Just a quick share – something we’ve been doing in EAL. Our learners in KS3 and KS4 are developing their knowledge of task types, both for in-class activities and for their exams. I’m doing little ‘command word challenges’ as starters… Read More ›

vocabulary
Some regular EAL activities
Here are few things I do / use in my EAL practice that didn’t feature much (if at all) when I worked at the British Council. I’m just sharing for general interest and it’s actually been prompted by some of… Read More ›
Poetry lesson: What do you hear?
Here’s a short poetry task that worked well with YLs and teens. It’s based on a poem from A Nest Full of Stars by James Berry. Before you ask, no. I haven’t suddenly gone all NLP. Aims Create a… Read More ›
EAL: History / Geography reviews
Here’s another insight into day-to-day EAL planning. Usual disclaimer on the look of the resources – time restraints, okay?! History and Geography were tough for our EAL learners in Term 1. They are so English-heavy and there’s tonnes to cover…. Read More ›
EAL: Descriptive writing, fronted adverbials
Here’s a very brief insight into some day-to-day EAL planning. I work with EAL learners in Year 4. Planning for my EAL lessons is informed by one of the following: National Curriculum SPaG the Unit of Inquiry for that (half)-term… Read More ›
Wordwall assignments
Yes, another Wordwall post. No, I’m not on commission. It’s just a great tool. I forgot to mention the ‘Set Assignments’ feature in my previous posts. It’s a really useful diagnostic tool. Make your game. Click to share it and… Read More ›
Fluency and fun: Hidden words
Here’s a quick speaking activity for Primary EAL. A good one for Friday afternoon fun. Check out this ‘Hidden Words‘ post on Bored Panda. Is just a load of illustrations with six hidden words in each. Get the students to… Read More ›
Twinkl in Action: Facts as a foundation
Year 9 Geography. The assessment task involves looking at the impact of tourism in Kenya. Some of my EAL learners are quite new to English, and their prior knowledge of Kenya is limited. They’re gonna need some support. I get… Read More ›
Hirameki with young learners (via Emily Bryson)
A very quick post to say thanks to Emily Bryson! She recently shared this interesting post on using the Japanese art of Hirameki as way to teach life skills and encourage creativity. This worked a treat with my 6-year-olds! We… Read More ›
Wordwall with young learners
I wrote an overview of Wordwall last year. Here’s a more practical example of how I actually use Wordwall, rather than just as a load of games… Well, still as a load of games actually, just in a more purposeful… Read More ›