Table Of ContentGuide to English for Newcomers
The Guide to English for Newcomers familiarizes students with the basic grammar, survival
vocabulary, and language they need to obtain necessities, make requests, and understand
instructions. The guide consists of 20 lessons, all of which incorporate listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. As building a strong foundation is essential to a student’s subsequent
progress, the lessons begin with close student-teacher interaction, and later allow for monitored
paired or independent student activities.
In addition to presenting attainable goals for beginners, the guide bridges the gap between
students’ daily life and classroom material. When students associate English with their personal
experiences, they retain more vocabulary and grammar. Consequently, each lesson is organized
around a theme, such as Activities in the Classroom, In Case of Emergency, or What Happened
Last Weekend? This, along with the numerous speaking, writing, and reading opportunities in
each lesson, ensures that each student interacts with both lesson content and with his or her peers
and teacher, resulting in effective lessons that promote acquisition within a limited time frame.
EACH LESSON CONTAINS
• A detailed lesson plan with prompts and tips for the instructor
• Word drills to ensure proper pronunciation
• A Language Blast for fast acquisition of Tier I vocabulary
• An array of worksheets to focus on Tier I vocabulary, other lesson vocabulary, lesson
grammar, and reading and listening comprehension
• Paired speaking exercises simulating real-life situations
• Grammar and vocabulary reinforcement activities allowing for student response
• A reading application to promote independent practice of the lesson material
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Newcomer Guide iv
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Lesson Theme Language Grammar Point Lesson Vocabulary
Blast
1. Introductions Cardinal Present Tense be with student, teacher, friend, class, teammate,
Numbers Subjects and Subject coach, artist, musician, athlete, cook, girl, boy
Pronouns
2. Personal Information Money Present Tense be with name, city, state, birth date, street, address,
Interrogative Sentences phone number, favorite food, favorite book,
favorite movie
3. Daily Routines Seasons Present Tense Verbs wake up, get up, brush hair/teeth, take a
with Subject/Verb shower, eat breakfast, go to school, go to
Agreement class, eat lunch, go home, do homework,
play sports, practice an instrument, eat
dinner, watch TV, go to sleep
4. Classroom Objects Days of the Present Tense do with desk, board, clock, computer, map, chair,
and Supplies / Week Interrogative Sentences ruler, eraser, pencil, paper, textbook,
