Mothers' Day Flashcards

Mother's day is fast approaching!
Here's a set of flash cards using some figurative language with mom's in English!



Once you've studied with the flashcards you can try out the game scatter


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Flashcards for Vocabulary Retention

I recently had a student come to me for some help with the SAT. I hadn't taken the SAT since high school, so I quickly Googled around to see what I could find. One of the helpful sites was ProProfs Sample SAT tests later I was creating a lesson plan for Thank You Ma'm and stumbled accross this quiz. Overall it is a great teaching resource and I am thrilled to have the founder and CEO contribute to my blog with this guest post on how flashcards help students study.

We all know that there are many different ways to get students to practice vocabulary in class, but how should they study at home? This blog will discuss the benefits of flashcards as a studying tool.
Individuals have different objectives when it comes to studying for a test or an exam. Methods might differ too; while some understand and remember all points, others cram. Whatever be the situation, making studying easier is the common objective of all. Enter flash cards!

However, when it comes to boosting your studying with flashcards in education, you will probably turn a deaf ear to it, citing it as hogwash. That is how it is; at every stage in education, the resourcefulness of flash cards has been underestimated till date. Flash cards are a great way to memorize, test oneself and remember the answers and points in both subjective as well as objective exams. Built on the pillars of rote and memorizing ability, flash cards can be used to teach anything and everything. Right from basic pre-school concepts to the highest echelons of the education ladder, flash cards can be extremely helpful owing to their simplicity and adaptability.

Different Roles of Flashcards:

Boosting your studying with flash cards in education can happen at any and every stage of it. Flash cards needn’t be only alphabetical or numerical, they can be pictorial too. Visual flash cards’ representations can be powerful and leave a long-lasting imprint on the mind. Pre-school kids can be taught about the number system, the alphabets, the parts of the human body and the things around us by simply using flashcards. It will improve their recognition ability beyond doubt. When you move up through middle school, whether it is simple mathematics formulae or calculus equations, chemistry procedures or physics calculations, flash cards are indispensable. All you need to do is spend time in assembling all formulae and writing them down, and then your flash-cards are the one-stop shop for all your revision. Words, spellings and vocabulary can be enhanced by simply buying a set of flash cards with English words. Points to a subjective answer and important dates can be jotted down, making history easy to remember. Language flashcards can contain translations which will help you in learning the subject. Later in life, when you are prepping for your entrance exams to get into a university, flash cards will not only quicken your learning pace but will also help you memorize better for answering questions quickly, as time is of essence after all.
As observed above, boosting your studying with flash cards in education at any point of life in your life is absolutely plausible.

Still, why use flash cards? You can carry them around everywhere, and look them up at your convenience. If you do not want to go through the trouble of making them, simply buy them; they are affordable. If you make them, the biggest advantage you have is that they are customized to your needs, and provide you with immense familiarity when you are studying. Flash cards are helpful in reinforcing and building all your skills and, above all, are fun. To those intelligent beings who consider the humble flash cards beneath them; step up and better your game by using them. Boosting your studying with flashcards in your education will probably be the best thing you might have done in your lives.
As for the professors, who can use them in teaching, your reason for using them is that they appeal to every child on every level; not all of them are at par. Children with learning disabilities will find them immensely helpful to further their education and it will give them a chance to succeed at par with their other mates.

The above said features are all incorporated in an electronic version of flashcards as well. In addition,  it can be shared with any friends that the student would like to and make flashcards creatively with a lot of imagination.
Boosting your studying with ProProfs flashcards in education is something that should have happened long ago indeed. The electronic version makes it possible to improve the scope of IT based education in the future.
Sameer Bhatia is founder & CEO of ProProfs.com rel="nofollow" which is a leading provider of online learning tools for building, testing, and applying knowledge. Sameer has a background in technology with a Masters in Computer Science from USC (University Of Southern California) and is an ed-tech industry veteran. You can find Sameer on Google+.

Baby Shower Games in the EFL class?

No I am not expecting! I was planning a wedding shower for a friend a while back and I mainly fell back on my teaching knowledge of random games to amuse the guests. So when I was scrolling through free kindle books and found this I thought, "You know, I bet baby shower games would be great in some EFL classes!" Some of them were, and others... not so much. Here are a few of the ones I think I could use in class.

Feed the baby: Great for beginning EFL students (I'd say A1 or A2) learning about food. Think of it as a specified Simon Says. One student volunteers to be the baby (or the teacher starts). The baby starts shouting out random vocabulary. For example, the baby says: "Broccoli" The parents, the rest of the students, have to decide if it is edible or not edible. If it is edible they clap twice. If it is inedible they cover their mouth.

Baby: Broccoli
Parents: Clap twice
Baby: Bread
Parents: Clap twice
Baby: Shoes
Parents: Hands over their mouth

If a parent messes up and does the wrong motion they are "out" and should sit down. Start out slowly but speed up eventually. This should help students recognize food words. The last student standing becomes the baby.

This can also be done with flash cards! While I think this works well with food, you could easily lose the baby and parent scenario and use it for colors or rooms in a house. For example the topic could be "Things we find in a kitchen" Two claps would be: Knives, Drawers, Microwaves. Hands on your mouth would be: bed, toilet, etc.


What animal is it? Take a shoe box and put a hole in it. Put an animal cracker in it. Have the student put their hand in and describe it. Can they guess the animal? Great for adjectives (rough, tiny, bumpy, etc.) and animals! You can use a puzzle piece or small toy if you want to avoid food (or have to because of allergies or school regulations. Alternatively put things in plastic Easter eggs and have them describe and guess. Probably best for Primary or Pre-K.

