Birthday Monsters Activity Pack | ESL

 This resource(Birthday Monsters Activity Pack — ESL Board Games, Flashcards & Worksheets for Kids) is included in The Birthday Unit: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Birthday-Unit-for-Elementary-ESL-5279726

Using Birthday Monsters to review birthday vocabulary is an engaging and effective way to strengthen language skills in young English language learners. The colorful monsters holding or interacting with birthday items give students clear visual cues to supports comprehension.This pack is ready-to-print.

As children look at each monster flashcard, they can point and say, “This monster is yellow and so on.

The teacher can hold a card and ask questions:  Who is he?

Students: He is yellow Monster.
Teacher: What does he have?
Students: He has a blue candle and a pink party hat.

Guess the Birthday Item! Envelope Game. Place the birthday small cards inside an envelope, leaving only the top part of each card showing. Students look at the small visible section and try to guess what birthday item it is. Students can respond using simple sentences, such as:
“Yes! It’s a present!”
or
“Oh, no, it isn’t a candle. It’s a cupcake!”

Identify the colors of the party objects. Place several monsters on the board and say a color: Yellow Monster!
Students name what he has: a blue candle.
Name a birthday object: party hat!
Students name which ones have that object: blue Monster, Purple Monster, Pink Monster, yellow Monster.

Matching Game on the Board. Play a matching game using the small cards included in this resource. Write several simple sentences on the board, such as “The monster has a present,” “The monster is yellow,” or “The monster has balloons.”

Students read each sentence and place the correct small card under the matching sentence.

Color & Read Worksheet.  Students read simple sentences and color the correct monster.

Match the Sentence to the Monster. Students draw lines to connect sentences to the correct monster image.

Write the Missing Word. Mini sentences with a blank space.

Draw the Birthday Items.

Color the Correct Birthday Items and answer the questions.

Birthday Monsters Board Game. Students take turns moving their party hat token along the path of Birthday Monsters until they reach the finish balloon. On each turn, students draw a question card and answer it before moving. Cards ask about monster colors, birthday items, body parts, and more!

Students each receive a Bingo strip with 8 images. The teacher uses the calling mat to call out items. Students mark the pictures they hear. The first to cover all 8 pictures says “Bingo!”.

Feed-Me Cupcake Box Activity

Use the bingo strips as cut-apart picture cards for this fun speaking activity! Students cut out their small cards and “feed” them to the Cupcake Box one at a time while describing each picture. Students choose a card, hold it up, and say a complete sentence before feeding it into the cupcake’s mouth.

Help your elementary English Language Learners (ELLs) build communication skills with Birthday Unit invitations and cards! These engaging printables combine real-world writing, vocabulary practice, and creativity, making them perfect for early readers and writers in ESL/EFL classrooms.Go to the blog post: https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2024/09/birthday-unit-invitations-and-cards-for.html

Discover engaging, creative, and effective resources designed specifically for English Language Learners! The resources are ready-to-use lesson plans and activities, just here:

 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Holistic-English-Resources-By-Rosa-Amelia

Thanksgiving Food Activities for ELLs

 This resource is part of the Food Unit for Elementary English Language Starters.

LINK: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Food-unit-for-Elementary-English-Language-Learners-Starters-11035412

Students learn Thanksgiving key food words through games, and speaking prompts that help build confidence in using new vocabulary. Celebrate Thanksgiving in your ELL classroom with this engaging, low-prep Thanksgiving food resource pack designed for young English learners! 

Build a Thanksgiving Menu. Give students flashcards and blank “restaurant menu” templates. They choose 5–7 food flashcards to create their own Thanksgiving menu, labeling each item and drawing it. Extension: Students present their menu to a partner.

Do You Eat It? Game. Show a flashcard and students show the YES puppet, or the NO puppet. Then they complete the speaking prompt: I like peas or I don’t like cranberry sauce.

Thanksgiving Food Pictionary Relay Two teams. One student draws the food from a flashcard; teammates guess the word in English. They swap artists each round. Perfect for vocabulary recall + teamwork!

Class Survey. Students walk around asking: “What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?”
They tally answers and make a bar graph. Use small cards as visuals during the survey.

Alphabet Order Race game using the small Thanksgiving food cards. This scene will feature children with flashcards taped to their backs, arranging themselves in alphabetical order.

Flashcard Swat: Place several small cards face-up on a table. Give one student a fly-swatter. The teacher says a Thanksgiving word (e.g. “corn!”), and the student must quickly swat that flashcard and say the word. Then pass the swatter to the next classmate.

I Like / I Don’t Like Writing Activity. Students choose a Thanksgiving food card and write a sentence about their opinion using “I like…” or “I don’t like…”. Example: I like mashed potatoes. I don’t like peas. This activity helps students practice sentence structure, express opinions, and connect language to real-world vocabulary.

My Thanksgiving Dinner. Students draw their Thanksgiving dinner on the plate template on the worksheet. Then, write 2–3 sentences about what is on the plate. End with a Show and tell activity.