Activities in the notebook, pass tests, ask questions,
Classroom finish homework, solve problems, take
notes, teach lessons, help classmates
5. In Case of Emergency Review Daily Imperative Go to the doctor, call the police, call for help,
Routine police officer, paramedic, firefighter, nurse,
Vocabulary hospital, police station, bandage, earthquake,
fire, flood
6. Activities with Friends Months of the Present Progressive playing a game, reading a book, listening to
Year music, singing a song, eating a meal, walking
to school, going out, watching a movie,
talking on the phone
7. What Are You Doing? Review Days Present Progressive to Questions words – Who? What? When?
of the Week be + subject + gerund Where? Why? How? plus gerunds from
and Months in Interrogative last lesson
of the Year Sentences
8. Types of Classes Parts of the Possessive Nouns language arts, math, physical education,
Body social studies, homeroom, chemistry, art,
music, science, biology, history, hair, head,
shoulders, neck, throat, back, chest, stomach,
arms, elbows, hands, wrists, fingers, legs,
knees, ankles, feet, toes, face, ears, nose, eyes,
mouth, tongue, cheeks, eyebrows, teeth, lips
9. Physical Ordinal Adjectives big, clean, dirty, small, long, short, tall, fat,
Characteristics Numbers thin, ugly, pretty
10. Comparing Places Adjectives Regular Comparatives reinforce adjectives from previous lesson
Inside a School and Superlatives and auditorium, gym, library, cafeteria,
hallway, classroom, locker, office
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Newcomer Guide v
Lesson Theme Language Grammar Point Lesson Vocabulary
Blast
11. Describing Yourself Adjectives Regular Comparatives intelligent, stupid, interesting, dull, funny,
and Others and Superlatives talkative, nervous, energetic, hopeful, elegant,
frightened, playful, loving
12. Plans for the Comparatives Simple Future Tense going to see, going to go, going to dance,
Weekend and going to going to study, going to go shopping,
Superlatives mall, club, a friend’s house, downtown,
the beach
13. Life Predictions and Comparatives Simple Future will I think I will…Have kids, get married, be a
Spontaneous and (doctor), go to college, buy a house/
Decisions Superlatives apartment, live in (California), have a family,
get a job, live in a different country, travel
around the world, start my own business,
write a book, direct a movie, be on TV
14. Lost in the City Prepositions Prepositions of Place bank, post office, restaurant, museum,
of Place stadium, hospital, train station, library,
supermarket, café, bus stop, hotel
in, on, at, over, under, behind, around the
corner in front of, beside, to the left, to the
right, across from
15. Chores / Preparing Prepositions Have to and need to clean the room, sweep the floor, take out the
for an Exam of Place Phrases trash, make the bed, dust the furniture,
vacuum the carpet, study, read, review,
practice
16. Time Time Past Tense Regular and talk, say, think, do, make, see, and practice
Irregular prepositions of place (in, on, at)
17. Don’t Be Late! Past Tense Past tense had to and practice making excuses with verbs that
Verbs needed to have already been covered, especially
past tense of have to and need to
18. Food and Drink Irregular to be Past Tense Regular and vegetables (carrot, broccoli, potato, tomato,
and to have Irregular pepper, lettuce, cucumber, onion), fruit
(apple, pear, orange, watermelon, kiwi,
cantaloupe, grape, blueberry, strawberry),
chicken, fish, beef, ham, rice, cheese,
pasta, sandwich, bread, soup, water, juice,
soda, coffee, tea
19. What Happened Irregular Past Past Tense Irregular begin, become, bring, buy, eat, drink, fall,
Last Weekend? Tense Verbs feel, forget, fly, get, give, go, hear, know,
meet, make, pay, read, run, send, say, see,
take, teach, take, think, throw, understand,
win, write
20. Place Settings/ Irregular Past Modal Verbs plate, cup, napkin, spoon, fork, knife, bowl,
At a Party Tense Verbs glass, and continue with verbs
Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Newcomer Guide vi
Lesson 1: Introductions
STEP 1: WORD DRILL 3 MINUTES LESSON OBJECTIVES
Students will:
(Teach/Guided Practice) Greet the class, and wave while saying,
• respond to basic questions
Hello! Gesture to the class to repeat: Hello. After class has repeated, say
used in a greeting
Hello again and elicit a second repetition. This establishes a rhythm that
• learn plural and describe
used to introduce new or difficult words: teacher first and then the class.
themselves and their
(Guided Practice) After students have echoed as a class, point to peers
random individual students, say hello, and invite the student to repeat • speak in complete,
coherent sentences to
alone. This routine should always be used when introducing new words
make introductions
in order to keep the students involved. It ensures that the words are
• use declarative sentences
being pronounced correctly by everybody. to identify peers and
describe themselves
STEP 2: BUILD BACKGROUND 10 MINUTES • listen to instructions and to
(Teach/Guided Practice/Practice) This is a continuation of Step 1 and their peers’ dialogue
can be used as a way of introducing yourself. Write the short dialogue
LESSON VOCABULARY
below on the board, read the first two lines aloud, and elicit repetition
student, teacher, friend,
from the students after each line. class, teammate, coach,
artist, musician, athlete,
Let each student practice introducing him or herself, starting the
cook, girl, boy
dialogue from the beginning each time. After each student has had a
LESSON RESOURCES
turn, continue with the remaining four lines of the dialogue. Repeat
Worksheet 1.1
until students are comfortable pronouncing the words. Then say the first Language Blast: Numerals
line (A), and elicit the class to respond (B). Reverse roles. When results and Words, Cardinal
Numbers
are satisfactory, allow students to practice the new routine in pairs while
Worksheet 1.2
teacher circulates and monitors progress.
