Wanna know the secret to grammar worksheets ESL students love? Make them self-checking! Students can instantly see whether they’ve got the correct answer, so they’re getting feedback on their work. In addition, they get to see a cool picture appear the closer they get to ‘solving’ the whole thing! Pixel art picture reveal worksheets provide super engaging and fun practice. Let me tell you how to use them!
I’m always looking for fun ESL grammar worksheets for my students that are high engagement and low prep. I found that the grammar exercises ESL students love are of the digital variety, meaning they can be done online. Instant feedback is great too, that’s why I enjoy using a platform like BOOM learning as well. Grammar activities for ESL students should be visual too, so giving them a reward with a picture gradually appearing gives great satisfaction.
Wanna try one such worksheets? Grab this free Irregular Plural Nouns Pixel Art Worksheet by clicking here to see what it’s all about!
How to teach grammar to ESL students
So let’s go back to basics real quick here and talk about what any good grammar lesson looks like. I believe that it should have 4 stages:
- Introduce the grammar topic
- Teach the grammar topic
- Practice the grammar topic in action
- Produce a new text to show transfer of learning
I’ve created a free Great Grammar Lesson Road Map that explains all of this in detail. Click here to grab it for free right now!
In short, what has worked really well for my students is to first introduce the grammar topic in an engaging way. This can be through visuals, like objects or a video. Or you can have students draw something or have a short conversation together. Next, you teach the grammar topic in a clear way that explains the rule that is meant to be followed. Then you give students some exercises to practice that rule and help them internalize what they’ve learned. And last, you provide students with a task to write a new piece of text or speak one that will ask them to use the grammar point from scratch. It should show their transfer of learning in a new situation.
Grammar ESL worksheets to love
Grammar lessons for ESL students should follow that structure if you want them to succeed. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen time and again. But where then do we use these amazing grammar worksheets for ESL students I’ve been on about, you ask? This can happen at 2 points!
Point 1: In the practice phase. These pixel art worksheets can serve as practice worksheets after the teaching phase has ended and students need to practice what they’ve just learned. It’s an easy way to check that students have understood what you tried to teach them. It’s easy for you to spot the results, but it is for the students too. And they can also change their own answers if they were wrong.
Point 2: In the introduction phase. These pixel art worksheets can serve as introduction tools to a grammar point. They can help refresh the minds of your students, or they can activate prior knowledge about a topic. For example, a coordinating conjunctions worksheet could serve as a reminder of what conjunctions are before you teach your students about subordinating conjunctions.
Bonus points
A: You can use these worksheets as extra challenge tools for more advanced students. Alternatively, they could also work as extra practice for those who need it, or as a homework task.
B: These worksheets are fun enough to actually use them as fun brain breaks. They could be used at any time during another lesson. This could be a related one or not, when you just need a quick, different activity than what you have been working on at that moment, but still give students something useful to do.
Wanna use grammar worksheets ESL students enjoy?
Let’s list again why these pixel art picture reveal worksheets are amazing:
- They are self-checking, so no grading for the teacher
- The worksheets are self-checking, so instant feedback for the student
- There’s the interactive element, because students need to interact with the material they learn about
- They are visually appealing
- These worksheets contain an element of mystery, which boosts engagement in students
I told you about my freebie that I made for you to try out one of these worksheets for yourself, and you can grab it here, if you haven’t already. But I also have a bundle of 11 more worksheets about various grammar topics available in my store that you could check out! You can grab the whole bundle, or you can check out the individual ones. Whatever suits your needs is what I’m here for! Let me know if you have any questions too!
Related articles:
How to teach a great grammar lesson in English the best way possible
How grammar games can help engage students and solidify their learning
