School Unit Flashcards for Elementary English Language Learners

This ENL teacher resource is included in the School Unit for Elementary English Language Learners-Starters:    https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/School-Theme-for-Elementary-ESL-1707072

School Unit Flashcards

Students will Identify and name classroom items using the school unit flashcards.

Use the flashcards to teach the new words. Have your students talk about classroom objects. Develop fluency with interactions with the flashcards and the students. 

Have your students repeat after you show them the card. Tell them to find an object that is the same to the flashcard and show it to you as they name it.
Teacher: pencil!
Students: here! Pencil!

Introduce the target language and structure using the flashcards: What’s this? /It’s a __.
Hand in a flashcard to each student and have them ask using the  question words: What is this? to the class.

No statements. Say a wrong sentence on purpose when you show a flashcard. Students will say NO! and the right sentence. Teacher: It’s a book! Students: NO! It’ s a crayon.

Ask to be questions and get short answers.

Ask Is this a pencil? Yes, it is. (Have your students put their thumbs up)
No, it isn’t (students put their thumbs down)
There is this set of flashcards for you or your students to use for yes or no.

Mime. Tell your students to mime each school word.   Show a flashcard as students identify the classroom object and use the new classroom supplies heard.

Teacher: What is this?
Students: pencil! (mime writing with a real or imaginary pencil)
Use this set of flashcards to ask about colors.
Teacher: What color is the glue?
Students: blue!
Teacher: It’s blue glue.

Attach the school objects flashcards on the board and draw a grid around them. Drill all the words as you point to them. Name a letter number combination and the students will say the word.
Teacher: A2!
Students: sharpener!
Teacher: What color is the sharpener?
Students: orange.

Here is a set of pens in different colors to just review and drill: What color is the pen?

Have your students sort all the cards by color on the board or on a table. There is a flashcard in every color.

If you like this set, I do have more like these here: https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2020/08/school-theme-for-kindergarten-holistic.html

You can do a very extensive sorting with the school items in each color.

Introduce his and her using these children flashcards holding a school item. Students should identify possession.Divide the board into his and her to place each flashcard.
Ask questions:
Teacher: What is this?
Students: It’s a ruler.
Teacher: Whose ruler is this?
Students: It’s Tom’s.
Teacher: It’s his ruler.
Continue with more examples.

There is a set of worksheets to review this grammar concept.

Whose? Show a flashcard and introduce: Whose pencil is this?
Students: It’s Zoe’s!

Extra Activity. Place several flashcards on the board and have the sudunts come up and label the school item that each child has.

There is a worksheet to complement the grammar structure.  Use the flashcards for the students to write more questions and answers using the worksheet as a model on their notebooks.

Another set of flashcards to use his or her/ Whose. Example: Who is this?
Students: Luke.
Teacher: What is this?
Students: a crayon.
Teacher: What color is the crayon?
Students: yellow.
Teacher: Oh! Luke’s crayon is yellow.
Teacher: Whose blue crayon is this?
Students: It’s Jo’s.
Teacher: Is Abby’s crayon pink?
Students: Yes!

Wrap up activity: Close the class by having them out away the objects that you show with your flashcards.

Teacher: Put away the sharpener! The students that put away the sharpener can line up to leave or just go. Keep going until you dismiss the class. You can add color to what the they have to put way. Teacher: Put away the yellow pencils!

  School Unit Small Cards

All the flashcards come in a smaller format.
Group drawing activity. Hand in small pieces of paper to your students. Students will start drawing the word that you say, show the small card just in case. When you say, STOP, students will give their piece of paper to the students next to him/her to continue drawing. And then when you say STOP again, they have to turn in the paper and have them write the word. Students will laugh when they see the complete drawing. They can stand up and show their drawing to the class and say what it is:  It’s a ruler.

Love this simple and interactive game.  Use it to help reinforce the new vocabulary, as in my example, the school unit words.

Print all the small cards from the unit and the templates for the tic tac toe, all X and O. Play continues until one student or team gets three marks in a row wither horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Students can play multiple rounds by changing the small cards with the school items to new words.

Practice spelling with the letters included in the resource.

This resource has more to check, go to this blog post: https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/03/backpack-school-unit-activities-for.html 

Next blog post will focus on the School Unit Worksheets included in the resource available at the TPT store. Take a look.   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2023/07/school-unit-worksheets-for-elementary.html

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Total Physical Response for Elementary ELL

 A lot has been said about Total Physical Response. Teachers usually do it at the beginning of the school year with their students. It has so many benefits for you and the learner.

I have done it with my classes and even more with the Kindergarten students. It's a way for no translation to the native language. I used to make flashcards with magazine cutouts, yes! no printer around those days. I moved on to make flashcards using clip art, the ones available for FREE. Nowadays, I have included the Commands Flashcards on all the resources from the Kindergarten Series 1 to 30.

