Strategies for Essay Writing

For educators looking to strengthen their students’ academic writing skills, the Harvard College Writing Center’s “Strategies for Essay Writing” offers a clear, concise, and practical guide that covers the entire writing process. Hosted on the official website of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, this resource is ideal for high school and university-level instruction, especially in English language and humanities classrooms.

The site features a series of short, accessible articles that address key aspects of writing an academic essay, including:

• Understanding the assignment
• Developing a thesis
• Organizing arguments
• Counterargument strategies
• Transitions and coherence
• Revising and editing effectively

Each article presents concrete strategies and questions students can ask themselves to improve clarity, argumentation, and structure in their writing. There are also links to additional guidance on grammar, style, and discipline-specific expectations.

Find this amazing resource on:

https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/strategies-essay-writing

Most Americans love reading aloud to children, survey finds

A recent YouGov survey reveals that 53% of U.S. adults say they love reading to children, with another 14% doing so very frequently. The findings highlight the continued value placed on shared reading experiences, especially when books are fun, visually engaging, and educational.

What kinds of books are most enjoyed?

Picture books top the list, with 50% saying they “love” them and 34% saying they “like” them.

Books with rhyming text and educational content are also well-received.

While chapter books are slightly less popular, they still hold a strong place in read-aloud routines.

The survey also shows what adults prioritize when choosing read-aloud books:

They should be entertaining (64% rated this as very important).

Have appealing illustrations (57%).

Offer a valuable message or lesson (51%).

Interestingly, 18% of respondents say they “always” use different voices for characters, while over 60% do so at least occasionally — a simple yet powerful strategy to spark imagination and hold children's attention.

This data reinforces the importance of reading aloud as an educational and emotional tool. Teachers and families alike can enrich storytime by selecting fun, visual, and meaningful books, and bringing characters to life with voice variations. It’s not just about reading — it’s about creating a moment of connection and curiosity.

Source: 

https://today.yougov.com/society/articles/52531-most-americans-say-they-love-reading-to-children

80 Sponge Activities by whatihavelearnedteaching.com

Coined by Madeline Hunter, sponge activities are short, low-preparation exercises used to turn downtime into productive learning moments. These activities reinforce vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, etc., in small bursts, keep learners mentally active and focused even during unexpected pauses, and provide variety and fun, increasing motivation and classroom energy.

Short
Practice existing material
On‑their‑own or with peers
No new content introduced
Groups engaged
Elicit immediate responses

This resource is a collection of 80 short, ready-to-go classroom activities designed to fill those spare minutes—at the beginning, end, or during transitions—with meaningful practice. These “sponge” tasks include:

- Quick challenges like vocabulary scrambles, mini-dictations, word formation, or listing words by category.

- Games such as 20 Questions, flashcard races, or storytelling starters.

- Collaborative prompts—group questions, drawing tasks from oral descriptions, or quick debates—easy to launch and wrap up in a few minutes.

Find them on:

https://whatihavelearnedteaching.com/80-sponge-activities/

People on the Move

World Population Day, celebrated on July 11, is a global observance that highlights pressing demographic issues like migration, fertility, and urbanization. Focusing on migration fits perfectly with the day’s mission to deepen public understanding of how population changes shape societies and economies.

This resource for grades 6-8 provides a comprehensive, classroom-ready unit on human migration, covering:

- Key definitions (e.g., migrant, refugee, internally displaced person)

- Global data and trends on population movement

- Illustrated case studies that examine causes and challenges of migration

- Engaging activities, including readings, data interpretation, graphic organizers, and writing prompts

It encourages cross-disciplinary learning by integrating geography, social studies, and language arts, all while focusing on English vocabulary and comprehension.

Find it on:

https://populationeducation.org/resource/people-on-the-move/

Taller de competencia oral en inglés

Taller de competencia oral en inglés dirigido a profesorado de EOI, y también de Secundaria y Primaria. Se realizará en el IES Las Lagunas de Torrevieja los jueves 16, 23, 30 de octubre y 6 de noviembre, de 17 a 19.30 horas.

El taller cuenta con 12 plazas y se requiere un nivel mínimo C1, ya que el objetivo principal es mejorar la expresión oral en inglés. El taller será impartido por la profesora Helen Fazackerley.

https://cefire.edu.gva.es/sfp/index.php?seccion=edicion&id=12679158

English Phonetics (nivell B2)

L'Escola Oficial d'Idiomes d'Alacant posa en marxa nous cursos d'oferta formativa complementària A DISTÀNCIA en l'idioma anglés, amb una duració de 60 hores anuals o 30 hores anuals, segons el curs.

Entre els cursos oferits, destaquem el curs de English Phonetics (nivell B2), dirigit exclusivament al professorat d'àmbits no lingüístics.

Període d'inscripció: del 4 al 20 de juliol

La inscripció es realitzarà a través del següent enllaç al formulari d'inscripció:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=FBHdc33vx0CGaVadMufimx6gEiqgeg5CjPLnvVuSRndUQTIxRFNQR1hRWFZORkdMVUJQUzI3RTJNUi4u&route=shorturl