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5 PRINTABLE AND DIGITAL END OF YEAR ACTIVITIES FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

The end of the year brings testing, finishing up grades, field days, assemblies, and more! Between all of this (plus exhaustion!) it can get hard to continually create engaging lesson plans. Having low-prep, meaningful end of year activities for elementary students to work on independently is SO key! Whether you are distance learning, hybrid teaching, or in person, these printable and digital activities have you covered!

Below are 5 ideas for end of year activities for elementary students. Most of them can be purchased in my TpT shop, but also include some great freebies!

1. END OF YEAR MEMORY BOOK

After years of completing an end of year memory book with my students, I really can’t imagine not doing one! This memory book includes all of the templates I ever wanted to use with my students in a full page or half page format for mini books.

The printable and digital templates include:

Shining Moments
My Family
My Friends
Teachers
Favorites
My Classroom
Successes
Trip to_____(field trip or vacation)
Grade ___ Snapshots
Summer Plans
Goals for Next Year
When I Grow Up
Autographs

The memory book is really flexible! It can be used with any grade (1-6ish) and comes in both a printable and digital format. Use some or all of the templates included to make it your own.
A free sample of the end of year book can be found here.

2. END OF YEAR CRAFT: GLYPHS

I constantly hear from teachers about how much their students love glyphs! They are a great way to for students to learn a little bit about each other while having them create an adorable craft. Display them on a classroom bulletin board or have students take home to showcase on the fridge.
I just added digital version of the Beach Bucket Glyph and the “At the Beach” Glyph too. They lend themselves perfectly to creating individual bar graphs (or one large classroom bar graph) and analyzing authentic classroom data.

3. END OF YEAR CLASS AWARDS:

Who doesn’t love receiving an award!? I love providing students with end of year superlative rewards that are visually appealing with thoughtful verbiage. FIFTY printable and digital End of Year Awards can be snagged for FREE here.

The awards range from highlighting character education, classroom performance, student talents, and more.

The class awards come in both a printable PDF version or a Google Slides version. In the digital version, teachers can type student information right into the text boxes (to share digitally or print out).

4. FILLER & EARLY FINISHER ACTIVITIES

Having quick and fun filler and early finisher activities between assessments is so helpful. This End of Year Activities pack includes End of Year Bingo, End of Year Word Searches, a Kindness Craft, Summer Bucket List, and tons more!

The activities come in both digital and printable formats. This makes it easy to pick and choose which ones you assign digitally and which ones students complete with paper and pencil.

5. END OF YEAR WRITING JOURNAL:

With the end of the school year’s arrival comes lots of excitement in your growing writers. An end of year journal is a great way to motivate them with prompts that are applicable to what is currently happening around them.

These writing prompts come in different formats, but my favorite is the cut and paste journal option. Student choice is another way to encourage them to write. With this activity students get to pick which prompt they want to use to guide their writing that day.

Click the buttons below to check out any of the resources mentioned above!

5 PRINTABLE AND DIGITAL SPRING ACTIVITIES FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

by Cass

With spring’s arrival finally brings back some warmth and sunshine, so spring activities are a great way to bring this into the elementary classroom! Seasonal activities can be so engaging for students since they tie activities to what they are currently experiencing in the world around them.

I love having a bunch of no prep, purposeful seasonal activities ready to go. They are great to use as extra time fillers, centers, or whole class lessons. The 5 spring activities for elementary students described below are from the free and paid Spring Activities Pack and Spring Writing Journal in my TpT shop!

1. SPRING PRINTABLE & DIGITAL GLYPHS:

Students love glyphs! They are a fun, no prep activity for students to get creative and learn about each other. They also make a great Spring bulletin board or wall display.

Digital butterfly glyphs are also a fun way to have students participate in the activity without having to physically do the craft. Then, bar graphs are used for students to analyze the data provided by the entire class.

2. “WATERING_____WITH DROPS OF KINDNESS” CLASSROOM CRAFT:

These printable watering cans are a great way to spread kindness and build classroom community amongst your students.

Students write a nice thing about each classmate on a “water drop” to put into their classmates’ watering cans. Students can also get creative in decorating them however they’d like.

In the digital, Google Slides™ version, students write about ways they have shown kindness on each water drop.

3. SPRING SENSES:

I love using seasons for having students use their senses in an authentic way. This flower craft comes as a one page graphic organizer, or a two page interactive lift the petals option.

