Posted by : Tom Grundy

ESL/TEFL materials for Chinese New Year of the Snake, 2013. Includes translated ‘lucky sayings’, information on the Year of the Snake, vocabulary and video links.

Posted by : Tom Grundy

Cbeebies Alphablocks is a fantastic phonics-based children’s series from the BBC. It is aimed at P1-P3 – three-to-six-year-olds and is great if accompanied with the comprehensive phonics programme also available on this site.

All of the episodes are accessible from the interface in this link. A ‘key’ to each of the shows – detailing the themes and sounds covered – is below. It can also be downloaded as a double-sided Word Document to distribute to parents.

Posted by : Tom Grundy

Little Peter Rabbit had a Fly Upon his Nose.

Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose,

Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose,

Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose, Read More..

Posted by : Tom Grundy

Halloween lesson pack including vocabulary items, songs, tongue twisters, jazz chants, stories, a group crafts lesson where children (P2-P3) plan and make a paper plate mask and a pumpkin carving activity with worksheet (P1). Click for an accompanying role-play and song, a drama video and a Ming the Minibus story book.

Read More..

Posted by : Tom Grundy

Interactive description activity with group task and worksheet.



Posted by : Tom Grundy

You can find the texts and a pronunciation guide for the 2012 Hong Kong Speech Festival poems below…

Below are some tips to help you give a good performance!

Make sure you understand your poem. Ask for help if there are any words you don’t know. Think about when and where the poem is set. What is the message? The meaning?

Try to find out about the author.

Make sure you can remember your poem well. Read it aloud, practice at home, write it down and learn it line-by-line, piece-by-piece. Perform your poem for your mom, dad, helper, grandparents, cat, dog, me – anyone who will listen.

Use expression and intonation carefully. This means you should show some emotion and use your voice to match your poem. Express the exciting parts, sad parts and happy parts. However, don’t get over-excited and try to keep your body and hands still – most judges do not like actions or body language.

Take breaks, relax, don’t be nervous. Take a deep breath before reading!

Go to howjsay.com for help with pronunciation or download this video as an MP3 to your computer/ipod/phone.

Find more tips and advice here: http://bit.ly/R0nVwJ and here.

Below is a 2010 presentation on the Hong Kong Speech Festival, shared with permission from HKU’s Gary Harfitt…

Good luck!

– Mr Tom.