Curricula & Lesson Planning
- Florida ESOL curriculum frameworks From the Florida Department of Education.
- LINCS ESL Pro Resource Collection Offers evidence-based resources to enhance the impact of adult ESOL instruction.
- Queens Public Library ESOL curriculum A thematic approach to address the needs of students at different levels of instruction.
- Library of ELA Lesson Plans Virtual library of lesson plans, perfectly relevant to the community we serve, including the North Carolina Curriculum.
- EL Civics Civics lessons, US holidays, famous Americans, US geography, life skills (banking, employment, food, etc.), games…
- Equipped for the Future National standards-based educational improvement initiative for adult basic education and English language learners.
- Teachers Pay Teachers An open marketplace for educators where teachers buy, sell and share original teaching resources.
- Minnesota Literacy Council Curriculum and lesson plans, including a Story Bank for Low Level Learners and a Low Level Employment Readiness Curriculum focusing on retail and general job skills.
- Money Talks An ESOL toolkit for financial literacy from the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center. (Here are some other sites that offer financial literacy materials & lessons: Citigroup Financial Education, Consumer Jungle, Hands on Banking, My Money, Money Instructor, and Money Smart.)
- Civics It Up! An instructional tool to help teachers plan and implement instructional units and lessons that integrate language learning with rights and responsibilities of citizenship, civic participation, and workforce preparation.
Integrated Skills
- We Are NY An Emmy Award-winning television show created to help immigrant New Yorkers practice English while informing them of the city’s resources. On our Student Resources page, there are links to each of the 10 episodes. Scroll down to learn more about how to use WANY in the classroom.
- American English A resource center from the US State Dept. for teaching and learning about American English language and culture.
- TED 4 ESL Materials for teaching English based on TED Talks and other videos worth watching.
Reading Practice
- Breaking English News Free, ready-to-print ESL lesson plans on current events or English news lessons; for low intermediate to advanced students. Excellent resource for differentiated instruction.
- The Times in Plain English Free plain English newspaper with many articles of interest for immigrants.
- The NYC Commission on Human Rights has produced many one-page fact sheets on topics of relevance to our participants. You'll also find brochures, cards, posters, & legal notices, all of which make for excellent authentic reading material in the classroom.
- Celebrate! Holidays in the U.S.A. Intermediate-level texts, easily adaptable for lower levels, on holidays, heritage months, & occasions for celebration. Click here to browse & download individual chapters.
- CommonLit Reading passages & tools.
Speaking & Writing Prompts
- The Learning Network Picture Prompts Accessible, image-driven prompts from The New York Times that invite a variety of kinds of writing & conversation topics. Learn about this and other teaching ideas from the Learning Network here.
- TEAL Just Write! Guide Research-based instructional practices in the content area of writing.
- Picture Stories for Adult ESL Health Literacy Useful for beginner & low-literacy students. Useful for Language Experience Approach activities.
- 7 Easy Ways to Support Student Writing
- CommonLit: Themes & prompts for writing & speaking.
Activities & Games
- ESL Flow Exercises, ice-breakers, worksheets.
- Make Beliefs Comix Make your own comic page. Some tips on how this resource can be used in the ESOL classroom in Fun While Learning by Diana Satin.
- Bogglesworld ESL Download ready-made interactive student surveys for in-class use and other templates for communicative activities.
- Quizlet Create flashcards or help your students create their own, as well as other simple learning tools. Read more about how to use Quizlet in the ESOL classroom here and here. Watch a tutorial on how to use Quizlet on the Technology & Digital Literacy Resources page or click here for the quick-start guide.
- English Club Free resources including lesson plans, printable ESL worksheets, grammar and vocab classroom handouts and fun ESL activities and games. You’ll also find teaching tips, advice and resources for TEFL training, a TEFL forum and ESL job offers.
- Factile A free learning platform that lets teachers create engaging Jeopardy-style quiz games for the classroom. Click here for a demo.
- Super Teacher Tools Provides free programs to assist teachers or anyone else looking for fun materials for review, training, or classroom management.
Grammar
- Grammar Bytes Grammar explanations, exercises, and handouts.
- Grammar Now Help with grammar, punctuation, and writing skills.
- Using English Helpful grammar specific exercises under “Teacher Resources”.
Other Useful Resources
- CollectEdNY - ESOL A platform for adult educators across New York State to work together to enrich adult education by identifying and reviewing high-quality teaching resources for teachers.
- ESL Base General resources. Free, but you must create an account.
- Outreach and Technical Assistance Network Adult education and literacy providers support services including electronic collaboration, access to information, and technical assistance. Includes a video gallery that can be used for professional development.
- The English Learner Movie Guides Synopses and vocabulary lists for dozens of English-language movies.
- ESL Literacy Network (Bow Valley College) An online community of practice that provides resources and information to support the professional development of ESL literacy practitioners.
- Tenement Museum Find lesson plans for all levels, primary sources, & online activities, or organize an educational field trip for your intermediate to advanced students.
- Masters in ESL A compilation of sites offering free tools and lessons, general tips and specific exercises, and other information to make teaching and learning ESL as motivating, fun, and easy as possible, inside and outside the classroom.
- SlashCV A simple way to create and share a resume on-line. Click here to read what one teacher has to say about using this site with his students.
- Wise Old Sayings An ESL Resource Guide with links to useful sites for students & teachers.