Hey there! Congrats on taking the opportunity to teach the younglings!

I really enjoy teaching the younger students the most. As for your questions... Definitely get some flashcards printed and ready. Students respond very ell to them and they can !e used for a "#$ of different games. %ou can find some great games at Dave&s 'S" Cafe. %ou can find some flashcards at the link in my sig or at (ree )rinta!les for $eachers * flashcards+ printa!le games+ orksheets templates+ phonics materials+ 'S" printa!les+ conversational activities. $), is also a must ith younger students. $hink of $), like a massive game of charades al ays taking place in your class...only+ hen you do the actions+ you say hat you are doing -unlike charades.. /hen you are talking a!out animals+ do an action for that animal -like having your arms or hands !ecoming an elephant hen you say the ord elephant.. Having the students do the same actions are also very entertaining for them and it helps them learn !etter. As for discipline...esta!lish your rules in the !eginning of class and make them easy to understand. In my lessons I have converted all my rules into four simple ones. #n the !oard I dra eyes+ ears+ a mouth+ and a heart. $hese pictures mean look at me, listen to me, don't talk, and be good and happy. -$he don&t talk part is really just not to talk hen I&m talking or others are talking.. Another thing I do ith my young classes is to rite my students& names on the !oard. 'very time they do something ell I ill give them a point -may!e a star...should !e something that can !e dra n quickly.. If a student can accumulate a predetermined amount of points in class he or she can get a treat -may!e a small candy.. If a student mis!ehaves+ I ill erase a point....making it harder for them to get the treat. Also+ songs and games should !e used often. %oung kids have a shorter attention span than older ones and s itching up activities

every so often

ill keep them interested in your lessons.

If you have any other questions or need any more help just let me kno . %ou can also check out my !log at 0eep 1p /ith ,ichard I focus on teaching younger students mostly so there should !e some things of interest to you there -you can check this link for a $), post 0eep 1p /ith ,ichard 2 3log Archive 2 $), -$otal )hysical ,esponse. in the classroom. 4ood luck.

The hard truth of kindergarten is that it is the most unpredictable of any grade. They have little to no experience with English, they are still learning Korean. There is no Korean teacher with you to help. It is twice the size of my other classes, and their mood varies wildly. One day I am a rock star. I walk into a myriad of adoring children clamoring for high fives and hugging me saying "I love you" who then sit quietly and listen and play all the games I give them flawlessly. The next day, same kids, same time, they are running around screaming and hitting each other. If I can get half of them to sit down long enough to say "hello" without two of them rolling into each other in a fit of uncontrolled laughter that leads to more running around, I count myself lucky. As the only teacher that speaks any English in the school is my "verybusy" co-teacher, it took a long time for me to figure out what resources were available for this class. So I ended up teaching a lot of my lessons with nothing but a ball and a handful of stolen flashcards (not the most captivating combination for the average 4 year old's 5-10 minute attention span). In the months since I started I have been able to scrounge up some more crafts supplies, make some more flashcards, and find some English books to read aloudbut the bulk of my lessons remain just me in front of 25 sets of young

eyes for 45 minute. I find I am holding my breath every time I enter that room, unsure of what I am going to get... but here is what I have figured out so far

My Rules for Kindergarten

1. Repeat everything. A lot. Have them repeat it. Teach the same content for 2 weeks until they can say every word before you even ask. 2. Don't linger on one thing for more then 7 mins. MAX. Moving smoothly from one thing to another every few minutes keeps them interested, even when they can't understand a word you are saying. 3. Videos are God. If you're losing them, put on a video. "Alphablocks" is INCREDIBLE as a resource for Kindergarten, "Super simple songs" is also really good. Don't have them watch for too long, you want them to interact with English, but a 3 min video to reel em back in works wonders. 4. Play the same games, but make them harder with time. 5. Be goofy. Funny faces go a long way here. 6. Have call backs "all set" "you bet" is a favorite of mine. 7. If you want them to talk, use a mask I have a set of felt animals on little stretchy head bands that do WONDERS for inspiring the desire of a 5 year old to practice English. "Who wants to be the elephant?" will be answered with a roar of enthusiasm and all they have to do is stand in front and say "hello! I'm an elephant. How are you cat?" or whatever we are learning that day...fantastic. 2 mins: I talk to them. I say "Hello everyone!" (they say hello) "Taday is Monday. What day is it?" (Monday) "It sunny and hot outside. How's the weather?" (Sunny and hot). "Are you ready?" (Yes, I am- this is a call back I use) "Everybody please stand up!" 3 mins: Sing the "Hello" song from super simple songs. (or another action song like "Head shoulders Knees and Toes" or "Open Shut Them" or "Walking Wakling" etc...)

They jump up and down and expel some energy, plus they really have these songs down now so they love showing off their knowledge. (As an aside, the first time we sang each song it took 10 mins of class to teach and then I repeated 3 times throughout the lesson.) I like the hello song because I can add in feelings, and other questions like "I'm happy, I'm sad, I'm angry" and "what's your name?" "I'm Amy" I'm Minyu" "I'm Yewon" as time goes on. 2 mins: Body parts review I call it "get your wiggles out" where they have to touch their head, shake their body, raise their hand, jump etc..I have them repeat everything I say while they do it too. 3 mins: Video Alphablocks 1 They never get tired of this and it is awesome for them to memorize the sounds of the alphabet. 5-10 mins: Phonics and/or Speaking practice I have a box of those magnetic alphabet letters that I shake all dramatically. Then I repeat the movement commands like "touch your head" etc.. and the first student I see who listens correctly gets to pull a letter out of the box. "what letter is it?" I ask, and they answer (or another kid around them will feed them the answer if they don't know, but they still have to say it). Then as a class we repeat the alphablocks sound for that letter, and I'll say a few words that start with it. Then we repeat. I usually do 5-8 letters, depending on how attentive they are being. OR I'll bust out 3-4 animal masks. Ask the students "What is this?" "It's an elephant" "Who wants to be the elephant today?" "MEMEMEMEMEME" After I have an elephant, a fish, a cat, and an alligator up in front of the class I'll have them practice speaking a few lines by themselves. This can be "hello, what animal are you?" thing or something completely unrelated to the animals like "are you hungry? Let's eat!" or whatever words and phrases we are learning that week. They love to talk with the masks on, it's by far the best way I have found to get them to individually practice speaking.

