When I watch kids walk into the building on their first day of school, I think about what I want them to be like when they walk out on their last day. I also think about what I want them to be like on the day I bump into them in the supermarket 10 or 20 years later. Over the course of three decades watching kids walk into my schools, I have decided that I want them to

• be lifelong learners
• be passionate
• be ready to take risks
• be able to problem-solve and think critically
• be able to look at things differently
• be able to work independently and with others
• be creative

You can reduce the number of bored students with a virtual Reference Desk on your classroom computer or even a real basket. This extensive collection can includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, calculators, newspapers, weather reports, biographies, puzzles , games ,history references, homework help, worksheets and much more. Through trying the reference desk, you can modify the idea or even come up with a new one as you go along.Give it a try.

• Give students a sense of control.

  While guidance from a teacher is important to keeping kids on task and motivated, allowing students to have some choice and control over what happens in the classroom is actually one of the best ways to keep them engaged. For example, allowing students to choose the type of assignment they do or which problems to work on can give them a sense of control that may just motivate them to do more.
  

• Define the objectives.

  It can be very frustrating for students to complete an assignment or even to behave in class if there aren't clearly defined objectives. Students want and need to know what is expected of them in order to stay motivated to work. At the beginning of the year, lay out clear objectives, rules, and expectations of students so that there is no confusion and students have goals to work towards.
  

Author Nancy Paulu recommends these tips for teachers who give homework:

* Lay out homework expectations early in the school year.
* Create assignments with a purpose, and make sure students understand that purpose.
* Make assignments clear and focused

We all have had a student or two who were a handful in the classroom .I tried this trick more than once and it worked like a charm . I pick out a surprise activity, such as an extra free time , a small treat , no homework or quiz that week, then write "SURPRISE" on the board. Throughout the period, if the class gets noisy or students shout answers or get out of their seats without permission, I erase a letter starting at the end of the word. Add missing letters when everyone is behaving well. If the complete word is intact at the end of the period, the students get the surprise.

1-3 letter house . A great game to help children with cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) words. Choose a word ending or a middle sound. Read the words and decide whether they are real words. (ICT Games)

2- Starfall  This is a brilliant site with lots of phonics games. Choose the sound and play a game, or choose an online book to read. When you are reading the book, you can click on any word to hear it being sounded out.

“Elements of a Story" is an interactive Web site where students can learn about different literary "ingredients" that make up a story. After watching and listening to an interactive version of "Cinderella," students will learn about various elements that are common to all stories:
setting, characters, plot, exposition, conflict, climax, and resolution.

Your favorite magazine or newspaper might provide you with a rich source of a political / social cartoon that lends itself well to language instruction you are planning to teach. Another alternative is to use an online site devoted to such material.

You can spend 15 minutes a week to take an online tour of cartoon sites index and get inspired by suggested activities for elementary, middle, and high school students.

The next time you send your students home for the weekend, consider one of the following ideas as an addition to or substitution for the usual type of assignments such as “Complete workbook exercise 3.”

Budget Buster.
If you are teaching numbers , ask your students to note down the amounts they spend in each place over the weekend. On Saturday , have volunteers read out the amounts. This is good for basic level students who need to review numbers. You can have them total all expenses to practice reading larger

The jigsaw method can be described as "info gap squared." It is a cooperative learning technique.
In the jigsaw form of instruction, the target material is divided, usually into four parts, and distributed to small groups to learn.When these homogeneous groups have mastered their material, students regroup into heterogeneous groups to present material and complete a task.

 Who knew that listings in a TV guide can provide a wealth of material for the ESL classroom?? TV guide is an authentic source that present places ,common grammar structures and high frequency vocabulary in an entertaining context. Here are just a few ideas for putting this material to use to facilitate your instruction and update your practices .


Plot summaries of films and TV show premises often contain adjective clauses as well as reduced adjective clauses and appositives. You can present one listing at a time and challenge students to identify the adjective clause(s) used.

September or Shawal is the first month of the new academic . This is a great time to consider ways to liven up the classroom for your students’ sake as well as your own. What kinds of changes can create positive energy and foster a sense of renewed commitment to language study?