How to Fall Asleep Easily - Good Night, Sleep Tight - ESL Worksheet

Good Morning & Happy Monday!

Hope you're enjoying your summer! I'm currently on the first leg of my vacation, visiting family in Upstate New York and trying to prevent my kids from being over-spoiled by the relatives. Don't know that I'm succeeding too well to that end, but oh well! 

Today’s article is about insomnia. It’s a simple and straightforward worksheet, similar in format to those I've posted this month. I hope you and your students enjoy using it.

Thank you for visiting and have a great week!

GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT

Do you have trouble falling asleep? Each year, many people find it hard to fall asleep. About 33% of people have trouble falling asleep regularly. People who find it hard to fall asleep have insomnia. There are many reasons for insomnia. Some of these reasons include: stress, caffeine, anxiety, medication, habit, hunger, or too much screen time. Screen time may include time watching television or using the Internet.

1.   Eliminate caffeine. Caffeine can make it difficult to fall asleep. If you have this problem, drink all your tea or coffee before 2:00 pm. This will give you plenty of time to relax before bedtime.

2.   Eat light. Eating a heavy meal may cause heartburn or wakefulness. Have plenty of protein with your dinner, such as chicken breast or fish. Do not eat any more meals after that. If you feel you must have something, have a small piece of chicken or a few nuts.

3.   Surf early. Avoid using the Internet after dinner. Use the Internet before dinnertime, not after. It takes a person up to three hours to relax after using the Internet. If you must use the Internet for long periods, do so on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

4.   Turn off the lights. After dinner, turn off the lights around your house except for your living room. This signals to your brain that bedtime is near! It will also save you money on your electric bill! Avoid bright lights after dark and go for soft lighting instead. 

5.   Bone up. Calcium has been shown to help you relax. If your doctors says it's okay, take a calcium tablet an hour before bedtime. 

6.   Make your bedroom off-limits. Use your bedroom for sleep only. Do all other activities in other rooms. If you cannot do this, then try to stay off your bed.

Thank you for visiting!

Faiza Raintree

To download the worksheet for this article, click below.

How To Be More Confident Starting Today - ESL Worksheet

Good Morning & Happy Monday!

Today's worksheet is about confidence. Everyone  struggles with self-confidence to some extent; ESL students are no different. Yet, this article doesn't deal with self-confidence in learning another language, but rather with developing self-confidence in everyday life, everyday interactions. I've included some tips on developing self-confidence as well as a questionnaire for students to complete. You can use the questionnaire as a springboard for discussion as well.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you and your students enjoy today's worksheet.

 HOW TO BE MORE CONFIDENT

What does confidence mean to you?

Do you know someone who is very confident? How do you know that they are?

The world has become a very competitive place. Everywhere we see people who are smarter, richer or better looking. The Internet and news are full of stories of people who have succeeded and people who have failed. All of this has made people anxious and has made some people less confident. Yet it does not have to be that way. You can become more confident. To be confident means to be sure of one's self. To have confidence is to believe in your value and ability.

Practice these tips to become more confident today.

1.   Know why. Why do you want to be more confident? Write down the reasons. What will happen if you don't become more confident? Write these down too. Knowing why will help you stay committed to your goal.

2.   Take two. Take two minutes every day to practice a confident pose. Stand with your back straight and your shoulders back. Do this in front of a mirror. Do it before important events.

3.   Record your successes. Everyone has successes. You have done many things in life to be proud of. Write them down and keep the list with you in your wallet or purse. Read them each day.

4.   Fake it. Imagine that you are a confident person. Stand with confidence and speak with confidence. Practice this for at least three weeks. In time, you will start to feel confident in your mind.

5.   Be polite. Being confident does not mean being rude or arrogant. It means respecting yourself and others. It means being true to yourself. You can do this and still remain polite. 

HOW TO BE CONFIDENT AT WORK

What are your ideas about confidence? Test yourself and find out! Read each statement and decide if it is TRUE or FALSE.

1.      Managers are often more confident than other employees.

2.      It is easier to be confident when you are well-dressed.

3.      All good employees are confident.

4.      Mistakes always make a person lose confidence.

5.      People who are more beautiful are more confident.

6.      People who exercise are usually more confident.

7.      Self-confidence takes practice. There is no other way.

8.      A confident person has more friends than others.

9.      People who are confident usually make more money.

10.    Having confidence means not making mistakes.

11.    People with self-confidence are usually more successful.

12.    People who are confident usually take more risks.

13.    Confident people usually have confident children.

14.    You can be humble and confident at the same time.

15.    Arrogance and confidence are one and the same.

16.    People who are confident are usually more polite.

17.    People who are confident are usually ruder to others.

18.    Anyone can learn to be confident.

Thank you for visiting!

Faiza Raintree

To download the worksheet for this article, click below.

5 Tips To Make Friends Easily - ESL Worksheet

Good Morning & Happy Monday!

Today's article is about how to make friends. I tried to make the worksheet more like a magazine article in style and format. I included a short survey for students to do, to learn what kind of friend they are. I hope your students enjoy this week's worksheet.

I'm Going on Vacation!

I will be going on vacation for about a month and won't have many chances to be online.  While I'm away, I'll still be posting my worksheets once a week, but as scheduled posts. Even so, please feel free to leave me feedback or suggestions, and I promise to answer when I get back.

I hope you enjoy this week's worksheet. Have a great week, and a great summer! See you in a month!  

HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS EASILY

Friendship is important in life. We all have family, but friendship can add spice and enjoyment to life. Some people, however, find it difficult to make friends. They may be shy or may not feel confident. Others may be too busy to with work and family to make friends. Still, we all need a few friends. Here are some tips to help you make friends, even if you are shy or busy.

