Literature tips
for ESL kids teachers
Literature tips to use in your ESL kids classes
Helpful books for kids English teachers!
Activities book
Here’s a great book I refer to all the time: Balls, Balloons & Bubbles by Kim A. Lutz. It has over 200 activities and songs arranged thematically. Themes include [hide_on_uk]colors[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]colours[/hide_on_us], body, animals, clothing, outside, actions, descriptions, food, people, vehicles, house & places, tools. Each theme unit contains around 5 songs and 12 clearly written activities, games and crafts all of which are highly original and work wonderfully with kids from 2-12. At the back of the book are a few worksheets and craft sheets as well as syllabus ideas. The book is only available in bookstores in Japan, but can be ordered internationally via Amazon Japan: click here for the order page, ignore the Japanese and click on “Add to Shopping Cart” then “Proceed to Checkout”. Then fill out you details (in English). Price 2,800 yen (approx. US$24), ISBN: 4894072556.
[hide_on_uk]Behavior[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]Behaviour[/hide_on_us] management
This amazing book is definitely worth checking out! It is titled “You Can Handle Them All: A Discipline Model for Handling over One Hundred Different Misbehaviors At School and At Home”. It lists hundreds of different [hide_on_uk]misbehavior[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]misbehaviour[/hide_on_us] types (including ‘the Animal'(!), ‘the Distracter’, ‘the Hider’ and ‘the Noisemaker’), then gives detailed descriptions of each type and offers help and advice managing [hide_on_uk]misbehavior[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]misbehaviour[/hide_on_us]. As the book’s introduction states, the purpose of the book “is to provide you with a resource for handling student [hide_on_uk]misbehavior[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]misbehaviour[/hide_on_us]. It presents a complete step-by-step approach to changing inappropriate student behavior to appropriate [hide_on_uk]behavior[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]behaviour[/hide_on_us]”.
Online research articles
There are lots of great, free research articles on the Internet – we have a great list of useful ones here.
Also, check out our own ESL kids articles here.
Young learners theoretical teaching book
Anyone who is serious about teaching English (or any other language) to young learners should have this book: Teaching Languages to Young Learners by Lynne Cameron, 2001 (CUP). The book is very clearly written and explains the most up to date research and current views on YL language teaching. Chapters include learning through tasks & activities, spoken language, words, discourse, literacy skills, grammar, stories and theme-based teaching. Click here to see the book and reviews.
