Depending on the year, I teach different levels of English Language Learners as well as mainstream students. Because of that, I have a huge classroom library ranging from Beginner ABC books to “Bless Me Ultima.”
One way I have my mainstream and Intermediate English students also use the easier books is by offering extra credit to them if they read a book to a younger sibling or cousin. They can check-out a book and answer several questions (which should take them about five minutes to complete).
Here’s the form if you want to print it out to use. Here are the questions on the form:
1. What is your name?
2. What is the name of the child you read the book to?
3. What is this child’s relationship to you?
4. What is the title of the book you read?
5. Why did you pick that book?
6. Did the child like your reading the book to him/her? How could you tell?
7. How did you feel about reading the book to him/her? Why?
Let me know in the comments section if you do anything like this, or if you have suggestions on how to make the form better…
As a beneficiary of ESL (my early years in high school in Iowa City, Iowa), I have to say this technique would have been great as I missed out on many classic Children’s Books. It would have helped me in easier assimilation–needless to say, in being able to relate more to my own two little boys as I read them those books now. Rhyming, meter, whimsical play on words and multiple meaning used in Children’s books would have been extremely helpful in my quest to become a better learner and speaker of English!
Thankfully now I can enjoy these books, learn along the way. I actually started and became a writer of Children’s books, incidentally. I do have to thank my ESL teacher who taught me well! So here’s to Mrs. Mueller in Iowa City! 🙂