Using “there is” and “there are” with food on the worksheet. “There is” helps students describe single items (There is a turkey.) “There are” teaches them to describe plural items (There are carrots and peas.) These structures support basic sentence formation, descriptive language.

Children read each Thanksgiving food word on the worksheet and draw the correct food on the empty plate next to it.

Crossword puzzle worksheet where students read the clues and write the correct food words to complete the puzzle. It’s a fun way to reinforce spelling.

This worksheet helps students practice polite food requests using Thanksgiving vocabulary. Learners look at the food items and answer the question: “What do you want?” with short, polite responses like: “Ham, please.

Do You Like Turkey? – Thanksgiving Food Opinion Practice. This fun worksheet helps students express their food preferences using “Do you like...?” questions and short answers like: “Yes, I do.” or “No, I don’t.”

Thanksgiving Food Survey – Ask, Record, and Graph! This interactive worksheet gets students moving, speaking, and graphing! Learners walk around the classroom and ask 7 classmates questions like: “What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?”    They record their friends’ answers, then use the data to complete a simple graph showing class favorites. It’s perfect for practicing speaking, listening, tallying, and data interpretation—all through fun Thanksgiving food vocabulary.

This fun worksheet strengthens reading comprehension and food vocabulary.

Thanksgiving Food Bingo. Each student gets a strip with 5 food pictures while the teacher uses a calling mat. As the teacher calls out each food, students mark their cards. The first to complete their strip shouts “Bingo!” Great for listening practice and word recognition. Easy to prep.

This resource is available here:   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Food-Activities-for-ELLs-14904164

This Resource comes with the lunch box for ESL/ELL Learners, it combines visuals + play + writing for vocabulary retention,  covers listening, speaking, reading, writing — all skills  and flexible which can be used as centers, homework, games — ideal for busy classrooms. Here is the blog post:  

https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/08/my-lunch-box-esl-food-activities-for.html

Follow me on Instagram for creative activities, freebies, classroom tips, and exclusive sneak peeks of my teaching resources! Let’s make learning exciting! Follow me here: @rosamelia_eslteacher

Sports Games for ESL | Vocabulary and Grammar Activities

 This Sports Vocabulary Games  for elementary ESL resource is included here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sports-for-ESL-Vocabulary-and-Grammar-Activities-14663481

Playing sports-themed games during the unit help learners practice sports vocabulary and grammar structures naturally. By moving, speaking, matching, and interacting with others, students develop stronger listening, speaking, reading, and thinking skills. Help your elementary ESL learners explore sports vocabulary and verbs through fun interactive games!

The games work on Listening comprehension and drills.  

Do–Go–Play Sports Games Sorting Activity
In this activity, students sort the sports cards into the correct column: do, go, or play. As they place each card on the mat, they practice using the correct verb for each sport, such as do karate, go swimming, or play soccer. This hands-on task helps learners understand verb–sport collocations while building vocabulary in an interactive way.

This version lets students cut and paste the sports vocabulary cards into the correct do, go, and play columns. The black-and-white format is perfect for saving ink and gives students the chance to color the cards themselves before sorting. They can also write phrases for each category.

Sports Puzzle Match Game
In this activity, students complete circle puzzles by matching each sport with its equipment and place. As they connect the pieces, they review vocabulary such as ball, court, pool, bike, and paddle while strengthening problem-solving skills. This is perfect for centers, pair work, or independent practice.

I Can / I Can’t Writing Activity
In this activity, students use the sports cards to write sentences about what they can and can’t do on the format. They choose cards and complete the worksheet using connectors like and and but to make longer sentences. For example: I can play soccer and tennis or I can’t play basketball, but I can play tennis. This activity helps students practice sentence structure, express abilities, and connect language with the sports vocabulary they have learned.

Spelling Bingo Game
In this activity, students write any sports words they choose into the blank Bingo boxes. Then the teacher (or a student leader) uses the small sports cards from the resource to call out each word. Students listen carefully and cross out the words on their Bingo boards. The first student to cross out all their words and shout Bingo! wins. This game is a fun way to review vocabulary, practice spelling, and build listening skills.

I Like Sports Board Game
In this fun board game, students move around the path by rolling a die and landing on different sports spaces. Each time they land on a sport, they say a sentence such as I like tennis or I don’t like tennis. This game encourages speaking, builds confidence, and helps students practice sports vocabulary and simple grammar in an interactive, engaging way.

Sports Facilities Interactive Activity

In this hands-on activity, students use a sports facilities template along with standing player pieces and sport name cards that you will assemble beforehand. They choose a player, read the sport, and place the figure in the correct facility—such as putting the swimmer in the pool or the tennis player on the court. This interactive task helps students connect sports with their proper locations, strengthens vocabulary, and encourages speaking as they describe what they are doing (e.g., She is playing tennis on the court).

Which game will your students choose first? Comment below!

Sports Flashcards for ESL Vocabulary — visual drills all in the sports pack. Go to the blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/10/sports-flashcards-for-esl-vocabulary.html

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