Vocabulary Development:
A: Hello! I am __________. What is your name? People We Know
B: Hello! I am __________. Worksheet 1.3
Speaking and Listening:
A: How are you? Plural Nouns
B: I’m fine, thanks. How are you? Worksheet 1.4
Reading and Fluency
A: I’m fine, thanks. It is nice to meet you.
Worksheet 1.5
B: It is nice to meet you too. Daily Review
STEP 3: INDEPENDENT RECITATION 4 MINUTES Teaching Tip The word drill
is highly effective when the
(Apply) If students grasp Step 2 quickly, give them two minutes to
teacher generates a high
memorize the dialogue on the board. When time is up, erase the energy level using as many
dialogue and chose a few pairs to recite it from memory. gestures as possible, and
elicits constant responses
STEP 4: LANGUAGE BLAST 15 MINUTES and participation from the
class.
(Teach/Guided Practice/Practice) Ask students how high they can
count in English. Start with one and count until the students have
stopped. Work on pronunciation and drill difficult numbers. After
students can count to fifty as a class, go around the room, pointing to
individual students until each student has said a number. Pass out
Worksheet 1.1 and allow students 5-10 minutes to complete it.
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Newcomer Guide 2
STEP 5: VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT 10 MINUTES Optional Memory Game
10-15 minutes
(Teach/Practice/Apply) Distribute a copy of Worksheet 1.2 to each
Photocopy the Memory
student. Begin by asking the students if they recognize any of the Game on page 150 (make 1-
vocabulary next to the pictures. Point to each picture and pronounce the 3 copies depending on class
size), and cut out individual
word next to it. Invite the class to repeat the vocabulary in unison. Then
sentences. Make sure
ask students to practice it in pairs. Monitor the students’ interaction and
students feel comfortable
intervene if any incorrect pronunciation is overheard. pronouncing the vocabulary
before starting. Distribute
STEP 6: GRAMMAR AND CONVENTIONS 8 MINUTES one sentence to each
student. Start at one corner
(Guided Practice) Ask the class: What change do we make to a noun if
of the room, asking the
there is more than one? Say you have one friend, what do you add to
student to read his or her
friend to make it plural? Help students answer: We add an –s when sentence aloud to the class: I
there is more than one friend. am a girl. Now the teacher
should repeat She is a girl.
Now ask: What change do we make to a noun plural that ends in y or and then add his or her own
ch? Help students answer: We add an –es to nouns that end in ch. We sentence: I am a teacher.
Teacher then invites the next
add an –ies to nouns that end in y. Distribute a copy of Worksheet 1.3
student to follow the pattern:
to each student to practice forming plural nouns. Have students
She is a girl. He is a teacher.
complete the first half of the worksheet. and I am a teammate. This
continues until every student
SPEAKING AND LISTENING has taken a turn. Anybody
who needs more than one
(Practice/Apply) To reinforce introductions, as well as vocabulary
clue to complete his or her
comprehension, allow students to complete the second half of
turn is out.
Worksheet 1.3 in pairs. Monitor activity and correct any grammar or
Worksheet 1.4 Note
pronunciation errors. Correct in class or collect when the lesson is In this activity students will
finished. encounter unfamiliar words.
If their meaning cannot be
immediately extrapolated
STEP 7: READING AND FLUENCY 10 MINUTES
from the text, guide students
(Apply/Review) Distribute a copy of Worksheet 1.4 to each student. If though a reasoning process
time allows, choose a few students to read the selection aloud. If not, that leads to a better
understanding of the
students should read it independently and answer the follow-up
selection instead of directly
questions in the second part of the worksheet. Correct in class or collect feeding them the definition.
when the lesson is finished. You can also ask the other
students in the class if they
have understood the word in
question, and encourage
those who have to assist
their classmates.
Note: To allow for further
review, Worksheet 1.5 may
be assigned as homework.
