In a former life, I taught adult learners computer skills. When the opportunity arose for me to pursue a Master’s degree in linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), I jumped at the chance. I am licensed in TESOL, grades K-12, in the state of New York, USA.
I have now been teaching ESL, ENL, MLL, TESOL (pick your favorite acronym) for over 13 years. I am a full-time ESL teacher in a Middle/High School located in Bronx, NY.
When I began teaching ELLs, I quickly realized there was no magical curriculum. I couldn’t just take one of the trade books and teach. There wasn’t adequate comprehensible input. My students needed more exposure to key vocabulary in order for retention to occur. The content was divorced from what my students were expected to learn academically. The reasons are too numerous to list, but you teachers out there know all too well what I’m talking about.
I started creating my own resources - resources my students needed. After a few years, I decided to combine my computer and teaching knowledge. Skybyrd Teacher Resources was born in August, 2013.
I’m Robin Norton, the brains behind Skybyrd Teacher Resources. Welcome to our website!
What people are saying.
ESL Newcomer Activities Pack Bundle
“Wow! Thank goodness for this resource. The seller has included everything I need to get my student started learning English. This resource is a total time saver.”
- Beach Vibe Teaching
“An awesome resource to support my student learning to speak English. It helped guide me so I knew where to start too. I was overwhelmed till I purchased this resource. It is easy to follow in well-organized units that had my student building confidence and skills.”
- Maria G.
English Grammar Verbs Bundle Print & Digital
“This product along with the others I purchased saved my life as more ELL students were added to my class roster. This is an amazing resource and well worth the purchase!”
- David P.
“I am using this resources with my second language students in Malaysia. Learning verb through pictures help them in both ways: understanding and memorizing. Thanks for this great material.”
- Nuhin J.
The Gift of the Magi Adapted Reading Activities
I love this! I used it with my ELL middle schoolers in the weeks leading up to winter break. It kept them engaged and interested despite the usual craziness that comes before a break. They loved the story and the twist at the end. The vocabulary activities really helped them to own and understand the new words. The variety of worksheets and activities allowed me to differentiate among levels. Overall a great resource!
- Holly S.
Funny Speaking and Writing Prompts
My students really enjoyed this resource. It helped that it included questions that were based on the different levels. The students bursted with laughter with each image. This was very entertaining and useful for practicing speaking.
- Sarah O.
This is probably the best product I have ever found on TPT (and I have found a lot). It is so creative that I think even my very reluctant writers will engage.I can't thank you enough.
-Harriet T.