Roald Dahl Day: 3 Great ESL Links Plus 1 Ready-to-Use Lesson

Roald Dahl Day Resources for Teachers

September 13th is the Roald Dahl day. I’m fond of Roald Dahl stories and I love using them in class. I just wanted to bring some links that you’d like to use with your classes.

So here you can find some websites which will inspire you with your celebrations.

My number 1 is http://www.roalddahl.com/home/teachers, full of ideas and inspirations. You can find writing tips, games, stories and teaching materials there.

On https://www.teachervision.com/adventure-fiction/activity/52047.html, you can find loads of links with great ideas.

Also check out this updated page on TES: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/blog/celebrating-roald-dahl-day

Roald Dahl Day Lesson Idea: The Landlady

And here is my lesson idea for The Landlady:

Billy has just found out what happened to the two young men before him, and he realises he’s been been poisoned too. He’s locked in a room. Luckily, the landlady is so old-fashioned she has no idea phones do anything but make calls, and she’s never heard of social media.

Using his phone, Billy needs to get help before it’s too late. He can choose one of them and ask for help so he

1. texts a close friend explaining what has happened and he needs to be saved.
2. posts a story to Instagram or Snapchat asking for help.
3. sends one message to X or TikTok that could reach a stranger who might act faster than anyone he knows.

Then ask students to post their messages on the Padlet wall. Ask them to choose the one that could save Billy’s life.

For more ideas on readers and short stories, check out my posts on Reading Games for Readers, Novels, or Short Stories and Post-Reading Activities for the Readers. Both are full of practical tasks you can adapt for whatever story your class is reading, not just Roald Dahl.