hi, I agree with the previous post, songs, games, these are you best bets. The youngest group I teach is 3rd grade and they love "Duck, Duck, Goose." Do you remember this game? I have them sit in a circle, then I take the first turn and show them how its played. I change the words to something they know, like "lion, lion, tiger" or "Monkey, monkey, banana" and encourage them to chose their own words. Another great game is "Go Fish!" I made enough cards (any free ESL flash cards from the internet) so that four groups can play at one time. Its a great vocabulary builder. With middle school, I use it to teach articles. (I teach the article that one would normally use in speech, ie Do you have a dog? Do you have an octopus? Do you have soccer?) Also, I taught preschool back in the states and I believe that Zoophonics is the best tool for teaching students how to read, ESL or otherwise. It has many games, activities, and songs and a few free samples. Best of luck and remember to keep the classroom fun!