Welcome to
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.
PLEASE; FOLKS; GO EASY ON COLOUR; PICTURES; DARK BACKGROUNDS, SHADES AND LARGE FRAMES
I was relieved to read that many other members of this site have the same "problems" with many worksheets. No matter whether our copying facilities are limited (only b/w etc.) or whether we teach adults or whether in our countries students don �t go in for millions of pictures on worksheets, whether they feel insulted or infantilized by elves, shamrocks, animals of all kinds - or whether they simply need larger fonts and less pictures, the following thread
initiated by Bill24 starts off a number of requests that I should like to summarize as follows:
PLEASE; FOLKS; GO EASY ON COLOUR AND PICTURES� BECAUSE �
- many of us prefer content to colour and pictures
- many of us remove all the shades before using the
printables
- many of us spend a lot
of time on removing colour, dark backgrounds, dozens of pictures from
worksheets before we can use them
- many of us remove pictures and enlarge the font so
that worksheets can be read and worked on more easily and students aren�t too
distracted
Of course I �m not trying to tell people how to do their worksheets. But I know some of you make sober worksheets for their classes but add lots of colour and other picturesque elements to get more points here because most people seem to go in for glary colourful worksheets regardless of content.
The new templates section enhances this tendency and makes it even more impossible to gain points for worksheets that don �t strike the eye even when your eyes are closed.
Please dear colleagues, don �t do it or add a simple version to the colourful one, you �re going to save lots of people a lot of time.
I think I �ll drink to that! We all like attractive worksheets, but it is true that many members go a bit too far on the pictures and colours thing. Apart from all the printing and copying difficulties, consider this: Even we find worksheets that are overloaded tiring to the eye, so imagine what happens to students! And what about adults or teenagers? They don � t really enjoy too many pictures...they find them rather childish. Yes, we all use pictures, frames, etc. to make our worksheets more attractive, but let �s not overdo it, ok? Have a great day!
Each to their own obviously, but I too prefer plainer looking w/s. I pay for my own print cartridges so am super conscious about ink-heavy documents. I do think some pictures are nice but my real bugbear is dark backgrounds, they �re just too wasteful for me.I just don �t even bother downloading them. I like stuff that �s all good to go, that requires minimal adjusting. It �s good to make the most of a page, but sometimes people go overboard and put so many words that you have to downsize the fonts because they don �t fit properly once you download them. Grrr!
It might also be an idea to have a graphic-free section in the recent printables.
Oh and I would love an extra age category: perhaps 18+. There �s a big difference between 14 and 18 year olds and what might appeal to them. In my case, my students are all at least 25 so I would love an adult section, with themes more suited to a more mature audience! and not a bunny or strawberry shortcake in sight!
I can only agree with all of you. I �d love to spend less time on removing frames, pictures and backgrounds. Less is more!! Have a nice weekend! Amandina
I agree with all that �s been said here. I make plenty of my own worksheets so I do appreciate the time, thought and effort that go in to making worksheets and I thank those who make them. I have found, however, that many worksheets on here look appealing because of the colours and pictures but there is so little space left for writing. They are simply too "busy" for me. I usually spend time spreading 1 page of work out into 2 or 3 pages simply to make room for my students to write what needs to be written. Personally, (and this is in no way an attack on those who do produce such lovely looking worksheets) I would much prefer a black and white worksheet, with a few age appropriate pictures, spread over 2 or 3 pages, with enough room for my students to write, than a 1 page worksheet, full of colour and 3 or 4 exercises squashed into a tight space.
With the exception of a game I uploaded, I stick to black and white in my worksheets and if that means I have less downloads and therefore less points, so be it. I don �t mind that at all. Black and white is also cheaper and, with the cost of ink, that �s a huge incentive for me.
Despite all that, I say thank you to everyone who produces worksheets here giving me the chance to use them myself. Your worksheets have saved me more than a couple of times. Thank you everyone!
You know what, those smileys that some people add to their w/s freak me out. I find them really creepy. I give them a wide berth and zoom on to the next w/s!!! On the other hand the ones here on the forum graphics are sweet and don �t bother me at all. Funny that
Just though i �d share..
Right, must stop dillydallying around and get on with my work.
Hi everyone Every day among the recent contributions there are all kinds of worksheets, for all tastes and we are free to choose what we think is useful for our classes. So why all the fuss? Sorry, I just don �t get it.
