How I Use Thematic Units to Teach Elementary ESL Students

 Teaching English Language Learners in elementary school can  feel overwhelming to plan meaningful, language-rich lessons every week. That’s exactly why I use thematic units in my classroom with all you need to write your lesson plan.

 You can explore the 10 thematic units here:   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Elementary-ESL-Teaching-Units-EXPLORE-Bundle-10-Thematic-Units-14383276

My Elementary ESL Teaching Units- EXPLORE- Bundle, which includes 10 ready-to-use with minimal prep thematic units are designed specifically for elementary-age ELLs (typically grades 2–5).  These units are: transportation, town,farm, beach, routine verbs, weather, seasons, time,community helpers, adjectives.

This Bundle Supports Mixed Ability Levels. In one class, you might have newcomers alongside students who are ready for richer tasks. Thematic units allow you to differentiate easily—with visual supports, simple worksheets, and extension activities all in one place.

 Each unit includes:

Flashcards vocabulary cards for visuals and frequent review to introduce vocabulary. They are included in every unit to give students clear visual support, and make language practice interactive, hands-on, and easy to reuse throughout the lesson.

Transportation unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2024/12/transportation-flashcards-for.html

Small cards are included in each unit for hands-on practice, games, sorting, and sentence-building activities that encourage active student participation.

 town unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/03/town-small-cards-for-elementary-esl.html

Cutouts are included to promote hands-on learning through matching, sorting, and interactive language activities. Adjectives blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/06/adjectives-craft-stick-puppets-sorting.html

Worksheets help students reinforce vocabulary and language structures through guided, independent practice and review. Farm Unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/04/hands-on-farm-vocabulary-activities.html

Engaging games for production in group or partner interaction.They are important in this resource because they keep students motivated while providing meaningful, repeated practice of language skills in a low-stress, engaging way.

Beach Unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/05/beach-unit-games.html

Spelling activities are important because they help students connect sounds to letters, reinforce vocabulary, and build confidence in reading and writing English words.

Seasons Unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2020/03/seasons-and-nature.html

Printable books to support thematic literacy. They give students a meaningful way to practice reading, vocabulary, and sentence structure while creating a take-home product they feel proud of. 

Transportation Unit Blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/02/transportation-layered-book-for.html

Holidays: Christmas.  The bundle includes themed units for popular holidays, helping students practice language through familiar, engaging celebrations and seasonal vocabulary.

Weather Unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/12/christmas-snowglobes-numbers-120.html

Use the unit materials in centers where students can practice vocabulary through:

Matching games.  Telling the time blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2019/04/telling-time-for-esl-learners.html

Memory cards. Community helpers Unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/07/community-helpers-jobs-and-occupations.html

Sentence Association. Routine Verbs unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/07/routine-verbs-small-cards-for-eslefl.html

Students rotate through activities.

There are add ons:

Activities focusing on numbers 1–20 help students develop counting skills, number recognition, and number vocabulary through visual, hands-on, and engaging practice that supports early math and language development. Farm Unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/10/counting-120-cows-numbers-activities.html

Prepositions of location is also found in several units. It will help students understand how objects relate to each other in space (in, on, under, next to, etc.) through visual and hands-on practice. This is especially important for ELLs, as prepositions are challenging to learn and are best taught in context, supporting clearer sentence building, better comprehension, and more confident oral language use.

Beach Unit blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/09/beach-prepositions-activities-with.html

Finally, Teaching tips to make planning easier and more effective. The 3ps lesson plans are ready to follow.

Follow me on Instagram for creative activities, classroom tips, and exclusive sneak peeks of my teaching resources! There Hands-on games and activities for young learners, freebies and more:   https://www.instagram.com/rosamelia_eslteacher/

Free Resources for the Elementary ELL

 I have several freebies for you! They are part of the permanent collection at the Teachers pay Teachers  store. There are other freebies that I post for only a few days, so take a look once you are there. LINK to the store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Holistic-English-Resources-By-Rosa-Amelia

FREEBIE 1: This is an easy printable book for the early beginners.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Apple-Book-for-Kindergarten-EFL-1237468

Remember to leave a comment after you download the resource to get extra credits at the TPT store for when you want to make any purchase. Also leave comments for any other resource that you have downloaded either free or paid from any other seller in the store and grab your extra credits.

FREEBIE 2: This is a free resource for the Beach Unit. It comes with Beach Numbers 1 to 12 flashcards, and a printable sentence association game.

LINK: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beach-Numbers-for-Elementary-EFL-4079286#show-price-update

It is part of the Beach Resource for Elementary ESL Students.https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2018/09/beach-unit-for-elementary-esl-learners.html

Freebie #3. As EFL Teachers we should have little Birthday Certificates to give away. Just print and fill them out ahead of time and ready to hand in throughout the school year. There is more to this free resource. Check out the blog post and follow the LINK! 

https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2013/02/birthday-theme.html

Freebie #4. Community Helpers Flashcards in Spanish. I know that many teachers need flashcards in Spanish, which is my native language. I can make more upon request. LINK: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Community-Helpers-Flashcards-in-Spanish-5619518

take a look!

