This is a desk-top mat for mainstream teachers with EAL students in the class. It's a short check list and then suggested activities for beginners through to advanced bilingual learners.

This is a series of contrasting pictures, with questions, for making comparisons. Good 'brain gym&' activity.

There are two sets of 11 boxes with a short paragraph. In pairs, the students discuss which of each pair is the best paragraph and why. They can 'mix and match' and create their own version. Next, they match the 11 paragraphs up to the pictures and put them in sequence to tell the basic storyline. I have taken the box layout and pictures from the internet.

This is a questionnaire for the students to do in pairs. There is a match-up exercise on page 2. I have prepared it for my EAL students, but it could be used as an ice breaker after the holiday. Or they could answer the questions as a written exercise.

Three sheets, with six drawing activities. The sheets give them a chance to express themselves as each one has a task attached.

This is a grid with question openers and tasks going through Bloom's taxonomy. It avoids modals (would, could, should, might) and compound tenses and uses simple language structures that students at an early level of English language acquisition can access.

Some literacy activities for Christmas - 'how many words can you make from...?&' with fly in answers. Jumbled words of Christmas vocabulary and two Christmas pictures for memory games, with questions.