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Picture This - Mix It, Fix It! - Mix It, Fix
It! allows students to practice creating well-formed questions. First, one
player scrambles a question from the Picture This card, and the remaining
players work together to unscramble it. This game works best in small
groups.
-
Picture This - Mix It, Fix It! -
1 page - Instructions
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Picture This - Paraphrase It! - Paraphrase It!
provides students with practice saying the same thing in a variety of
different ways by paraphrasing. Paraphrasing allows students to be creative
with language to express a particular meaning, while practicing different
grammatical structures, word forms, and vocabulary. This game works best in
groups of 3-4 students.
-
Picture This - Paraphrase It! -
1 page - Instructions
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Picture This - Pass It On - In Pass It On,
students use the vocabulary words on a Picture This card to create a story.
This game provides students with the opportunity to be creative with
language and to use their imagination to tell a silly story. This game works
best in small groups.
-
Picture This - Pass It On -
1 page - Instructions
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Picture This - Simple Switches - In Simple
Switches, students ask each other questions that they have altered from the
original question on a Picture This card. The questions on the card act as a
starting point for the students’ own questions. This is a great scaffolding
activity for teaching how to form questions. This game works best in groups
of 2-4 students.
-
Picture This - Simple Switches -
1 page - Instructions
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Picture This - Word Strings - Word Strings
provides students with practice forming phrases and sentences, using
vocabulary words from a Picture This card as a starting point. This game
works best in groups.
-
Picture This - Word Strings -
2 pages - Instructions
|
 Activate Games for Learning American English: Board
Games
Activate Games for Learning American English is a collection
of games for the language classroom. The board games offer interactive
English language practice in a learner-centered, low-stress environment. The
board games are part of the Activate - Games for Learning American English
collection. Each game shows the path that the players must follow and the
English phrases that the players must produce orally. Each board game has a
theme that requires the students to produce certain types of expressions, so
they practice a variety of vocabulary, grammatical patterns, and functional
meanings. |
-
About Board Games -
4 pages
-
Board Games Template -
1 page
-
Board Games Dice Template -
1 page
- Board Game: What You Might
Find - The board game What You Might Find provides students with
prompts to discuss what they might find in specific locations. For this
board game, you will find the downloadable game, game instructions, and
game variations.
-
Board Game: What You Might Find -
3 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: What You Might Find -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: About Me -
The board game About Me gives students a variety of prompts to talk
about themselves. For this board game, you will find the downloadable
game, game instructions, and game variations.
-
Board Game: About Me -
3 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: About Me -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: Name 3 -
The board game Name 3… gives students a variety of prompts to talk about
things they know about. For this board game, you will find the
downloadable game, game instructions, and game variations.
-
Board Game: Name 3 -
3 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: Name 3 -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: Which One Would
the World Be Better Without? Why? - The board game Which One
Would the World Be Better Without? Why? allows students to talk about
hypothetical situations in an authentic and engaging way. For this board
game, you will find the downloadable game, game instructions, and game
variations.
-
Board Game: Which One Would the World Be Better Without? Why? -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: Which One Would the World Be Better Without? Why? -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: What Do I Know
About ...? - The board game What Do I Know About…? allows
students to share their knowledge about a variety of subjects. For this
board game, you will find the downloadable game, game instructions, and
game variations.
-
Board Game: What Do I Know About ...? -
3 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: What Do I Know About ...? -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: Would You Rather? -
The board game Would You Rather…Why? gives students a chance to express
their preferences on a number of different topics. For this board game,
you will find the downloadable game, game instructions, and game
variations.
-
Board Game: Would You Rather? -
3 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: Would You Rather? -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: Name Your
Favorite - The board game Name Your Favorite provides an
opportunity for students to talk about their favorite things in a
variety of categories. For this board game, you will find the
downloadable game, game instructions, and game variations.
-
Board Game: Name Your Favorite -
3 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: Name Your Favorite -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: Have You Ever?
Oh, When? - The board game Have You Ever? Oh, When? Allows
students to talk about their personal experiences while practicing the
present perfect. For this board game, you will find the downloadable
game, game instructions, and game variations.