1.   Be warm & cheerful. No one likes to be around a person who is depressed and makes other people feel the same way. Enjoy the company of the person you are with. Do not put up a wall around you.

2.   Be yourself. Don't pretend to be something you're not. For example, don't pretend to have a lot of money when you don't have it. Also, don't pretend to have lots of friends if you have only a few.

3.   Listen. Learn to listen to others. People enjoy talking about themselves. If you listen well, you'll learn about the other person and whether or not you would be good friends. A side benefit is that you'll also develop your patience!

4.   Don't be too eager or familiar. If people see that you are too eager to make friends, they may become nervous or wonder why. This may cause them to keep away from you! True friendship takes time to build, so take your time!  

5.   Dress well. Wear nice clothes and dress neatly. This does not mean buying expensive clothes. Rather, wear clothes that look good and reflect your personal style.  

WHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU?

Take this survey to find out what kind of friend you are!

1.       Your friend gets a new dress and looks great in it. You:

A.       You wish it were your dress! You forget to tell her how nice she looks in the dress.

B.       You compliment your friend on the dress.

2.       Another friend says something bad about your friend.

A.       You stay quiet or you may even say something about your friend if she did the same thing to you.

B.       You defend your friend. 

3.       You call your friends:

A.       When you have a question or need something.

B.       When you want to say hello, or miss your friend.

4.       You are invited to a party but your friend is not. You:

A.       Call her and tell her that you were invited and how excited you are.

B.       Say nothing about the party.

5.       Your friend's father died. You:

A.       Forget to call him for days.

B.       Visit him and ask if there's anything you can do.

Did you answer mostly A? If so, you are the kind of friend who focuses more on yourself. If you answered mostly B, you focus more on the friendship.

Thank you for visiting!

Faiza Raintree 

Click below to download the worksheet for this activity.

Phone Cramming - ESL Worksheet

Good Morning & Happy Monday!

I have a simple article and activities for today, one that is easy on the teacher as well as the student. I crave easy and simple activities this time of year, but still have to keep things very productive. Since I prepare students for academic ESL exams (IELTS & TOEFL), I must keep them reading and writing till the very end!

Today's article is about phone cramming - a method phone companies use to scam customers out of money. Did you know that even large companies do this?! Anyway, ESL students can be easy victims of any kind of fraud because of their language limitations. Recognizing false charges on their phone is a useful skill!

Summer Posting Schedule

Like many teachers, summer is a hectic time for me with vacation, spending extra time with my kids, and catching up on stuff I've put off all year. Yet, I don't want to stop posting worksheets for teachers who visit, so I'll continue with the Monday Morning worksheets all summer. This way, those of you who teach during the summer will still get something new each week. So please check in on Mondays for your worksheet!

As always, I welcome any suggestions or feedback you might have.   

Thank you for visiting, and enjoy!

WHAT ARE ALL THOSE FEES?

 

Imagine this: You are looking at your phone bill and you are confused! You see a fee for web hosting. The problem is that you do not know what web hosting is! Also, your bill lists two international calls, but all your friends and family live in the country! Lastly, there is a charge for a call to a 900 number. Yet, you never dialed this number!

What is going on? Chances are you’ve been crammed!

Cramming happens when a company adds a fee to your phone bill for a service you did not agree to or use. It is hard to pick out cramming charges on your bill. Many of these fees are small. Others have names that look like other items on your bill. What can you do to stop these fees? You can take action!

There are a few steps that you can take. First, know your phone bill! Read your phone bill carefully every month. Do this for three or four months. This takes time, but you will know when your company adds extra fees. Second, look for words that companies use for such charges. Some words to look for are miscellaneous, long-distance, third-party and subscription. Lastly, block extra services from your phone. When you block services, the company cannot charge you for them. You must call your phone company and tell them what services to block. You can start with 900 numbers, long-distance calls and international calls.

Try these ideas and you will see your phone bill go down!

 Activity: Use information from the article to complete the graphic organizer below.

See you next week!Faiza Raintree

To download the worksheet for this activity, please click below.

All About Libraries & Library of Congress - Printable ESL Worksheet

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

This week's Monday Morning Worksheet is all about libraries. With summer just around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to discuss the benefits of libraries with my students. 

The main task for this week's worksheet is a short article with comprehension questions. Following the questions, students plan and write an essay about libraries (Think & Write). I've also included a few short related articles to read and discuss once students have finished the essay. The Scavenger Hunt task can be given for homework.

Encouraging Students to Get Library Cards

Students have just enough time to go to a library, explore getting a library card, and come back to class with questions and feedback for their classmates. If I could, I'd have all my students get a library card as a homework assignment, but this is not always practical!

Libraries Can Be Intimidating

I've found that ESL students, unfortunately, can find libraries intimidating - all those books they can't read or understand! Talking about libraries and how to get a library card can help to demystify libraries so that students can take advantage of this amazing resource. Another priceless benefit is that adult ESL students will often take their children with them! I advise my students to take their kids and even ask their older kids for help if they need to.

Use Your Computer As a Library!

Not everyone can get to a library, so I've included some online sites that students can use to read stories and articles.

Oxford Primary

http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/teacher

Children's Storybooks Online

http://www.magickeys.com/books/

Stories to Read Online

http://beenleigss.eq.edu.au/requested_sites/storiesontheweb/

Online Short Stories

http://www.readbookonline.net/shortStory/

A Different Worksheet Format

I wanted to try doing a worksheet in a newsletter/pamphlet kind of format, just to do something a little different. What do you think about this week's format? Did you find it more enjoyable or just confusing? Did your students like it or do they seem to do better with a traditional top-to-bottom format? I'd love to know what you think!

Thank you for visiting!
Faiza Raintree

To download the worksheet for this activity, click on the link below.