Family unit Small Cards for the ESL

     This resource is included in the Family Unit for Elementary English Language Learners-Starters.  First grade and ELL Teacher can find this material useful.

 Click here:     https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Family-Activities-for-Elementary-ELL-1804475

Develop all the confidence needed to be a successful English Language learner. The small cards are helpful to identify family members and other people.

Use the family unit small cards to create an opportunity for your students to extend the vocabulary learned as they organized the cards alphabetically. You might have taught the letter names by now. If not, show them how to put the family words into alphabetical order and say them as they make a line with the cards.

Use the family unit small cards for personalisation of the new vocabulary. Have your students express their own opinion on the text as they describe their mother or any other significant people for them that you assign.

Teach your students to use adjectives to describe the family member when they write texts.

Do this color code spelling activity. Students will choose a color for the vowels and another one for the consonants. Have them write the words accordingly. Have them notice that there is a pattern in the ending of these words: father, mother, brother, grandmother and grandfather.

Students will have to start their thinking and categorizing skills to sort the family members cards by hair color.

Create families. Students will use their reasoning and their problem- solving skills as they classify and organize the people into families. Have them explain their grouping.

Use this tic tac toe game to review grammar points. This kind of games foster communication. Prepare your board game with the printables provided in the resource. It can also be played on the board. One team can be x or o. Place the family members small cards on the spaces on the game. The first team will choose a person on a square and make a correct sentence using the chosen family member. It can be This is Mother/ Mother has blonde hair/

If the sentence is correct, the team will place the X or O on that square and take away that family member. If the sentence is incorrect, the family member will still play on the board.

The first team to make three X or O in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row will be the winner team. 

There is more included in this resource, check the blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2023/10/family-unit-games-for-elementary-ell.html

Follow me at my other blog for Kindergarten English Language Learners, there is also a family unit for you to check!   www.eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com

Go to my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/rosamelia_eslteacher/

Family unit Flashcards for the Elementary English Language Learner

                            This resource is included in the Family Unit for Elementary English Language Learners-Starters. Any ESL Teacher Specialist will find this material helpful.  

Click here:     https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Family-Activities-for-Elementary-ELL-1804475

Find easy-to-implement strategies for a rich learning environment with these family unit visuals.The focus is on teaching English EFL (as a Foreign Language) it can also be used for ESL/ELL/ELA.

Use the flashcards to introduce structures and the new vocabulary.Create speaking lessons to develop fluency based on any activity proposed here. Introduce the question word:WHO? to ask about people.

Introduce the family members vocabulary.
Teacher: This is father.
This is my mother.
Students can identify family members: Who’s this?
Students: He is the brother.

Develop speaking skills with this activity. Have the students understand and use this/that to introduce a family member. Hand in family members flashcards to several students to adopt that person. Assign a student to introduce them to the class: 

This is my brother. His name is Tomas.
That is my sister. Her name is Rose.

Ask questions on possessive pronouns.

Give information about the family members as communication goes first. Divide the board in two and create a small family and a big family on each side of the board.
Teacher: This is a small family. It’s mother, father, brother and sister.

Teacher: This family is big. Let’s count.

Students can count the members of their family and write it down on piece of paper.
Ask questions: How many people are there in your family?
Student: five.
Ask questions: How many brothers do you have?
Student: two.

You can also assign a last name to each family. For example: This is the Blonde Family. This is the Red Family.

Assign the sister or any other family member flashcard in the middle of the board.  Give her a name, I chose Carol. Make kind of a mind map. Talk about possession: This is Carol’s mother. Continue introducing the family member.

Ask questions: Who’s this?
Students: This is Carol’s father.
Ask questions: Who’s that?
Students: That is Carol’s brother.
Teacher: Is this Carol’s grandpa?
Students: No, it’s Carol’s father.
Understand the names of the people of the family. Students can also give names to people in Carol’s family.
 What’s Carol’s mother name?
Students: Luisa! (write down the name on the board)

Talk about the physical appearance of the family members. Select several flashcards of family members with different hair color.
Teacher: Look at father. What color is his hair?
Students: blond! He has blond hair.
Teacher: Who has brown hair?
Students: Mother!
Teacher: Does the sister have black or red hair?
Student: red hair!

Show the words big and little to introduce the brothers and sisters using the focus vocabulary.

Call out a name of someone in your class. They must stand up and tell everyone a fact about their family. For example: My mother’s name is Anna.’

 Jumbled names Activity. Write the word for each family member with the letters jumbled on the board. For example: emtorh (Mother) Hand in the individual flashcards to the students. Make sure that you include all students as you have a flashcard for each one. At your signal the students have to come up to the board and place their family member under the jumbled word.

Introduce the adjectives such as young or old to describe the family members. Discuss with your students why they are sorting the people into these adjectives.
Teacher: Grandmother is old.
Students: The baby is young.

Using adjectives when speaking will help studentsdescribe people using words.

Also do the adjectives tall and short to describe family members.

There is more added to this resource, check the blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2023/09/family-unit-teaching-tips-for-small.html

Follow me at my TPT store!   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Holistic-English-Resources-By-Rosa-Amelia

Go to my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/rosamelia_eslteacher/

Face unit Printable book for Elementary ELL

         This ESL Class resource (printable book) is included in the face pack for Elementary English Language Learners-Starters.Click here:    https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Face-Unit-for-Elementary-English-Language-Learners-10106986

A printable book is a good way to wrap up the unit and the students will show all that they have learned. It reinforces the description of facial features.They will use their creativity to put together their book. It is a way to do a little self-assessment.

Print the templates of the face unit book. It can also be done in a group.

Students will cut all the strips of the book and the texts that can be or not glued next to each picture. They can also provide their own texts. The pictures make it easier for them to organize their thoughts and sentences to write. Texts can be long or short depending on their fluency.