Freebie # 5. There is a group of teachers that need Flashcards in Spanish. I made these available for FREE, but I will accept requests for any other theme of flashcards that you might need. Download your flashcards here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/El-Clima-Flashcards-The-Weather-Flashcards-in-Spanish-5342516

Freebie # 6. Easy to print and put together Family Members Puppets. Here is the link to download the file.   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Family-Unit-Puppets-4824345

Here is a closer look of the puppets.

Freebie # 7. Getting your students ready to write their name on worksheets, handouts or anything else. Here are 3 FREE worksheets to introduce the name. CLICK here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Name-Worksheets-for-the-Kindergarten-EFL-2836216

Here is the link to the blog post: https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2016/10/name-worksheets-for-preschool-ela.html

Freebie #8. I made a new resource for the same Seasons unit and just put this one for FREE to use with your Elementary English Language Learners. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Seasons-Unit-for-Elementary-ESL-5403227 

It includes: Seasons Flashcards, Spelling Bingo, Tracer Book, Picture and words cards, worksheets,clothes book. Check the blog post: https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2020/04/seasons-unit-free-resources-for.html

Freebie #9. This is a short printable book for the end of the school year that wraps up the units worked on. Download it here for FREE: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Me-For-Elementary-EFL-5934773

Here is a video on the book.

Freebie #10. These simple like plates are great to sort the fruit likes or the food items likes. You can even use it for the pets likes or any other. I used paper plates and the cutouts. It is free!!!   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fruit-likes-plates-2357249

Freebie #11.There are many spelling activities that you can do with the bottle caps. The template is for FREE. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Number-Bottle-Caps-2155938

Freebie #12. This is a resource that can go along your Birthday Unit. Just balloons! It includes: Number balloons Flashcards from 1 to 10, a Class Book and a Memory Game. All in black and White and colored versión.

Get it for free:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Balloon-Theme-for-Kindergarten-EFL-854092

Freebie #13. End of the school year props for pictures.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-of-the-School-Year-Photo-Booth-for-Teachers-8048685

I will add more freebies to this list so check back often and also on social media. Follow me!!

Worksheet tips for the Seasons Unit

 As I was repinning the worksheets from the Seasons Unit I thought of creating a more visual picture on how the worksheets can be reused instead of throwing them into the trash can or collecting them into a folder. Students need guidance  in the learning process.

Link to the worksheets: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Seasons-Unit-for-Elementary-ESL-1744981

These ideas can be done with any worksheet that you are using with you students. Always give your students multiple opportunities to reinforce the written form of the vocabulary from this unit.I would love to see what you come up with.

Idea 1. I use almost any worksheet as a listening opportunity. Say what color each word or picture the students have to use. Then, as the students cut the worksheet and glue on their notebooks think of students writing simple sentences according to their level.

Idea 2. Have the students turn any worksheet into a creative art kind of activity. In this case I use the trees and made them stand. Then, play an easy show me game.

Teacher: Show me the Winter tree!

Ask questions:

Teacher: What color is the Summer tree?

Students: green and brown!

Idea 3. Join one worksheet with another and make a bigger sorting activity on their notebook.

                                           

 It’s just a matter of thinking new ways of recycling the worksheets. I will bring in more examples, so follow me!

 

Seasons Unit FREE Resources for Elementary ESL

          LINK to this FREE Product: 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Seasons-Unit-for-ESL-students-5403227     

                              
As you might have seen I created a complete Seasons Unit  Resources. The blog posts included: Seasons and Months, Seasons and Weather, Seasons and Clothes, Seasons and Nature, Seasons and Activities(verbs).
LINK:https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2020/03/seasons-and-verbs-for-esl.html
 Here is the link to the resource at the store:
 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Seasons-Theme-Resources-for-Elementary-ESL-1744981

                                  Let’s start with Flashcards.

                           Introduce Grammar points.

Tracer book: It helps extend the vocabulary. There is a black and white version for the students to color and create their own book to take home.

When the students finish tracing the sentences on their books, start reading. Assign a color to identify each sight word.

Teacher: Circle the word “it” red.

Teacher: Circle the word “is” blue.

Teacher: Circle the word “a” yellow.

Help the students assemble the book. I made this one by punching a hole on the side and connected using a metal ring. Read again using a straw as a pointer, have them look for specific words.

Teacher: Look for the word “Spring”. Use your pointer. 

                   A set of matching words and pictures cards.

Students in groups can match each picture to each word.

Another game: Have the students place all the cards face up on the table. Say a word and have them find the word and the picture.

Teacher: Find “sun”.

Students: sun!  Student shows the picture and the word.

Paper plates are great for sorting the vocabulary words into seasons. Write each Season word on each paper plate.

I found this game and gave it a try. Let me know if you liked it.

There is a sunscreen lotion clipart to make a card holder. You can use it to play a guessing game by slowly taking a card out and having the children guess what it is.

Spelling BINGO! Spelling is related to the students’ reading and writing abilities. Give students the template and ask them to write 6 of all the words of their choice. You can use the matching cards as calling cards. Students cross out the words called out. The winner is the first one to cross the 6 words.

Some worksheets for extra practice.

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