The other option is to have students complete the activity digitally. They simply use text boxes on each petal to describe each sense.

4. PRINTABLE & DIGITAL SPRING WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

Graphic organizers are great to use alone or as a pre-writing support for a piece of writing about spring.

In these graphic organizers, students write about spring favorites and what they would do on a rainy day. The printable rainy day graphic organizer is free here.

5. SPRING WRITING JOURNAL

With spring’s arrival comes lots of excitement in your growing writers. This is a great way to motivate them with prompts that are applicable to what is currently happening around them.

The 32 spring writing prompts come in different printable formats, but my favorite is the cut and paste journal option. Providing choice is another way to encourage students to write, so with this activity they get to pick which prompt they want to use to guide their writing that day. They also come in a digital, Google Slides™ version.

I hope you found some helpful spring activities for elementary students! They are all found in the Spring Activities Pack or Spring Writing Prompts!

Looking for ahead to the End of the Year? Check out these blog posts on Low Prep End of Year Activities or Getting Students to Reflect with a Backpack Memory Book!

5 PRINTABLE AND DIGITAL ST. PATRICK’S DAY ACTIVITIES FOR THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

by Cass

St Patrick’s Day activities are such a fun way to celebrate this holiday in the classroom! I love using holidays to have students get creative while working on engaging and meaningful activities. St. Patrick’s Day activities are perfect for getting students to reflect on all of the “treasures” in their lives.

Having a bunch of purposeful activities available and ready to go is key as a holiday approaches. They are great to use as extra time fillers, centers, or whole class lessons. The 5 activities described below are from the St. Patrick’s Day Activities & Glyphs pack in my TpT shop!

1. ST PATRICK’S DAY PRINTABLE & DIGITAL GLYPHS

Students love glyphs! They are a no prep, fun way for students to get creative while learning about each other. They also make a great St. Patrick’s Day bulletin board or wall display.

Digital leprechaun glyphs are also a fun way to have students participate in the activity without having to physically do the craft. Then, bar graphs are used for students to analyze the data provided by the entire class.

2. “WHAT I TREASURE ABOUT…” STUDENT REFLECTION

These pots of gold writing crafts and activities are so great for student reflection. They encourage students to appreciate what they are lucky for in their own lives.

They come as an interactive lift the flap craft, or a digital pot of gold.

3. “WHAT WE TREASURE ABOUT…” CLASSROOM CRAFT

These printable “What We Treasure About…” pots of gold are a great way to spread kindness and build classroom community.

Students write a nice thing about each classmate on a “gold coin” to put into their classmates’ pots of gold. Students can get creative in decorating them however they’d like.

4. PRINTABLE & DIGITAL GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

Graphic organizers are great to use alone or as a pre-writing support for a piece of writing about St Patrick’s Day.

In these graphic organizers, students write about what they are lucky for, what they would do if they found treasure, and what they would wish for if they found good luck charms.

5. INDEPENDENT ST PATRICK’S DAY ACTIVITIES

These are just some fun activities students can do independently in both a printable or digital format. They include a break the code, word searches, and making words.

All of the activities above are in our $5 St Patrick’s Day Pack!

Looking for more Spring Activities? Check out this blog post on Low Prep Spring Activities!

Nonfiction Text Features Scavenger Hunt (FREE Activity)

by Cass

A nonfiction text features scavenger hunt is such a fun, hands on, and authentic activity for students to see text features in real texts or reading passages!

Using nonfiction text features is such a an important skill when reading informational texts. They can be the key for growing readers in comprehending the main body of text.

For students who are more comfortable reading fiction stories, using nonfiction text features can feel unnatural. This is why it is important to teach and practice nonfiction text features often with students getting used to informational texts.

A link to download this FREE scavenger hunt is at the bottom of this blog post.

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE NONFICTION TEXT FEATURES SCAVENGER HUNT:

This activity comes with a “TOP SECRET” file folder cover, and 4 pages for students to record information on the text features they find. Each of the pages has 4 nonfiction text features (16 text features total).

The 16 nonfiction text features covered are:

caption
image
diagram
label
graph
chart/table
timeline
sidebar
heading
subheading
glossary
table of contents
index
map
bold print
italics

They record the title of the book and page that they find each nonfiction text feature on. Then, they describe it and explain how it is helpful for the reader.

It is very easy for students to put the books together. They simply cut out each of the 4 tab pages and then staple them together along the bottom line.

