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ESL Calendar
(Built for teachers of ESL)
Brought to you by Leon's Planet Dot Com
Foreword: About me, the author
| I was a full-time teacher for 25 years (elementary mostly;
but taught all ages K-adult, including many, many years of ESL and EFL). See my curriculum
vitae (my CV). I am now retired from teaching and I designed
this calendar page to help TESOL / TESL / TEFL teachers organize their
lessons that are aligned with special holidays and
observances both Nationally and Internationally. This comes to you
free of charge; no cookies (for your privacy); no registration (or
sign-ups); IN FACT, I pay money out of my own "pocket"
to run this website; So, any donations would be greatly
appreciated. You can donate through PayPal, which keeps all your
sensitive information secret (from me). Just go to my
"About" page and click on the "Donate" button. |
Important Preface for All Teachers:
If you have bookmarked this page, or just come
back frequently, you will want
to refresh the page each time you come back to get the latest content.
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vs.
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WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ESL
AND EFL?
ESL is for students who are living in an all-English environment.
EFL is for students who are living in a non-English environment.
Thus, ESL may focus on all subjects, while EFL will
focus mostly on the acquisition of the English language in its rudiments
and basics.
This page is mostly for ESL teachers/students, but can be used for
EFL teachers/students as well.
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CAUTION
Don't try to do all of this! That would be too much. These are only
suggestions. Pick and choose which ones that you want to teach/do.
Don't overwork yourself. P.S., I am American, so when it says,
"National...Day", that would be a U.S. National Day. Also, I realize that
teaching
doesn't typically happen on the weekends, so those weekend activities can be
incorporated sometime during the week. I try to stay a week or two ahead
so that you can plan ahead.
 |
December
2023
[ X-mas
Season ]
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*
Teaching Tips in Blue (below
the day).
*
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
26
Int'l Cake Day;
|
27
Cyber Monday;
Pins and Needles Day;
|
28
Giving Tuesday;
Nat'l French Toast Day;
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29
Electronic Greetings Day;
Left-over Day (either eat or throw out). |
30
Int'l Computer security Day;
Nat'l Personal-space Day;
|
01
December
Red Apple Day;
Rosa Parks Day;
Nat'l Pie Day;
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02
December
Special Education Day; |
ESL
(Reading):
Learn to read a recipe.
Math ESL:
Baking a cake is a great way to learn math AND English at the same time!
|
Cyber
Monday:
Don't forget to take advantage of cyber Monday to get ESL supplies online.
Proverbs ESL:
- Walking on pins and needles.
- I have a whole page on English
proverbs that you can teach your students.
|
Social
ESL:
Giving is not just a joy, it is a great way to make friends. Learn
when it is appropriate to give and how much to give.
Vocab:
- give, giving
Discussion:
Why do we give?
What can we give?
Where can we give?
|
Food
ESL:
Learn how long it is safe to keep food in the fridge.
Food Vocab:
- turkey
- mashed potatoes
- gravy
- yams
- stuffing
- cranberry sauce
- left-overs
|
I.T.
/ Cyber Safety
Learn how to protect one's devices with safe passwords (and maybe 2-step
verification).
Cyber Vocab:
- cyber
- online
- web
- internet
- password
- username
- login
|
Apple
ESL:
Learn all about apples on my apples
page.
Great page for generating
discussion.
|
? |
03
Make a gift day;
_______________
Hand-washing Awareness Week >>>
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04
Santa's List Day;
Nat'l Cookie Day;
Wildlife Conservation Day;
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05
Int'l Volunteer Day;
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06
Mitten Tree Day;
St. Nicholas Day;
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07
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day;
Letter-writing Day;
______________
Hanukkah Begins.
(Goes 'till 15th).
|
08
Pretend to be a time-traveler Day;
Nat'l Blue Collar Day;
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09
X-mas Card Day;
National Pasta Day;
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| EFL/ESL
Vocab:
Arts & Crafts
Craft
Gift vs. Present
(Gift is the noun form of give).
(Present is the noun form of present).
USAGE:
Give a gift.
Give ((sb)) a gift.
Present ((sb)) with a present.
Present ((sth)) to ((sb)).
|
ESL
Discussion Topics:
(1) Which list are you
on?
(2) Do you have a wish list for Christmas?
(3) Do you celebrate Christmas in your country?
(4) How do you celebrate Christmas?
(5) If you don't celebrate Christmas, what is the biggest holiday of
the year in your country?
|
ESL
Vocab:
volunteer
service
help
support
Discussion Topics:
(1) What would you like
to volunteer for?
(2) Do you like to do service?
(3) How can I help you learn English?
(4) What support do you need?
|
Mitten
Tree Day:
The idea of mitten tree day is that one acquires a bunch of mittens, hangs
them on the tree, and over the course of the holidays, hands them out to
those in need.
St. Nicholas Day;
Learn more about "St. Nick" and other Santas
around the world on Leon's Planet.
|
ESL
(Writing):
Good day to write a letter to Santa. (Please follow the writing
process). |
ESL
(Reading):
Great time to read a new book about time travel. After all, it is
read-a-new-book month.
