Teaching English and Philosophy

Hello :) I am an English teacher from Croatia, where I have been teaching for a few years. My students were the main reason for starting this blog - I wanted to create a place where they could find additional materials and advice - not only for learning English, but also for discovering more about literature, creative writing, critical thinking, study tips, creativity, innovations, activism, etc. However, after I realized that other teachers could also make use of free resources I had found, I included topics that might be more interesting to them. So if you want to find something more suitable for your specific needs/roles, you can use tags, the list of topics or pages. Enjoy :)

[teachingenglishinspiration]

‘’The basic premise - library/parks joint effort to give the community an opportunity to move and read outside.’‘

[from-student-to-teacher]

Great Websites for Read Aloud Books & Read to Me Stories

[teachingenglishinspiration]

Listening to a book helps kids to develop better concentration and listening skills, engages their imagination and so much more! Find more than 50+ FREE kids read-alouds on these amazing websites!

[tuckfheman]

Minimalist posters explain complex philosophical concepts with basic shapes

[from-student-to-teacher]

Notes from class on first language acquisition and theorists. 

[teachingenglishinspiration]

Embed a layer of questions, quizzes, and rich media annotations into any reading assignment. Track mastery of literacy skills and Common Core standards in real-time.

[all-about-sociology]

I have had so many conversations or email exchanges with students in the last few years wherein I anger them by indicating that simply saying, “This is my opinion” does not preclude a connected statement from being dead wrong. It still baffles me that some feel those four words somehow give them carte blanche to spout batshit oratory or prose. And it really scares me that some of those students think education that challenges their ideas is equivalent to an attack on their beliefs.

Mick Cullen (via all-about-sociology)

[resumespeak]

[teachingenglishinspiration]

Resume Speak:

Rendering everyday tasks in the language of the 21st Century résumé.

It would be interesting to turn it into a game for business English or advanced general English learners (e.g. to teach them about synonyms, paraphrasing, writing resumes or simply more advanced vocabulary items) - e.g. you can give them a definition and ask them to guess what it describes or encourage them to write their own definitions.

[teachingenglishinspiration]

the source

[teachingenglishinspiration]

Booktube for teaching literature

For encouraging students to find new books and authors, learn how to review and think about literature critically, learn more about classics and literary theory, meet people who are enthusiastic about literature and finally - practice listening skills and learn some new vocabulary. A few examples:

‘’In which we recommend British lit classics and discuss classic shaming.‘‘

‘’Or: books I missed out on by not growing up in the UK.‘‘

[elvindantes]

[teachingenglishinspiration]

Using Exhibits as Assessment  

Students at Normal Park Museum Magnet School create various types of museum-style exhibits to demonstrate their understanding of academic topics.

[classroomcollective-deactivated]

[teachingenglishinspiration]

The Best Sites Where Students Can Plan Virtual Trips

‘’A nice geography lesson is to have students plan a trip to some location (or locations). There are several web tools that make doing this pretty easy — it’s just a matter of identifying where you want to go, looking through the sites to see in those places, and then “dragging-and-dropping” them onto a list that you can subsequently post on a student or teacher website/blog. Most of these sites also allow you to write a description of your trip (and why you chose the places you did), but students can do the same on their own site, too.

You might also be interested in The Best Resources For Finding And Creating Virtual Field Trips.

Even better, most of these sites also let users comment on places they have visited, which make them an excellent place for students to write for an authentic audience about locations they have really visited (which can include local spots).’’

[crazylittlescientist]

[teachingenglishinspiration]

luthiens-studyblr

[teachingenglishinspiration]

Looking for ways to work news into your classroom curriculum? Check out these great ideas for connecting current events to all subjects.

[teachingenglishinspiration]

‘‘For the overlap in the Venn diagram of word nerds and pop culture junkies, Pop Chart Lab has created a poster that breaks down the parts of speech with the help of famous figures from movies, television, music, and literature. Not just your basic person, place, or thing (although that's covered, too, with the help of Luke Skywalker, Tatooine, and a lightsaber) this poster takes on particulars of interrogative pronouns, modal auxiliary verbs, and resulting copulas via the likes of Dumbledore, Rocky, and Michael J. Fox.The hand-drawn classic characters (plus Nicholas Cage) contextualize the dusty rules of grammar in a beautiful wall-worthy way. Put it next to your writing desk as a reference and and a chance to get inspired by the likes of ET, Robocop, Holly Golightly, Ice Cube, and Dr. Who.‘‘

[classroomcollective-deactivated]

[teachingenglishinspiration]

1. MakeBeliefsComix.com

2. MarvelKids.com’s Create Your Own Comic

3. Pixton

4. ToonDoo

5. Strip Generator

6. Pikistrips