So, if you are teaching the Farm Unit, review, reinforce or introduce the classroom commands using the Flashcards.

Teacher: Stand up like the pig!

             Sit down like the sheep! 

         There's also the goat, the cow, the horse and the hen.
             Here is the blog post for more on the flashcards:   https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2022/04/farm-unit-flashcards-for-kindergarten.html

If you have new students, the Greetings unit for Kindergarten English Language Learners have the very basics Classroom Commands that you can place around your classroom. LINK: https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2020/08/greetings-theme-for-kindergarten.html

Show your students a command flashcard and have the class mime the action. These are great for those first weeks of the school year. LINK: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Colors-Unit-for-Kindergarten-Holistic-English-Series-2-5956256

There are units that we can use TPR using the flashcards to review the new vocabulary. Here is an example:  Place several Town unit flashcards around the classroom. Show the students the command flashcard and have them go to that place doing the action.

Teacher: Run to the post office!

LINK: https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2021/11/town-unit-flashcards-for-kindergarten.html

You can bring the Commands Flashcards for the Playground unit to the playground. Use them to have the students mime each action that they do in the playground.
        Teacher: run! (students mime running in the class)     

LINK: https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2021/10/park-playground-unit-flashcards-for.html                                           

           

A lot of more examples at my other blog for Kindergarten English Language Learners that can be used for older students with success. Take a look: https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/

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End of the school year printable book

Go to my store and grab it for FREE!! LINK: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Me-For-Elementary-EFL-5934773

 For the end of this different school year I created this printable book. It turned out cute. Students sent their videos with their version and they were beyond perfect.

Provide students with this meaningful production experience.

Take a look at the video and see how I assembled it. I sent the video to the students as an example and they did it with their own information and it showed how much fun they had along with the family.

                           

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School unit flashcards for ESL students

I updated the school unit flashcards. I thought that adding more words and using nicer clipart would be a bonus for teachers. Many of you have bought it and now you will have both versions. If there are words that you would like me to add, let me know.

More than 250 flashcards for the classroom objects on this resource and just a few tips on how to use them in class. You can use my flashcards or the ones that come with your book series.Link: 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/School-Theme-Flashcards-for-ELL-836917

Fun Ways to Teach School Vocabulary! Use the Visual flashcards to help students learn school supply vocabulary. Plan Interactive games & activities. It is a great back-to-school resource!

Use the flashcards to present the school objects vocabulary.These are  designed to introduce and reinforce essential words in an interactive way. Whether you're teaching in a classroom or online, these colorful flashcards will make learning school vocabulary engaging and effective.

Check the flashcards:

Watch the video using the flashcards.

Flashcards with visuals that provide clear context. If your students are a little more advanced review there is and there are. Divide the board in two and write the phrases. I used pencil and books.

Teacher: There is a pencil. There are books.

Students can find more flashcards to make more examples.

Flashcards  that are perfect for whole-class activities, small group instruction, centers, and independent practice.

I always find labeling fun. You can do one the board as an example. 

Label the body parts, clothes and school objects.(Labeling)

Teacher: name the body parts.

Students: mouth! Eyes! Leg!

Teacher: name the clothes.

Students: dress! shoe!

Teacher: name the school objects.

Students: lunch bag! backpack!

 Improving their speaking skills in a natural way. Then, assign red for body parts. Ask students to name all the body parts and you circle them. Do the same for clothes and school objects.

Students can do the same using the flashcards. I placed the flashcard into a plastic sheet to go on paperless. Have the students use a blue whiteboard marker for labeling the body parts as they practice pronunciation.

Then, use a black whiteboard marker for labeling the clothes and the school objects.

Flashcards 3. Select a letter of the alphabet and have the students say all the words that start with the letter. As they name the word place the flashcard on the board. Then, have the students do the same on their notebooks with another letter. I chose letter P for this example.

Flashcards 4. Order alphabetically. Write the letters from A to Z on the board and the students find the flashcards to place under each letter.

Flashcards 5. Classroom Monsters. Give a flashcard on a plastic sheet to each student and have them create a monster. I did this one with scissors. I added hair, eyes, nose, mouth, shoes. I guess students are more creative than me, but it will work to show the students the task before they start their own. Students can show their work to the class.

Student: This is my scissors monster. It has black hair. Its eyes are blue and big. It is happy. She is wearing shoes.

Flashcards 6. Sorting the flashcards into categories. I wrote these categories on the board. Students find the flashcards for each category.

Flashcards 7. Name the flashcard. Make a grid on the board using the flashcards. I did this simple one as an example for you.

Teacher: C3!

Students: pencil case!

Flashcards 8. Related words! I placed the pencil case flashcard in the middle of the board. Have the students name all the things that a person can find in a pencil case. As they name the words, place the flashcard or write the word. This is like doing a mind map.

Flashcards 9. Use puzzles when working with the little ones.

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