Maybe the Magic School
Bus has something on time travel.
Mr. Peabody has a time
machine! |
ESL
(Writing):
Time to send out those Christmas cards. I'd have the students make
their own.
However, I'd go through the writing
process first, before actually making the cards.
|
10
Jane Adams Day;
(First American Woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize);
Human Rights Day;
|
11
Unicef Day for Change;
(Unicef's Birthday);
Int'l Mountain Day;
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12
New Moon.
Nat'l Poinsetta Day;
Gingerbread House Day;
Nat'l Ambrosia Day;
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13
Nat'l Cocoa Day;
Nat'l Day of the Horse;
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14
Roast Chestnuts Day;
Nat'l Energy Conservation Day;
Monkey Day;
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15
Last day of Hanukkah;
Bill of Rights Day;
Nat'l Cupcake Day;
Int'l Tea Day;
Nat'l Ugly X-mas Sweater Day (3rd Friday);
Underdog Day; |
16
Boston Tea Party Day;
Nat'l-Wreaths-Across- America Day (on 3rd Saturday in December); |
| ESL
Discussion Topics:
(1) Secondary or Adults: What
you do to try and win the Nobel Peace Prize?
(2) Elementary: If the
school gave out a Peace Prize, what would you do to try and win that
prize?
|
ESL
Vocab:
Mountain
Hill
Island (is a mountain).
Discussion Topics:
(1) What is the highest
mountain in the world?
Answer: Mt. Everest.
(2) What is the tallest mountain in the world?
Answer: Hawaii.
|
ESL
Vocab:
Moon
New moon
Full moon
Half moon
Phases of the moon.
Waxing moon
Waning moon
Discussion Topics:
(1) Is the moon important in your culture?
(2) Tell me about it.
|
ESL
Vocab:
Equines
Horse
Donkey
Mule
Zebra
Discussion Topics:
(1) Are horses important in your culture?
(2) Why? How?
|
ESL
Vocab:
Chestnuts
Energy
Monkey
Ape
Discussion Topics:
(1) Have you ever eaten a chestnut? Do you like chestnuts?
(2) How many types of energy can you name?
(3) Can you name some monkeys? apes?
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ESL
Vocab:
Underdog
Tea
Black tea
Herbal tea
Green tea
Cupcake
Sweater
Discussion Topics:
(1) What's your favorite tea? (Coffee is a tea).
(2) If coffee is a tea, then hot cocoa is a tea, right?
|
ESL
Vocab:
Wreath
Holly
Bough
Deck (v.t.)
Song: Deck the Halls with boughs of holly.
Song: ...and the
prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door.
|
17
Wright Brothers Day;
Nat'l Maple Syrup Day;
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18
Bake cookies day;
Nat'l Twins day;
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19
Evergreen Day;
Holly Day;
Nat'l Emo Day;
Nat'l Hard Candy Day;
Nat'l Oatmeal Muffin Day;
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20
Caroling Day;
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21
Nat'l Short Story Day;
Crossword Puzzle Day;
World Snowboard Day;
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22
Winter Solstice.
Yule Traditions Begin.
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23
Nat'l Roots Day;
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24
Nat'l Eggnog Day;
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25
Christmas.
|
26
Kwanza begins.
(Goes 'till Jan. 1st).
________________
Canadian Boxing Day.
________________
Full Moon.
________________
Thank-you note day;
Nat'l Candy Cane Day; |
27
Make cut-out snowflakes day;
|
28
Nat'l Card-playing Day;
Nat'l Call-a-friend Day;
Nat'l Chocolate Candy Day;
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29
Still-need-to-do Day; |
30
Nat'l Resolution Day;
Nat'l Bacon Day;
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My sources for this page:
[ Time
and Date Dot Com ] [ Parade
] [ Spruce
]
[ Parents, please see my Parents'
Portal Page ]
Archived
November 2023
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
| 12 Diwali:
Hindu New Year.
Int'l Tongue-Twister
Day;
_____________________
Nat'l Young-readers' week >
World Kindness Week >
Geography Week > |
13
World Kindness Day;
World Orphans' Day; |
14
Nat'l PJ Day;
Int'l Girls' Day;
Teddy-bear Day;
World Diabetes Day; |
15
U.S. Recycle Day;
I-love-to-write Day;
|
16
World Philosophy Day;
Nat'l Button Day; |
17
Guinness World Record Day;
Nat'l Homemade Bread Day; |
18
Apple Cider Day;
Mickey Mouse Day;
Int'l stand-up-to-bullying Day;
|
ESL
(Literacy):
If you have a novice reader, there is no better way to increase reading
speed than by rote; And, there is no funner way to do rote reading
than by practicing those tongue twisters. See my Tongue
Twisters Page. It has old and new (original) tongue twisters,
with audio and timers (so that you can time yourself). |
ESL
(Literacy):
Famous orphans in literature:
Tom Sawyer,
David Copperfield,
Pollyanna,
Peter Pan,
Mowgli,
Harry Potter,
Pipi Longstocking,
Sophie (The BFG),
James (James and the Giant Peach),
Mathilda...
