For ESL 1 newcomers who are teenagers and brand new to the U.S., the first weeks are all about:

• Lowering anxiety
  
  

• Building trust
  
  

• Building survival English
  
  

• Creating community
  
  

• Introducing routines
  
  

• Connecting their identities to the new environment

“Feelings Check-in” Routine

Purpose: Build emotional vocabulary and classroom trust.
Steps:

• Daily: students point to or hold up a card that says “happy,” “tired,” “worried,” etc. with faces.
  
  

• Option to share why in English or Spanish.
  Why: Newcomers may be overwhelmed—this builds emotional literacy and connection.

Here’s a set of beginning-of-year activities that are teen-friendly, culturally respectful, and scaffolded for low English proficiency:

“All About Me” Survival English Posters

Purpose: Learn introductions, key personal information, and classroom language.
 

Complete one of these poster templates.

Students will complete the posters individually. They will then introduce themselves to one peer. The peer choose three facts from the posters and will introduce their partner to the class using some sentence starters. 

This is my partner. Their name is _______ . 

They are __________. 

Their favorite __________ is ____________. 

One thing they like to do is _____________. 

Directions for Material to Include

Purpose: Share personal histories, connect past experiences to their new life.
Steps:

A life map is a visual time line. It traces key moments in your life from the time you were born until the present day. The events and experiences you draw in your life map can make great starting points for writing topics, particularly for personal writing.

Your Turn Create your own life map.

1. Start your life map with the day you were born.

2. Record the dates of key moments in your life in time order.

3. Draw each event to help you remember it.

4. End your life map with the present day.

• Pair-share in small groups.
  Outcome: Builds peer understanding and validates their journey.

Create a webpage that focuses on your life. 

Sample webpage below. 

What is the soundtrack of your life right now? Each student identifies a song they can relate to right now and will discuss how it relates to them. 

Purpose: Practice high-frequency survival phrases for school.
Sample phrases:

• Can I go to the bathroom?

• I don’t understand.

• Please repeat.

• How do you say ___?
  Activity:

• Give them laminated “cheat cards” in English/Spanish.

• Role-play scenarios in pairs, then with the whole group.
  Keeps anxiety low because they have the words ready.