Love is in the air on February 14th, with hearts, red roses and boxes of chocolates everywhere. We’re all set for the big day, and to help you prepare as well, here are six of our favorite love stories for learners of all ages and levels. There are also plenty of fun ideas for your classroom.
Poor Cinderella lives with her stepmother and two horrible stepsisters. They treat her badly, making her cook and clean, while they relax and wear beautiful clothes. However, one night, Cinderella gets the chance to sneak away and attend a fabulous ball. She meets a handsome prince…but must run away before he discovers her true identity. With only a glass shoe to help him, will the prince ever find Cinderella?
How to use this Reader in class:
It’s no surprise that the story has a happy ending. After reading the story, have the learners draw a picture and write about Cinderella’s new life in the castle, with her loving new family.
This classic Disney story tells the tale of two young dogs who come from different backgrounds. Lady lives in a house while Tramp lives on the street. However, one day, Lady is forced to leave the house and the life she knows. Tramp teaches her about life on the streets and the two dogs fall in love… but with the dog-catcher always chasing them, will the story have a happy ending?
How to use this reader in class:
After reading the story, why not watch the animated version with your students? They can choose their favorite character from the movie and write a description of them.
Looking for more romantic Readers for young learners? How aboutThe Little Mermaid(Level 2) orAladdin(Level 5)? There’s something for everyonein our catalog.
If your teenagers are looking for more adventure than romance, this Reader has both. Follow crazy Jack Sparrow, handsome Will and brave Elizabeth as they fight pirates and uncover the curse of the Black Pearl. But will Elizabeth and Will survive the dangerous life on the seven seas?
How to use this Reader in class:
After reading the story, why not ask your students to write a review of it? It’s a great way for them to summarize the plot and share their opinion.
A timeless classic,Pride and Prejudicetells the story of young Elizabeth Bennett. As the oldest daughters in a family of five, she and her sister Jane are both expected to find good husbands and marry soon. But will Elizabeth find love, or will no man be good enough for her?
How to use this Reader in class:
While reading the story, learners can keep a diary, writing entries in the voice of Elizabeth Bennett. This helps them to demonstrate their understanding of the novel and encourages them to have a more empathetic reaction to the story’s heroine. They can either write the diary entries using typical language from Jane Austen’s day, or updating it to more modern language.
Here’s an example:
I had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting Mr Darcy today and found him rather rude and reserved. I imagine he feels this country life is inferior and that the locals are uncultured simpletons!
or
Met Mr Darcy today – what a stuck-up dork! He just stood there, looking down his nose at everyone… you can see he thinks he’s better than us locals.
If you think your teenage learners would enjoy a different modern or classic tale of romance, check out our readers. There are plenty to choose from, includingRomeo and Juliet(Level 3),Love Actually(Level 4) andMadame Bovary(Level 6).
What would you do if you needed to fascinate a king to save your life? This is the problem Sheherezade faces when she marries a king who has killed all his previous wives. So she tells her new husband exciting, mesmerizing stories every night and always ends the tale with the king wanting to hear more. She tells him stories of adventure, love and mystery… and you can read her stories too in this Level 2 Reader.
How to use this reader in class:
After reading the book, have students vote on their favorite story from Sheherezade. They can then work in groups to present a short play of one of the stories, working together to write a short script.
Unfortunately, the path of true love isn’t always easy. Set in 19th Century Yorkshire, this tragic romance follows the story of Catherine and Heathcliff. The two childhood friends grow up together very closely. However, although she loves him deeply, Catherine can’t marry Heathcliff because of his lower social status. Instead, she marries another man, Edgar. How will Heathcliff react to this news? Will Catherine and Edgar be happy together?
How to use this reader in class:
At one point inWuthering Heights, Heathcliff runs away from home because he thinks Catherine is embarrassed by him and doesn’t love him. Have the learners write a letter from Catherine to Heathcliff at that point, expressing her regrets about why they can’t be together. It provides students with the opportunity to use phrases such asIf only…,I wish…andI should have…whilst demonstrating their understanding of the novel so far.
If Yorkshire moors and Arabian nights aren’t quite what your students are looking for, there are more tales of romance on our site. Choose from modern-day love stories such asNotting Hill(Level 3) andLisa in London(Level 1) or classics likeAnna Karenina(Level 6) andPersuasion(Level 2).
If you enjoyed this post here are some more practical posts to get your students engaged in reading, 'How to bring Shakespeare to life in the classroom'and 'How to motivate reluctant readers'.
When you’re teaching English to young learners, you might find that there are a few students in your class who are struggling. But sometimes it can be hard to tell why. Is it because their language level is low? Or are they finding classroom work difficult because of a general cognitive difference, like dyslexia?
Do you ever find it hard to keep students focused and on task? Young learners get easily distracted and it can be hard to find ways to keep them engaged.
So what can we do to get, and more importantly, keep our students’ attention? Here are our five top tips.