A link to a digital, Google Slides™, version is also included as a link to share with students. The digital version is the same, but students fill in text boxes rather than writing.

Click on the button below to get this PDF:

Looking for more ways to teach Nonfiction Text Features? Check out this Blog Post: 5 Ways to Teach Nonfiction Text Features

5 Ways to Teach Making Predictions in Reading with Elementary Students

by Cass

Making predictions is a critical reading comprehension strategy to teach and practice with students. It requires students to use what they have read and know about a topic in order to anticipate what will happen in a text, or what a text will be about.

Making predictions before, during, and after reading comes very naturally to skilled readers, but for struggling readers, this skill can be just the opposite. Therefore, it is important that teachers model making predictions and continually provide ways for students to practice this reading comprehension strategy independently.

WHY IS MAKING PREDICTIONS IN READING AN IMPORTANT COMPREHENSION STRATEGY?

Making predictions helps students to:

Choose texts they believe will interest them or that are appropriate for whatever their purpose is for reading.
Set a purpose for reading before, during, and after reading.
Actively read and interact with a text.
Critically think about what they are reading.
Monitor their own comprehension and clarify any misunderstandings while reading.
Stay engaged in reading in order to find out if their predictions are on track or if they need to be revised.
Ask meaningful questions.

HOW CAN STUDENTS PRACTICE MAKING PREDICTIONS IN READING?

Growing readers can have a difficult time making predictions that are meaningful and logical. By modeling and practicing this reading strategy often, students learn to create strong predictions based on text evidence and background knowledge. Below are five ways students can practice making predictions as a class or individually.

1. TEACHER THINK ALOUD

When reading aloud any piece of text, teachers can use a think aloud technique to model how good readers continually make predictions before, during, and after reading. This technique can be thoughtfully planned ahead before implementing, but is also effective to demonstrate often with any piece of text read aloud in class. Teachers can show how they piece together evidence from the text to pose predictions, as well as how they revise their predictions as they continue to read.

2. PROVIDE THINKING STEMS:

Giving students thinking stems is helpful to make using reading comprehension strategies more concrete. Offering 2 part thinking stems (i.e. “I think___because___”) is important with making predictions since they require students to have a clear reason to support their prediction.

You can display these on an anchor chart or poster for the entire class to reference.

Some examples of thinking stems for fiction texts include:
“I think_____ will happen, because___”
“Next, I think the characters will___because___”
“I can predict that___because___”
“Since____ happened, I think___”
“Based on clues from the story, my guess is___”

Some examples of thinking stems for nonfiction texts include:
“Based on the title, I think the text will be about___”
“Based on the headings/subheadings, I think the text will be about”
“Because I know that_____, I predict that___”
“Based on what I know about _____, my guess is___”

You could also give students students their own individual reference sheet or bookmark.

3. INDIVIDUAL OR CLASS CRYSTAL BALL:

Students write their predictions on sticky notes and put them in the crystal ball on an anchor chart or white board. You can make the anchor chart re-usable by keeping it general with a question like “What do we predict will happen next?”

Students could also use their own crystal ball graphic organizer for a more detailed prediction.

4. NONFICTION READING: MAKING PREDICTIONS BASED ON NONFICTION TEXT FEATURES

Students skim the text features of an informational text (table of contents, headings, images/captions, etc.) to make a prediction about the text. You could do this similar to a picture walk with students as a class, or have students complete this activity independently with their own informational texts.

5. SUPPORTED INDEPENDENT READING RESPONSE:

Offering multiple ways that students use reading strategies independently can keep students engaged and help reach the many types of learners in a classroom. Graphic organizers can be a very powerful supportive tool for students to use while reading fiction or nonfiction.

Below is also an example of Making Predictions Reading Strategy Crafts. They are similar to traditional graphic organizers, but the format really engages visual and hands-on learners.

Looking for more tips on teaching reading comprehension strategies? Check out this blog post: Teaching Students to Use Background Knowledge

5 Printable and Digital Valentine’s Day Activities for the Elementary Classroom

by Cass

Valentine’s Day activities are such a great way to make students feel loved and appreciated by their teachers and classmates! It is also a fitting time to have students reflect on all of the people and things they love in their own lives. I love using holiday activities to build classroom community while giving students an opportunity to let their creativity shine.

This year, more than ever, it is important to have resources ready in both digital and printable formats. The 5 activities described below are from the Valentine’s Day pack in my TpT shop!