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Newcomer Guide 3
Name ________________________________ Class ____________________ Date_______________________
Worksheet 1.1: Language Blast
Numerals and Words
DIRECTIONS Look at the numbers and study the words. Then complete the
exercises below.
1 – one 11 – eleven 21 – twenty-one 40 – forty 500 – five hundred
2 – two 12 – twelve 22 – twenty-two 50 – fifty 600 – six hundred
3 – three 13 – thirteen 23 – twenty-three 60 – sixty 700 – seven hundred
4 – four 14 – fourteen 24 – twenty-four 70 – seventy 800 – eight hundred
5 – five 15 – fifteen 25 – twenty-five 80 – eighty 900 – nine hundred
6 – six 16 – sixteen 26 – twenty-six 90 – ninety
7 – seven 17 – seventeen 27 – twenty-seven 100 – one hundred
8 – eight 18 – eighteen 28 – twenty-eight 200 – two hundred
9 – nine 19 – nineteen 29 – twenty-nine 300 – three hundred
10 – ten 20 – twenty 30 – thirty 400 – four hundred
1000 – one thousand 498 – four hundred and ninety-eight
10,000 – ten thousand 1,200 – One thousand two hundred
100,000 – one hundred thousand 301,000 – Three hundred and one thousand
1,000,000 – one million 300,100 – Three hundred thousand one hundred
1,000,000,000 – one billion 300,001 – Three hundred thousand and one
1,100,900 – One million, one hundred thousand, nine hundred
Cardinal Numbers
DIRECTIONS Change the words to numerals.
1. Nineteen ________________________.
2. Forty-two _________________________.
3. One thousand nine hundred and three _____________________________.
DIRECTIONS Change the numerals to words.
4. 89_________________________________________________________________________.
5. 313________________________________________________________________________.
6. 3,600_______________________________________________________________________.
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Newcomer Guide 4
Name ________________________________ Class ____________________ Date_______________________
Worksheet 1.2: Vocabulary Development
People We Know
DIRECTIONS Look at the pictures and try to recognize the words you know.
Listen as your teacher reads the vocabulary aloud, and pronounce the words
with the rest of the class. Find a partner and practice pronouncing the words.
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Newcomer Guide 5
Name ________________________________ Class ____________________ Date_______________________
Worksheet 1.3: Speaking and Listening
Plural Nouns
DIRECTIONS In English, plural nouns are made by adding -s, –es, or –ies.
With a partner, change the singular nouns below to plural.
1. athlete _________________ 2. teammate ____________________
3. musician ___________________ 4. coach _________________
5. artist _____________________ 6. friend ____________________
7. cook ____________________ 8. teacher ____________________
9. girl ______________________ 10. lady _____________________
11. boy ______________________ 12. baby ______________________
Dialogue
DIRECTIONS Read the dialogue with your partner. Use your own names and
the vocabulary words from the list above. Check each vocabulary word as you
use it. Use at least 10 words.
A: Hello. My name is ___________.
B: Hi. I’m __________.
A: It is nice to meet you.
B: It is nice to meet you, too.
A: Are you a ________________?
B: No, I am not a ______________. I am a student.
A: Welcome to our class.
B: Thank you!
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Newcomer Guide 6
Name ________________________________ Class ____________________ Date_______________________
Worksheet 1.4: Reading and Fluency
Reading for Understanding
DIRECTIONS Read the story below and use it to help you with the exercise in
second part of the worksheet.
Opposites
DIRECTIONS Circle the sentences that best describe Tom and Anita. Then
write the opposite of the sentences you do not circle in the space provided. The
first one has been done for you.
1. They are brothers. ______________________________________________________.
2. They are teachers. _______________________________________________________.
3. They are students. ______________________________________________________.
4. They are coaches. ______________________________________________________.
5. They are friends. _______________________________________________________.
6. They are in the same class. _______________________________________________.
7. Anita is a new student. ___________________________________________________.
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Newcomer Guide 7
