ESL Jigsaws

Teaching Family to Level One

Posted by Nancy Callan on 12 February 2012 | 0 Comments

Tags: family, ESL, ENL, ELL, EFL, beginner, free materials, free worksheet, game, free handout, ESOL

Were you aware that not all languages use the same one word for father's sister and mother's sister the way English uses aunt? Likewise, many languages have different words for the grandmother from your father's side and the grandmother from your mother's side. Learning about these differences in nomenclature makes teaching a family unit in an ESL classroom an interesting experience. 

The Family jigsaw at the beginning of Callan's Thematic Jigsaws 1 and 2 can be used as a day one basic review of family words and springboard to further study in an intermediate class or as a final review activity for a family unit in a beginner class.

I've made a supplementary activity that works well in a beginner level family unit as a review of family words before attempting the jigsaw. It's a partner info gap exercise in which each partner has a set of family words and a grid upon which to place the words in positions indicated by their partner. 

Click here to download this free supplementary exercise to use in your classroom.