1. VALENTINE’S DAY GLYPHS:

I constantly hear from teachers about how much their students love glyphs! Digital or printable glyphs are great way to learn a little bit about your students while having them create an adorable craft to hang on a classroom bulletin board or take him to showcase on the fridge.

The Valentine’s Day Activities pack comes with 2 glyphs – a Love Bug Glyph (digital and printable), and a Box of Chocolates Glyph (printable only).

If you want to have students share their glyphs virtually, you can have students turn their cameras on that answered a question a specific way. This is a fun, visual way for students to see how their classmates responded!

They also lend themselves perfectly to creating individual bar graphs (or one large classroom bar graph) and analyzing authentic classroom data.

2. WHAT I LOVE ABOUT ______ CRAFT:

I love this simple craft for building community. Rather than the typical Valentine’s Day cards, these mini hearts are little notes telling their classmates “What We Love About_____”! They are a great, super low prep way to make your students feel loved and special.

A digital version is also included where students fill in a chart with things they love about each classmate. Teachers could use these to share some things that were said about each student orally. They could also copy and paste each student’s page to create a shareable file for everyone to be able to see what was said about them.

3. WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:

Valentine’s Day graphic organizers are great to use on their own or for prewriting for a piece of writing. They come in both digital and printable formats as well.

Some of the topics include Valentine’s Day Favorites, What I Love About My Family, What I Love About…(family, friends, home, school), and Ways to Show Love.

4. HEART MAP WRITING:

“What Makes up the Pieces of My Heart” has students really think about ALL of the things that they love and are grateful for in their life. Students love this activity! It is a great way for students to express themselves, while teaching their classmates and teacher about everything they love.

A digital version is also included. Students can fill in text boxes or insert pictures into each piece of their heart.

5. VALENTINE’S DAY BINGO (FREE PRINTABLE):

This (free!) activity is a great way to get your kids up and moving around. Students find classmates that fit the criteria for each square on their Bingo boards.

All of the resources above can be found in the resources in our Valentine’s Day Activities Pack!

Thinking ahead for Spring? Check out this Spring Activities Blog post!

Using Differentiated Reading Passages for Nonfiction Reading

by Cass

We know that all students need access to grade level content area information, but how can we make this happen with students of so many varying reading levels?

Some ways to support students in understanding difficult content area information are using engaging videos, photos, presentations, and giving clear oral descriptions. However, students still need to practice taking in information through nonfiction texts independently in order to be successful lifelong learners.

WHY SHOULD I USE DIFFERENTIATED READING PASSAGES? 

One simple way to help students with nonfiction reading comprehension is to use differentiated reading passages. This way, students still get the same access to the content, vocabulary, nonfiction reading skills, and activities. The only thing that is different is that now the text is accessible to them in order to dive into reading comprehension.

Differentiated Reading Passages allow students to:

Access grade level content area information at their own reading level
Practice important nonfiction reading skills
Build independence in reading informational texts
Participate confidently in follow up conversations and activities about the information
Feel successful in reading nonfiction texts

HOW DO I USE DIFFERENTIATED READING PASSAGES?

Using different leveled reading passages in your classroom is not something that needs to be announced, or obvious, to students. Simply passing out passages strategically is all that it takes. You can use differentiated passages with partners that have the same leveled text, in small guided reading groups, or for independent reading.

The key is that all follow up content area vocabulary and comprehension activities can be completed regardless of the level text they have been assigned.

Aside from access to the content area, differentiating reading passages can be used to support growing readers in developing strong nonfiction reading skills. Some examples of nonfiction reading skills include citing text evidence, using nonfiction text features, analyzing quotes, paraphrasing, summarizing nonfiction, identifying main idea and supporting details, etc.

Providing students a differentiated reading passage that they can easily read and comprehend allows them to put their energy into working on the target skill.

Nonfiction differentiated reading passages are also a very helpful resource for ESL teachers or special educators supporting their students in content area classes. They can be used to preview information and academic vocabulary these students will encounter alongside their grade level peers.

WHERE CAN I FIND DIFFERENTIATED READING PASSAGES?

There are many options for finding differentiated nonfiction reading passages. We have differentiated reading comprehension passages available in our TpT shop for reading levels 3-5. Each topic comes with 3 reading levels that focus on the same academic vocabulary words, and use the same reading comprehension activities.

Each of our passages come in a printable, or interactive Google Slides format. The printable and digital are available to purchase separately or together.