-
Board Game: Have You Ever? Oh, When? -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: Have You Ever? Oh, When? -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: Which One is
Different? Why? - The board game Which One Is Different? Why?
gives students an opportunity to debate which idea is different from the
rest. For this board game, you will find the downloadable game, game
instructions, and game variations.
-
Board Game: Which One is Different? Why? -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: Which One is Different? Why? -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: What Someone Does -
The board game What Someone Does gives students a chance to talk about
what people do in certain situations. For this board game, you will find
the downloadable game, game instructions, and game variations.
-
Board Game: What Someone Does -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: What Someone Does -
1 page - Game board
- Board Game: Use a Word -
The board game Use a Word provides students with a specific word they
should try to use in a sentence. For this board game, you will find the
downloadable game, game instructions, and game variations.
-
Board Game: Use a Word -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Board Game: Use a Word -
1 page - Game board
|
 Activate: Games for Learning American English: Word
Bricks
Word Bricks help students identify word patterns in
sentences. This overview will teach you sentence structure and patterns and
help you to master all of the Word Bricks games! Activate: Games for
Learning American English is a collection of games for the language
classroom. The games in Activate offer interactive English language practice
in a learner-centered, low-stress environment. Word Bricks are used for
building sentences in English. The Word Bricks have a wide range of words in
English written on them: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles,
pronouns, and so on—all of the building blocks that students need to form
complete phrases and sentences in English. |
-
About Word Bricks -
5 pages
-
Word Bricks Template -
1 page
-
Word Bricks Cards - 14 pages
- Note: all 8 of the following Word Bricks
games use these cards.
-
Word Bricks: Brick Bingo - Brick Bingo helps
students make connections between the spoken and written forms of words in a
fun, low-stress game. The teacher calls out individual words and students
remove those Words Bricks from their Bingo boards if they have that word.
This game can be played individually or in pairs.
-
Word Bricks: Brick Bingo -
2 pages - Instructions
-
Word Bricks: Parts of Speech - In Parts of
Speech, teacher gives the players a specific pattern to use, and their
sentences must follow this pattern. Students use Word Bricks to build
sentences individually, in pairs, or in small groups. This activity is great
for lower proficiency level students, as it provides scaffolding to help
students generate a correct sentence.
-
Word Bricks: Parts of Speech -
1 page - Instructions
-
Word Bricks: Sentence Boundaries - In Sentence
Boundaries, the teacher gives the players five specific requirements for
their sentences. Each round of the game requires the players to create
sentences that follow different patterns. The first team to complete all
five patterns (in order) and earn 5 points wins the game.
-
Word Bricks: Sentence Boundaries -
1 page - Instructions
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Word Bricks: Sentence Challenge - Players in a
game of Sentence Challenge work in teams to create the longest sentence
possible out of their Word Bricks without any help from the teacher. Then,
the opposing teams are responsible for ‘challenging’ a sentence if they
believe there is an error in a team’s sentence. Points are awarded to teams
that appropriately challenge incorrect sentences and to teams that create
their own correct sentences.
-
Word Bricks: Sentence Challenge -
1 page - Instructions
-
Word Bricks: Sentence Race - Sentence Race is
a fast-paced, exciting game that gives students a chance to think quickly in
English as they try to earn points by building well-formed sentences using
Word Bricks. This game can be played for a specified amount of time or until
one team reaches a target number of points. The first team to reach the goal
wins the game. Teams of 3-4 students work best.
-
Word Bricks: Sentence Race -
1 page - Instructions
-
Word Bricks: Describe and Guess - In Describe
and Guess, players take turns selecting a Word Brick and then describing one
of the words on the brick without saying the actual word. The goal is to get
the remaining players to guess the word.
-
Word Bricks: Describe and Guess -
1 page - Instructions
-
Word Bricks: Longest Sentence - Longest
Sentence asks students to create the longest sentence possible using a set
of 15–20 Word Bricks in only 3 minutes. Keeping the time limit short makes
for a fast-paced, fun atmosphere as teams compete to make the longest
sentence.
-
Word Bricks: Longest Sentence -
1 page - Instructions
-
Word Bricks: Sorting Race - In Sorting Race,
players race to find all words of a certain type in a set of Word Bricks.
The choice of word category can make the game more or less challenging.
-
Word Bricks: Sorting Race -
1 page - Instructions
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