Turkey Bingo teaches holiday to new speakers

Turkey Bingo helped Fayette County High ESOL students learn about Thanksgiving.

The beginner-level sheltered-English ESOL class is made up of students who recently moved to the US from Central and South America, Jordan, and Vietnam. They knew there was no school for Thanksgiving, but knew nothing about this American holiday, except that we give thanks. They watched a short film on the background of the holiday, as well as how we celebrate it today.

To round out the lesson, they played a special version of bingo that helped them match Thanksgiving vocabulary and imagery. They could even win small prizes.

“We played the game, which they very much enjoyed, and they learned a bunch of new vocabulary in the process,” said ESOL teacher Laura Johnson.