This is intended to be a matching book. To assemble, cut the strips of the book along the center dotted lines and add a book ring or yarn. Students can cut and add the text or write their own text to match each picture of the face.

The coloring part of the book can be on the student own inspiration. Bookmaking is always a new activity for the students.It's a moment for students to express thier own opinion.

The matching book is ready to read!!! Send the book home and have the students read with their parents.

Finally, take a look!

This resource combines colorful face flashcards + number cards 1 to 20, giving you a versatile, fun, and meaningful bundle to build vocabulary, practice counting, and encourage communication. Whether for vocabulary lessons, counting review, or interactive games — this set gives you plenty of flexibility, included in the complete material.  Go to this blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/05/face-unit-and-numbers-1-to-20.html

This resource is also part of a Bundle:   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Elementary-English-Language-learners-teaching-Units-Starters-BUNDLE-11215540

This is the link to my Facebook Groups for ESL/EFL Elementary Teachers. Check it out and join. https://www.facebook.com/groups/193945227294353

Face unit Games for Elementary ELL

             This resource ( Face Unit Teaching Tips & Game Ideas — ESL/EFL Activity Strategies for Facial Vocabulary) is included in the face for Elementary English Language Learners-Starters.Click here:    https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Face-Unit-for-Elementary-English-Language-Learners-10106986

              Games promote effective communication between peers by playing with meaningful and engaging materials.T eaching facial vocabulary in ESL/EFL classes is more effective when students *interact*, *move*, and *use language communicatively*. These practical **teaching tips and game ideas for the face unit** show you how to maximize student engagement — whether you’re using flashcards, matching games, partner speaking tasks, or whole-class review activities.

This is a 5-minute gap-filler for your lesson plan to develop linguistic competence.  It is a Listening wrap up activity Let’s call it Hair Dictation. Hand in a copy of the people cards for the students to color as you dictate to them.

Teacher: Look at Anna, she has short curly red hair. (Continue with the other people, students can also help out saying how people look for the classmates to color)

Print a number template that can be used over and over again. Students will cut the people that they just colored. Describe which person will be in which number.

Teacher: Number 6 is a person with short straight brown hair.

Students will complete placing each person on each number.

Here is a video to clear it up:

This activity can be used to supplement the content of your course book. It is focused on the reinforcement of the vocabulary to describe eye and hair. Print the descriptive sentences cards for a group of students and a worksheet for each student. Have them prepare specific detail sentences to write on the worksheets and draw on the person template. Let your students be creative and then share their work with peers. Students will develop strong grammar skills. Use basic sentences (“This is a nose.” / “She has big eyes.”)

This game is wonderful to see if your students are understanding the adjectives to write the sentences. 

Take a look at the video on how to use the game:

 Recognise and say **facial feature vocabulary** .  Playing constitutes the heart of children’s learning, and it prepares them for life. 

Playing with cards is also considered a teaching tool to improve concentration and develop fluency by matching words with pictures confidently.   

 These can be used as a memory game to match a facial feature to a word or a matching game to play on a table or the floor.

I used this font from Creativa Fabrica. Here is the link. I am an affliate.

https://www.creativefabrica.com/product/spring-is-in-the-air-25/ref/2670802/

A board game to review the new vocabulary in a fun way to increase socialization at the same time. Print one template for every 3 or 4 students. I made the markers by opening a clip and adding a sticker. There are 4 sets of colored cards. When a student lands on a colored space, he/she grabs that colored card and answers that question in order to move. For example. I landed on a blue space, I grab a blue card and read the question: What color is his hair? I answer: blond.

Games promote a sense of achievement.

Writing with these colorful letters. Use the pictures from the game below as a guide for writing the words. Children will work alone doing this to gain self-develpment.

Or use a worksheet as a guide on how to write the words,

Use this printable as a file folder game. Students will match the phrase to the picture.

You can also do it as a cup game. Check the blog post where I have a similar game for Kindergarten. I glued the label to plastic cups and started the matching activity in a different fun way.

LINK: https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2020/09/face-theme-for-kindergarten-holistic_25.html

Here is the video:

Wrap it up with a Pocket Chart Activity. Buy or make this versatile tool to enhance the learning experience of the new language as students make sentences interacting with their peers.  Students will make sentence to review the adjective word order.

Sentence Association card game for the hair and eyes on a person.

It comes with prompt cards for the students to find the corresponding picture. This will reinforce vocabulary for both hair and eye descriptions, while also practicing sentence structure.

Emphasize descriptive words by categorizing cards based on hair adjectives (e.g., curly, straight, long, short, blond, brown, black, red) Have the students do the sort under each category.

There is also a category for eye color: black, blue, green, brown.

Have students create their own sentences describing the characters, focusing on proper grammar and sentence structure.

Students take turns describing a card without showing it, while others guess which card is being described.

My example:

I'd like to say something about the spelling concept for blond or blonde. I checked the dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/blond-and-blonde-is-there-a-difference   I suggest that you use how it is on your text book. If there is a spelling that you like me to fix to suit your needs, just let me know. 

When to Use These Teaching Tips

✔ At the start of a vocabulary unit  

✔ During centers / rotation stations  

✔ In partner or group activities  

✔ As a quick daily warm-up  

✔ For formative assessment and review

Using a variety of game formats — paired with clear teaching prompts and sentence frames — helps learners reinforce face vocabulary through *active use*, not just memorizing lists. These strategies build confidence, speaking fluency, and fun in your classroom.

Face Unit worksheets for ESL/EFL — printable reading, matching, and writing activities to practise facial features vocabulary with elementary learners.   Go to this blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2023/09/face-unit-worksheets-for-elementary-efl.html 

Check my other blog for Kindergarten English Language Learners.

https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/