Story Using Consonant Clusters and Diagraphs for the -ot word Family

(TESOL Worksheets-- -ot word family)

Google: slides, pub  (This was created on Gemini Storybook.  The original storybook is here, and was created in this chat.  I adjusted some of the pictures.)

This is based on a word set previously posted here.

Vocabulary for Mollusks and Crustaceans

(TESOL Materials--Animals)

* The Magic World of Mollusks--Created from this chat here (Made using Google Gemini Storybook)

* Kai and Barnaby’s Crunchy Friends--Created from this chat here

* Kahoot: Mollusks and Crustaceans

* Baamboozle: Mollusks and Crustaceans

* Slideshow: slides, pub (I used this slideshow to present the vocabulary, and also to do a board race)

* quizlet: Crustaceans and Mollusks

[Note: This vocabulary is based on the vocabulary from pages 116 and 117 of Oxford Picture Dictionary for the Content Areas.  But I believe this material could also be used independently for any lesson on animal vocabulary, so I'm posting it here.]

Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov: Book Review

(Book Reviews--Science Fiction)

Started: January 14, 2026

(This is my first time reading this book, so according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.)

Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov: Book Review 

My review of the 1st Foundation: https://youtu.be/eGKYGVJK5Oo

My review of the 2nd Foundation book: https://youtu.be/LJeLoxTm0ys

My review of the 3rd Foundation book: https://youtu.be/7cJjb_fQ7XU

Jim Carrey: I was not expecting that: https://youtu.be/ZBA4Gy_VIFE?si=WTH4UH12Vw0BhA5I

Related Playlists: 

* Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY

* Isaac Asimov Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5UAe53bsdKDaIscTvW9pAe&si=-QDS9Ka9mCe1MFcH

* Fantasy and Science Fiction Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4NClast3lkLp_cQ1Tn-2cb

* Books I Read in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7YYl7seud9ov0n6dtdHzvj&si=iMERlWtiF0Rq2-uy

Consonant Clusters and Diagraphs for the -ot word Family

(TESOL Worksheets-- -ot word family)

Cards: docs, pub

	spot
	trot
	blot
	knot
	slot
	plot
	snot
	clot
	shot

A Worker Reads History by Bertolt Brecht: ESL Listening Poems

(TESOL Worksheets--Poems ESL Listening)

Transcript: docs, pub
Video: HERE

A Worker Reads History by Bertolt Brecht: poems

Video: https://youtu.be/2qGKf-eelRQ

Who built the seven gates of Thebes?

The books are filled with names of kings.

Was it the kings who hauled the craggy blocks of stone?

And Babylon, so many times destroyed.

Who built the city up each time? In which of Lima's houses,

That city glittering with gold, lived those who built it?

In the evening when the Chinese wall was finished

Where did the masons go? Imperial Rome

Is full of arcs of triumph. Who reared them up? Over whom

Did the Caesars triumph? Byzantium lives in song.

Were all her dwellings palaces? And even in Atlantis of the legend

The night the seas rushed in,

The drowning men still bellowed for their slaves.

Young Alexander conquered India.

He alone?

Caesar beat the Gauls.

Was there not even a cook in his army?

Phillip of Spain wept as his fleet

was sunk and destroyed. Were there no other tears?

Frederick the Greek triumphed in the Seven Years War.

Who triumphed with him?

Each page a victory

At whose expense the victory ball?

Every ten years a great man,

Who paid the piper?

So many particulars.

So many questions.

Related Playlists

Poems ESL Listening Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7ReDXIOlVgC1Ci0mGdDWqd

ESL Listening Exercises Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7xq-zLjulU2DRTjg2TNmAx

https://sites.google.com/view/reading-and-listening-practice

Started: Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster  (This is a reread.  I originally read this book in middle school.)

Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

(TESOL Materials--Story Time)

This is another book by Syd Hoff, who also wrote Sammy the Seal.  Although unlike Sammy the Seal, I don't think I've read this book in my childhood.  At least not that I can remember.

The premise, however, is golden--a young boy gets to spend a day playing with a dinosaur.  How could you not go wrong with a book like that?  And indeed, it went over pretty well with my students.

Unfortunately, there are a couple pages near the beginning of the book which are a bit dated: stereotypical portrayals of Indians and Eskimos, as well as some depictions of guns and swords.  These things made me pause a bit before taking it into the classroom, but I ultimately decided that the positives of this book outweigh the negatives.

Supplementary Materials
Google Drive Folder HERE

Slideshow: slides, pub

Circle the things in the story worksheet: docs, pub

Coloring sheet: docs, pub

Started: Theogony by Hesiod translated by Norman O. Brown

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Movie Review

(Movie Reviews--My Favorite Movies)

As I mentioned in the video, this is a rewatch.  But this is the first time I'm reviewing it on this blog,  so according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Movie Review

Related Playlists:

* Movie Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6N06WoIoV2fLb6xRYrepTk&si=iWMhXdwlxxKxm6r6

* My Favorite Movies List: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5FrM-RfWQKzIagh6rQjXfG&si=kHLlZniqby0QBgjc

* Thoughts after Re-Watching: Movie Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7FpJlwdur1iZDUZJh5xV-u&si=JztauLH1N-x1OaRq

* Movies that I Watched in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4MSFWzU5IicG0H3orcJ1tV&si=7Xu-ASHaL36-7DER

I almost appreciate how Trump has exposed how vacant every single high profile conservative belief was: free speech, states’ rights, letting the market decide, NATO, right to bear arms, democracy, all of it. It’s been an empty, malicious political project for decades and decades https://t.co/Q2Ddd86J50

— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) January 25, 2026