Young learners have relatively short attention spans. In the classroom, it is rare to have the whole class fully engaged in something for a long time, since the children will have different interests and levels, so it is essential to plan a number of activities for each lesson.
The more variety you can include in the activities and tasks you plan, the easier it is to provide something enjoyable and relevant for each child. Choose short tasks and try to have a couple of extra activities up your sleeve if something you planned doesn’t work well. However, don’t worry if you don’t have time to do them all – you can always save them for a future lesson.
Another way of keeping students engaged is to mix up the classroom dynamics, having a combination of individual heads-down work, pair work, group work, and whole class discussions or games. When planning your lesson, consider how your students might feel at each stage. After doing some reading or quiet work, students may start to become restless, and this is the ideal time to get them up and moving about.
While you are in class, pay close attention to the mood of the class. When you sense that students are becoming distracted or bored, change the dynamics of the activity.
Ever notice that students become lethargic and show a lack of interest? Why not try introducing brain breaks at strategic points in your lessons? Brain breaks are short physical activities or games designed to get the blood flowing and to re-energize students to help them get ready for learning. They range from short activities that last a couple of minutes, to longer breaks that may be suitable if your lessons last more than an hour.
We can vary different aspects of the lesson using the previous strategies, but one thing that rarely changes is the role of the teacher! One way of keeping students involved is by giving them more responsibility and allowing them to take a more active role in their learning.
Peer teaching completely changes the classroom dynamic and has students teach their peers while you take a step back. For primary classes, ask one or two students to take charge of a ready-made activity, e.g. one from your course book. They should give instructions, demonstrate, monitor as necessary, and check answers.
When students are used to doing this, you can start to have them work in pairs or small groups to plan their own activities to use in class.
Of course, nobody is perfect and there will be times when you lose students’ attention and they are not on task. For these occasions, you can use a wealth of classroom management strategies to regain the class's attention. Here are a few techniques:
Finally, if we want our students to be motivated and engaged in our lessons, we must show enthusiasm for what we are teaching. The more lively and animated you are about the lesson, the more the students will want to join you and learn.
There is a strong link between well-being and friendship, which is just as accurate for children as it is for adults. that children with stable friendships are happier, more able to cope with stress, and have higher self-esteem. Moreover, too, and children who experience friendship adjust more easily to school and perform better academically. School friendships are also a valuable way of learning social skills like sharing, resolving conflict, and engaging with peers positively.
Having friends is an important part of school life, and teachers can play a significant role in creating a positive classroom culture and helping children and young people to form friendships. How can you promote friendships between your students? Here are some ideas:
If there is an example of a good friendship in a book you are reading with students or in your lesson materials, draw your students’ attention to it. For instance, The Jungle Book is an excellent example of a story about friendship. Encourage your students to think critically about the friendships that they read about. You can ask questions like:
By discussing friendship regularly in the classroom, your students will learn about the behavior and characteristics of being a good friend.
You can create lots of opportunities for students to build friendships with one another during class time. Design activities that call for pair or group work, and include at least one or two in every lesson. Focusing on a common goal or problem is a great way to encourage your students to bond with one another.As a bonus, this collaborative way of working promotes important 21st century skills like communication and problem-solving.
Another way of promoting friendships between different groups of students is moving them around. Adjust your seating plan regularly to ensure that all your students interact with and work alongside different classmates, to promote positive, friendly classroom vibes.
Friendship is a social skill that children need to learn – and you can help by teaching them. Be explicit about exactly what you expect from them. Saying, “Be kind” is an abstract, vague concept that children might struggle to put into practice. Instead, give them concrete examples of behavior, such as:
When you see a student engaging in these behaviors, draw attention to them and praise them.
But to really convey the importance of school friendships and kind behavior, it’s not enough to tell them. As the teacher, you must model the behavior you’d like to see in your students. Be consistently positive and upbeat in your interactions with students, thank your learners when they offer help with something, and try to refrain from sounding impatient (even when you are!). All these steps will help to build a positive classroom culture where students feel secure, supported and happy.
Conflict is an inevitable part of school life, but you can help students to navigate arguments and other difficult situations in the classroom. If two students argue, you can help them to resolve it with the following steps:
Following these simple steps teaches children a framework for resolving conflict and gives them the tools to process strong emotions.
An excellent way to promote a positive classroom culture is to do friendship-focused activities with your students:
You could do a Venn diagram activity, where students work in pairs to discuss and write down things they have in common and areas of difference. It’s good to pair students who don’t spend much time together for this activity.
Another positive activity is a 'Honey Roast'. Give students enough squares of paper to have one for each of their classmates. Get them to write their classmates’ names on the paper, and then, on the other side, write down a compliment or something they like about that person, for example, “I like your handwriting”, or “You always use kind words”. Collect the pieces of paper and read out some nice examples to the class. Alternatively, give them directly to the students to read to themselves.
