The Big Five
A little here and a little there— sprinkling these five activities into your English classroom will transform your teaching and maximize your pupils’ learning.
Gail Boushey and Jane Moser’s “Daily Five” Literacy CAFE program is the cornerstone of first-language literacy development in many classrooms worldwide. We’ve adapted it to a series of recommendations to support basic skill development in English as an Additional Language.
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Our number-one most recommended addition to the EAL classroom. Reading a picturebook aloud to your students just once a week and providing opportunities for them to respond and interact is a game-changer. Click here for our quick read-aloud guide.
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Otherwise known as a "language bath," free recreational reading time increases motivation and immerses learners in new vocabulary, grammatical structures, and the magic of a storyworld. Check out our primer on free recreational reading and listening.
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A little phonics, sight word, and new vocabulary introduction goes a long way. We especially recommend word study as a station or small group activity. Get started here!
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The story doesn't have to end when the book closes. Get your students creating, imagining, and putting new language into practice with clever, differentiated writing activities.
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Retelling, playacting, musing, or even debating-- oral response to storytelling is a key part of the language classroom. We have a few key guidelines for successful discourse skill tasks.
