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ESL Printables,
the website where English Language teachers exchange resources:
worksheets, lesson plans, activities, etc.
Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If
you want to download you have to send your own contributions.
I hope yiu are all doing fine and having a nice time.
I �m writing this message because I was wondering about certain things that are happening recently. So I will ask you few questions and I please need to hear your opinion.
1) Do you think a one page worksheet is enough to be given in one period (50 mins)?
2) Don �t you think that it would be better if the worksheets uploaded here included the answers even if the worksheet is about simple matters that every English teacher should know?
3) Do you consider that a worksheet with one exercise with just few sentences is enough to practice a grammar lesson?
4) and again do you agree with the multiple worksheets uploaded in one day for one user?
I �m sorry to bother you with all this but I really need to know your opinion about such matters. I was very hesitant to write this because I know that some won �t like it but I felt that I need to write and know if you share with me the same ideas.
A key to the activities is always appreciated. I know I always provide one with my own worksheets when a key is needed.
It does not really matter to me how long a sheet is going to take. I �d rather look at the use it will have for my students. That �s how I decide to download or not.
What I don �t like though, is members uploading activitiesone page at at time when they could have done it in one upload. I understand when the file is too big but when it �s not, I don �t see the reason to do so.
I personally think that a lot of worksheets here should contain a key or teacher �s guide. Well, a lot of teachers would say that we can have and use our own ideas but I think it would be very useful for everyone of us to share the ideas we have in particular areas of teaching.
As far as worksheets with very little content are concerned they are not very usuful of course and that is why they are not uploaded frequently.
As you see you are not alone at least there is one person with similar feelings on this matter.
1) For me it doesn`t matter how long a worksheet is. What matters is how useful it might be to my students. Usually a one page activity is all there is time for because I have other materials I use, other times I might want to do more. It depends.
2) Yes an answer key can be useful, but not a necessity for me. I usually edit worksheets anyway so things change and then the answer key changes too! :)
3) Of course a few sentences for a grammar topic is not enough but for me I keep the paper work to a minimum and try to do other more communicative activities for further practice, For me the worksheets are just a supplement.
4) Though of course I agree multiple worksheets for one user when there is no size issue is not fair, I don`t mind downloading a set of worksheets. I`ve gotten some really fabulous sets of worksheets here over the past couple of months!
To tell you the truth, I think it �s the first time I �m considering a worksheet for students in terms of "time". I always think of a worksheet as an activity as a whole for a particular lesson. I really don �t think of time. What I can tell you is that sometimes my students finish a reading activity (a worksheet) in 20 minutes and ,sometimes, depending on the complexity and the number of activities, it may take the whole class. So the answer to your first question must be "It depends."
2) worksheet + key included
Personally, I don �t think it should be compulsory to include the key. I do it most of the times, but only when I upload grammar worksheets. I never send a key to the reading comprehension and the writing worksheets, simply because I don �t have the time to write the answers. So, my answer will have to be yes, it might be better, but No, never as a condition or an imposition to send my contribution.
3) worksheet with a single, short grammar exercise - enough for practice
I �ll consider short here with 6 to 8 sentences. If you are reviewing a simple grammar topic it might be enough, depending on how good your students are. A few days ago I reviewd the indefinite pronouns "some" and "any" using one of the worksheets I downloaded here and it had no more than 10 sentences to fill in the gaps. That was it! And my students didn �t need more than that. So, my answer has to be "It depends."
4) more than one upload a day
I have nothing against the unlimited number of uploads a day and I haven �t undesrtood yet how users can be affected by that, except for the time spent looking over the new contributions. But I should clarify here my concept of one upload - a worksheet that consists of one or several activities which are coherent, well articulated, and will provide a meaningul moment of learning for my students.
If you ask me if I agree with people uploading worksheets separatedly for no other reason but to get points, My answer is definitely "NO".
Well, missola, I hope I have answered your questions. I wish you all the best.
1. The length of a worksheet
does not really matter, one page can be perfect, otherwise if it´s a three or
4 page worksheet, I would hardly use it.... It takes more time, and I
don´t see myself teaching only grammar for the sake of grammar for 2 hours....
My students don´t intend to be grammarians
However, it is true sometimes I come across worksheets which are 5 or 8 lines, add to that that the big fonts (size
46), you can then imagine what it becomes when you change it to size
12.....
2. Key answers are necessary... Why not even making it a condition to
accept a worksheet with exercises? The idea of the website, after all, is
to share materials, and thus help teachers save time. Providing the key
answers will enable members to put their energy on something else, how to insert
the worksheets in their teaching, for example
3. I am with freddie and ladybird I see
worksheets here are supplementary materials, to complete my teaching. Is n�tgrammar only one of the many other skills we
have to teach (written and oral comprehension, written and oral production,
vocabulary... etc
It will never make sense to come class and say "today´s lesson is about the present perfect" There
should some written or oral comprehension before which will introduce the
topic ..
4. Again with freddie and ladybirdMultiplying worksheets is,
obviously, not fair.
But does everybody do it on purpose???
I did this in the very beginning, because I did not know
I work in a public high school in the United States. In our ESL program, we have 3 levels. Level 1 is almost 4 hours a day. Level 2 is two hours a day, plus an hour of reading/writing. Level 3 is one hour a day plus an hour of reading/writing.
I find that most of the Level 3, 50-minute classes can easily go through 1 to 2 single-sheet worksheets per day, if that �s what I decide to do with our time together. We have a text already, so I don �t depend on worksheets too much. I generally use them as warm-ups at the beginning of class or for homework, if I use them at all.
On the other hand, the Level 1 class is much more intense and a single worksheet per hour just isn �t ever enough. That is why you �ll find that most of the worksheets I make and upload are multiple pages. I �ve used them in my classes for years. I use many, many different books and materials every day to practice listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar and content.
All in all, I agree with Mena, as in "it depends" because all schools and programs are certainly different in structure and student levels/needs. I also don�t have a problem with multiple uploads per day. Keys are useless to me personally, but I don�t mind if they�re included, as others can use them. I don�t think they should be required for uploading. Finally, people who upload stuff separately just to make extra points aren�t keeping the spirit of this site in mind, in my opinion. Don�t we work hard enough already?
I have not
seen MENA �s post, pertinent as usual
Maybe we were typing our posts at the same time...
I do agree with you MENA ... IT DOES DEPEND.....
We disagree, however, on one single issue: the necessity of key
answers when it comes to grammar worksheets with exercises
We are always short of time, so I still think the key answers will allow us to
concentrate on something else