Who is it? Finally an easy ice breaker. Hand each student a post it and have them write three facts about themselves on it. Put a number on it and place them around the classroom. Have students go around with a student roster and guess who is what number.

Name Game! Probably the hardest (I think). Either give all the students a name (your name, a mascot name a celebrity name, a main character's name, an author's name, etc.) or let them use their own. Have them make a sentence with each letter starting a different word, so: Carissa Create Awesome Relics Inviting Super Stars Around. To make it easier have each letter start a sentence: Clearly you are special As such you should be careful. Really think before you decide to do something. If you do that, then your life should be awesome. Should you not follow those directions, things may end badly. So you've been warned. Act cautiously and you'll love life!

So those are just a few ideas from this book. Have you ever been to a baby shower? What's your favorite game? Would you use it in the classroom or keep it away from EFL?

15+ different Vocabulary Methods (How to teach words)

A key to learning any new language is new vocabulary! There are so many ways to

GAMES:

• SNOWBALL FIGHT Get students to have a blast throwing around paper in class and then answering vocabulary questions! http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/12/fight-fight-playful-way-to-have.html
• Get students to improve their vocabulary by really thinking about what word someone is trying to get you to guess with rhymes! http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/11/i-am-thinking-of-word-that-rhymes-with.html
• Make reviewing vocabulary words more fun by throwing hangman into the mix. Like the snowball fight, this game plays on students love for throwing things. http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/10/alternate-hangman-hangman-you-knew-and.html
• Using pictures, homophones, antonyms, or definitions you can play Flyswatter. You can also get students to run around, which helps with excess energy. http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/09/flyswatter.html
• When you want students to practice vocabulary get them to create ink pinks. By using these rhymes they are using other vocab and showing they really understand the word http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/07/rhyming-word-game.html
• Battleship is what I usually use to repeat grammar. However, it can also be used for vocabulary. Simply make each box a vocabulary word, or arrange the columns and rows by categories. http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/06/battleship-game-differentiated-for-efl.html 
•  (NEW Added June 2013) Pumpernickel is another no prep game where students try to guess the verb another student is thinking of by replacing the verb with pumpernickel. For example, "Do you pumpernickel every day?" http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2013/05/pumpernickel-another-word-guessing-games.html 
• (NEW Added June 2013) Feed the baby is awesome for beginning EFL students. Think of it as a specified Simon Says. One student volunteers to be the baby (or the teacher starts). The baby says: "Broccoli" The parents (students) decide if it is edible or not edible. If it is edible they clap twice. If it is inedible they cover their mouth. While obviously great for food this can be adapted for other categories.  http://eslcarissa.blogspot.mx/2013/06/baby-shower-games-in-efl-class.html
• (Added June 2013) Remember making fortune tellers when you were younger? Change it into a game! My EFL students love playing so much they'll forget they are learning. http://eslcarissa.blogspot.mx/2013/05/cootie-catcher-speaking-activity.html
• (Added November 2013) Have you ever used Quizlet? You can make word lists and your students can play the automatically generated games to study on their own. http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2013/11/quizlet-for-at-home-studying.html
• (Added May 2014) Have you ever played Jenga? I bet you have! You can also use Jenga to review vocabulary words http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2014/05/jenga-in-classroom.html 
• (Added June 2014) This is a GREAT version of Pictionary that required NO DRAWING! Intrigued? Check it out! http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2014/06/artistically-challenged-pictionary.html

ACTIVITIES

• Try using a dictogloss with vocabulary. It gets students to practice listening, reading and writing PLUS they can hear new vocabulary http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/09/5-fun-ways-to-use-dictagloss-in-efl.html
• These are the basic steps one has to take to teach any words (you can combine these with any of the methods here) http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/08/basic-steps-of-teaching-any-lexis.html
• This activity can be a basic way to reinforce vocabulary words..and it usually ends up being really funny! All it takes is a piece of paper and the ability to write and fold. Make sure to set a time limit! http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/06/write-fold-pass-draw-fold-pass-repeat.html
• Have your students use word journals to get different collocations, idioms, etc. in addition to the definition http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2011/03/nelson-arditto.html
• Tell a story! Students respond well to stories, so put one together using different vocabulary words. http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2011/03/occupations.html
• Start a blog. Have students send in pictures using their cell phones or e-mails of their vocabulary words http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2010/08/part-ii-day-1.html
• To get a bit more complicated than just telling a story tell a draw and tell story. Then see if students can make their own using vocabulary words  http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/06/tell-and-draw-stories.html 
• Use songs! Students will get them stuck in their heads and never forget.  http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/06/not-another-cloze-how-else-to-use-songs.html
• Use TPR. There's a reason "Simon Says" and "Head Shoulder Knees and Toes" are so popular! Associate a motion with a word and it should stick with your students longer. http://eslcarissa.blogspot.mx/2012/10/this-or-that-these-or-those.html
• (Added June 2013) To review names of items in a house have them make their own house. This is an easy origami craft http://eslcarissa.blogspot.mx/2013/06/house-learning-rooms.html
• (Added October 2013) Decorate your class AND give your students a little help remembering tricky vocabulary words  http://eslcarissa.blogspot.mx/2013/10/vocabulary-mobiles.html
• (Added March 2014) This is a fun activity to help students grow their vocabulary in a visually pleasing way :) http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2014/03/get-students-using-different-words.html 
• (Added February 2015) This activity has students form small groups and make dialogues to show they understand words. They need to listen to other students, guess defintions from context, and finally tell a story! http://eslcarissa.blogspot.mx/2015/02/vocabulary-group-work.html

ALTERNATE QUIZZES

• Instead of multiple choice offer some quizzes that are a bit different than traditional vocabulary quizzes http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/09/vocab-quizzes.html