Below is a list of free websites that can be used to find reading passages at varying reading levels. Some do require an e-mail sign up:

ReadWorks: This is a HUGE collection of nonfiction and fiction reading passages, including a collection specifically for ELLs. There is a search option to find articles on tons of topics that you could be studying in class, and you can search by Lexile or standard. Students can play audio that reads the article aloud to them. Highlighted words can be clicked on for a student friendly definition in English, as well as a Spanish or Chinese translation for the word. Students will need to sign up with an e-mail address in order to access the free reading passages.
National Geographic Kids: Tons of great free videos and nonfiction reading passages for kids that are very high interest with beautiful visuals. They are especially great for researching specific animals.
Highlights Kids: Fiction stories and short nonfiction texts with visuals. The website is geared to younger kids and could be appropriate for up to around 6^th grade.
Scholastic News: If you scroll past the paid magazine subscription, there are free articles that change periodically. These are great because they have helpful visuals and nonfiction text features, as well as a text-to-speech option. You can even select reading level “on level” or “lower level” as an added level of differentiation. There is also an option to “open magazine view” in Spanish or English.
Scholastic Student Activities: Search by grade level and resource type (games, listen and read, etc.) to see different topics currently available for kids. The “Listen and Read” passages are great, because they are read aloud and presented as a book displaying a small amount of text with a visual on each page.
CommonLit: Reading passages for 3^rd-12^th grade. You can search by grade level, Lexile, genre and standards. They also have reading passages available in Spanish. Many of the passages can be read without a login, but to access the read aloud or translation features you do need to create a login with an e-mail address.
Smithsonian Kids: Nonfiction texts and games on tons of topics in history, social studies, and current events.
DOGO News: These are high interest, current events articles. Students can click on vocabulary words to see their meanings. In the paid version they can have the articles translated to Spanish or read aloud to them.
Newsela: These articles cover a wide range of topics including sports, arts, science, economics, etc. The passages can be read aloud, and there’s a feature where you can change the Lexile on a specific article to make the same content more accessible to lower level readers. Although they do offer some articles without a login, you need to create a free login to access all of the articles with your e-mail address.

Need more resources for differentiated informational texts for students? Check out my TpT shop!

5 Printable and Digital Winter Activities for Elementary Students

by Cass

With the excitement of winter, the new year, and winter vacations, it can be hard to keep students focused and engaged in learning. Winter themed academic activities motivate students by connecting what they are experiencing in real life to their school work.

This year, more than ever, it is important to have both printable and digital winter activities ready to go. The 5 activities described below are from paid and free winter resources in my TpT shop!

1. WINTER GLYPHS: PRINTABLE & DIGITAL WINTER ACTIVITIES

I constantly hear from teachers about how much their students love glyphs! They are a great way to learn a little bit about your students while having them create an adorable craft to hang on a classroom bulletin board or take him to showcase on the fridge.

This Winter Glyphs pack comes with 3 glyphs – a Penguin Glyph (digital and printable), Snowman Glyph (digital and printable) and a Snow Globe Glyph (printable only).

They also lend themselves perfectly to creating individual bar graphs, or one large classroom bar graph, and analyzing authentic classroom data.

2. WINTER WRITING PROMPTS

With winter’s arrival comes lots of excitement in your growing writers. This is a great way to motivate them with prompts that are applicable to what is currently happening around them.

The 32 writing prompts come in different printable formats, but my favorite is the cut and paste journal option. Providing choice is another way to encourage students to write, so with this activity they get to pick which prompt they want to use to guide their writing that day.

These writing prompts also come in a digital, Google Slides™ version.

3. “THROW SNOWBALLS LIKE KINDNESS” WINTER ACTIVITIES

This craft is such a great way to build classroom community among your students. In the printable version, students create a printable bucket that students fill with kind words for each student written on “snow balls”.

On the digital version, students can write 3 or 5 times they showed kindness this school year.

4. WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

Winter graphic organizers are great to use on their own or for prewriting for a piece of writing. A bunch of winter graphic organizers are available in our Winter Activities Pack that come in both digital and printable formats.

Seasons are such a great way to bring writing to life using the five senses. This Snowy Senses organizer can be found for free here.

5. NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS & GOAL SETTING:

With the new year comes the perfect time to reflect on the year so far, and create new academic and personal goals.

New Year’s Resolutions are a great way to greet your students after winter break. Below is an example of a printable interactive graphic organizer and a digital organizer students can use to record their resolutions.