Learn all about Roald Dahl on Leon's Planet. Just click on
Mathilda (above). |
Dress-up
Day:
Kids love dress-up days: Let your students wear their PJs and bring
a teddy bear with them to "school" today. Do PJ &
Teddy-bear themed work today.
Vocabulary:
Where did the word pajamas come from? It comes from the Hindi
language and means leg-clothing. Europeans adopted them for night
wear. Now, Where did the word "Teddy bear" come from?
It was named after President Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt, and
became popular through a comic-illustrated poem about two bears named
"Teddy".
|
ESL
Writing:
Writing is an important part of any ESL program.
Since it is I-love-to-write
Day, do something super sun with writing.
Working on some Calligrams
related to their vocabulary words for the week would be super fun.
Calligrams
are explained in detail on my site.
|
ESL
Art:
Time to get out your collection of buttons and used them in art projects.
Perhaps make some pilgrims for Thanksgiving.
While the children are
working on their art projects, you can read some Thanksgiving literature
to them. Thanksgiving
Vocab:
- Thanksgiving
- Pilgrims
- turkey
- mashed potatoes
- gravy
- yams
- stuffing
- cranberry sauce |
Math
& Reading:
Baking is a super fantastic way to teach math (and reading of a recipe).
Science (Biology):
The Guinness World Records are a wonderful way to get children interested
in biology (and genetics and stuff like that).
On Leon's Planet:
The
oldest cat.
The
biggest apple. |
coming
soon... |
19
Nat'l Play Monopoly Day;
Int'l Men's Day;
World Toilet Day;
____________________
Nat'l Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week >
Nat'l Family Week > |
20
Universal Children's Day;
Nat'l Absurdity Day; |
21
Nat'l Entrepreneur's Day;
World Hello Day; |
22
Go-for-a-ride Day;
Love-your-freckles Day;
Humane Society Day;
Start-your-own-country Day;
|
23
U.S. Thanksgiving
|
24
Black Friday;
Native American Heritage Day;
Day of listening;
Celebrate your unique talent day; |
25
Nat'l Play-with-dad Day; |
Economics
ESL:
Monopoly is a good game to learn the basic rudiments of an economy
English, and plus, it's FUN!
History ESL:
Might be interesting to learn history by learning the history of the
toilet (from outhouse to flush toilet).
|
General
ESL:
Since it is Nat'l Absurdity Day, it might be a good time to explore the
absurdities of the English language. (I have a page
on this topic).
Children's Day:
Maybe focus on vocabulary pertaining to children (boy, girl, adolescent,
teenager, adult, toddler, infant, etc., etc.)
|
General
ESL:
Make plans to make friends with native speakers. This is perhaps the
best way to learn English. |
Geography
ESL:
I love this activity for geography. Make a map of your own country
(of your own design), name it, label it. Have mountains, rivers,
lakes, coasts, deserts, valleys, cities, farmland, volcanoes, etc.
Teach the symbols for each. Make a legend. This is such a fun
activity. |
There's
no school today.
But, I do have a page
about Thanksgiving.
|
History
ESL:
Celebrate the Native Americans (Wampanoags) who helped the pilgrims
survive in their new habitat.
Discuss the difference
between the words: Indian (as in a person from India) & American
Indian (Native American).
Discuss the difference
between 'Native American' and 'native America'.
|
Self-explanatory. |
26
Int'l Cake Day;
|
27
Cyber Monday;
Pins and Needles Day;
|
28
Giving Tuesday;
Nat'l French Toast Day;
|
29
Electronic Greetings Day;
Left-over Day (either eat or throw out). |
30
Int'l Computer security Day;
Nat'l Personal-space Day;
|
01
December
Red Apple Day;
Rosa Parks Day;
Nat'l Pie Day;
|
02
December
Special Education Day; |
ESL
(Reading):
Learn to read a recipe.
Math ESL:
Baking a cake is a great way to learn math AND English at the same time!
|
Cyber
Monday:
Don't forget to take advantage of cyber Monday to get ESL supplies online.
Proverbs ESL:
- Walking on pins and needles.
- I have a whole page on English
proverbs that you can teach your students.
|
Social
ESL:
Giving is not just a joy, it is a great way to make friends. Learn
when it is appropriate to give and how much to give.
Vocab:
- give, giving
Discussion:
Why do we give?
What can we give?
Where can we give?
|
Food
ESL:
Learn how long it is safe to keep food in the fridge.
Food Vocab:
- turkey
- mashed potatoes
- gravy
- yams
- stuffing
- cranberry sauce
- left-overs
|
I.T.
/ Cyber Safety
Learn how to protect one's devices with safe passwords (and maybe 2-step
verification).
Cyber Vocab:
- cyber
- online
- web
- internet
- password
- username
- login
|
Apple
ESL:
Learn all about apples on my apples
page.
Great page for generating
discussion.
|
? |
|