All of the resources above can be found in the resources in our Winter Activities Bundle!

Thinking ahead for Valentine’s Day? Check out this Valentine’s Day Activities Blog post!

Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary Students

by Cass

Thanksgiving is so much fun to celebrate in the classroom! I love using Thanksgiving activities that encourage students to reflect and appreciate all the things they are thankful for in their lives.

Thanksgiving activities require students to really pause, block out all the other noise in their busy brains, and take time to focus on just being grateful.

Below are a bunch of digital and printable activities that I include in my Thanksgiving Activities & Glyphs pack!

“ I AM THANKFUL FOR…” TURKEY CRAFT

This thankful turkey craft always comes out so adorable! The turkey feathers come either blank or with a category (i.e. at home, an object, etc.) for students to write and illustrate what they are thankful for on.

The digital version uses a Thankful Tree instead of a turkey.

THANKSGIVING WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

These organizers are great for getting students thinking about what they are thankful for, as well as reasons why they are thankful for what they have in their lives.

They can be used alone or as a pre-writing support for a piece of Thanksgiving writing.

THANKSGIVING GLYPHS

Students love glyphs! They are a no prep, fun way for students to get creative while learning about each other. They also make a great Thanksgiving bulletin board or wall display.

This Thanksgiving Activities Pack includes a “Dress a Turkey” Glyph (printable) along with a Build a Turkey Glyph (digital). A Thanksgiving Table Glyph is also included.

Students can compare responses to the rest of their class to fill out a bar graph.

WRITING ABOUT SOMEONE THEY ARE THANKFUL FOR

This Thanksgiving writing activity always comes out so sweet! Students choose a person in their life that they are thankful for. Then, they reflect on 3 reasons why they are thankful for this person. You can also give students more than one copy if they want to write about more than one person.

This activity comes in both a printable, black and white version, as well as a digital version for Google Slides.

All of these activities and more can be found in my $5 Thanksgiving Pack in my TpT Shop!

Looking ahead for winter? Check out this blog post on low-prep Winter Activities for Elementary Students!

The Power of Picture Dictionaries for Newcomer ESL Students

by Cass

The start to the school year for newcomer ELLs can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking. It is our job to set them up with tools to help them feel comfortable exploring a new language in a totally new environment. One of the most powerful tools you can provide a new ELL student is a picture dictionary.

Picture dictionaries are a powerful tool for new ELLs for these reasons:

CONNECT WORDS TO MEANINGS:

Picture dictionaries allow students to make a connection from a new written word to its meaning through an image, or visual.

CLEAR ORGANIZATION:

With clear categories, and a table of contents, it is easy for ELLs to navigate a picture dictionary to find the word(s) they need.

COMMUNICATION WITH ZERO LANGUAGE:

With picture dictionaries, students are easily able to communicate in writing or orally with no language at all. If students need to refer to something in writing, the word is right there for them. If students need to refer to something orally, they can point to the picture.

SENSE OF SECURITY:

Although some ELLs jump right into a new school comfortably, for the most part this isn’t the norm. Without any way to communicate their thoughts, most ELLs will experience a silent period in school. During this time, they may feel scared or embarrassed to make a mistake, so they remain quiet. Having tools that allow new ELLs to get across their needs non-verbally gives them a sense of security in going about their school day.

ALLOWS STUDENTS TO MAKE CONNECTIONS:

By breaking up new vocabulary words into themes, it allows students to make connections between words within a theme. This is much more effective than giving students a list of random vocabulary words that have no links to each other.

ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEIR LEARNING:

Having a picture dictionary opens the door for students to work independently on tasks. This could be for vocabulary activities specific to the words in the picture dictionary. It could also be using words from a picture dictionary in a writing task totally unrelated to the words specifically, such as writing about their previous school or things they like to do.

If a student is working independently using a picture dictionary, it can be very helpful to have the audio to take it even a step further for new ELLs’ understanding. These thematic vocabulary posters (full page Picture Dictionary pages) come with audio on the digital, Google Slides, version.

Do you need a Picture Dictionary for your new ELLs? Check out:

1.) the Picture Dictionary Bundle (printable and digital) for ESL Newcomer Vocabulary

2.) the Picture Dictionary Bundle for ESL Newcomer Vocabulary (printable version)

3.) the Picture Dictionary with Vocabulary Worksheets

Looking for more tips for teaching English Language Learners? Read about how to support ELLs in content areas classes.