3 mins: Flashcards/Vocab At this point they are all usually still sitting forward and paying attention, so before moving them around too much I like to review 510 key vocab words, about 3/4 "old" and 1/4 new ones. "what is it?" "it's a..." 4 mins: Make a circle I use the super simple song for this, but I just sing it rather then play a recording since with 25 kids it never goes smoothly enough to be in time with the music. Make them go one way, then another, then big/huge then small/ little (introduce new vocabulary this way) 5 mins: Ball game They have to pass the ball around. I change the game based on the lesson. maybe its the alphabet, maybe it's numbers, maybe its here you are/thank you, duck duck goose etc.. 7 mins: Story I usually read a book or do a short puppet show at this point. The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a big hit, so was Three little Pigs. I find that putting callbacks into the story helps them stay focused. Like every time the word Pig is in the story they have to snort or something like that. This ruins the circle, but I still have their attention. 10 mins: Craft We do some sort of activity to wrap up the class since they are so done with sitting by then. Coloring sheets, leaf tracing, letter lacing, play dough, balloon animals, whatever I can find really. 2 mins: Video song. As they finish their craft I'll play a video of a song to gather them back up. "Ten in the Bed" is a favourite. Then say "goodbye, see you next time" This seems to work pretty well on most days, I haven't had an out of control class in a few months.... though that is not to say that some days aren't better then others :) Kindergarten has become my favorite class to teach! If you have things that work for you in your

kindergarten ESl class send me a message or leave a comment! Hope this helps! Good Luck!

ESL Movement Warm-Up: "Stand Up Sit Down"

This warm-up is great way to start the day because the students can review vocabulary and phrases while releasing some morning energy. To introduce the game, write "Stand Up" and "Sit Down" on the board. Have the students sit on the floor. Say, "Stand Up!", pointing to the phrase. When the students stand, say "Sit Down!", pointing, and have them sit. Repeat, occasionally saying one phrase twice in a row to see who's listening. Add new instructions to the board one at a time. Some examples include: Spin Jump Hop Bend Cheer Stretch

On the first day, stick to no more than five instructions. Every day, add a new instruction, and keep the warm-up under five minutes. The faster the teacher calls instructions, the more fun the students will have. Tip: Use a one minute version after play time, lunch time, or after an activity that has kept the students sitting for a long period of time. It's a great attention grabber!

ESL Music Activities

Many teachers feel that if they aren't musicians, they can't use music in their lessons. However, music is a vital and highly useful tool that really helps younger students retain language skills. The only musical skill the teacher needs is to be able to sing these three childhood songs: Three Blind Mice Mary Had a Little Lamb Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Chances are good students will be familiar with these melodies, and if not, they are simple to learn. With a little creativity, the teacher can use one of these to make a song for nearly any kindergarten topic. For example, say the students are studying Careers and learning words like "doctor", "policeman", "lawyer", etc. The teacher can take the melody to Mary Had a Little Lamb, but introduce new lyrics:

Doctors work in hos-pi-tals, hos-pi-tals, hos-pi-tals Doctors work in hos-pi-tals, they Help you when you're sick The possibilities are endless, and students are much more likely to remember concepts when they're sung. Tip: Sing every day, both as the focal point of an activity, and also when engaging in other activities like washing hands and cleaning up toys. Singing helps keeps students focused on the task at hand.

Strategies for Teaching ESL indergarten

Kindergarten classes are often a few hours in length, sometimes including lunch. A key point for every kindergarten teacher to remember is that no activity should last more than fifteen minutes. Even if it's something the students enjoy, chances are they're attention will start to wane. Try to offset physical activities with more sedentary activities. If the students have been working in their workbooks or on arts and crafts, they'll want some time to wiggle afterwards! Even a quick game like Simon Says or Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes will help them release that energy.

ESL teachers should have a detailed lesson plan, but also be prepared to improvise depending on how the lesson is going. Quick-thinking skills are necessary of all teachers, and if students are responding differently than expected to any activity, knowing when to expand and when to move on is key.

More ESL Activities

For more help teaching ESL, try the following articles: ESL Conversation Activities ESL Role Play Activities

I teach kindergarten students !ut in smaller groups and for 55 minutes. 67 minutes sounds like a !ree8e! !ut I assume later you&ll once a !uilding. I try to It might !e easier at first ith them. 67 min. ish you had more time

eek sounds like just an introduction and not really meant for ould look at it as a time to get kids interested in foreign them it&s fun to speak other languages and generally spark their interest in learning.

languages+ sho

Since you have more help in the class+ you could pro!a!ly !reak them up in to smaller groups and just go around and monitor. It game Ideas9 : certainly singing9 Action songs are great9 "ondon 3ridge is (alling Do n+ /heels on the 3us+ ,ing Around the ,osie+ Here /e 4o ,ound the ;ul!erry 3ush+ Hokey )okey+ Head Shoulders 0nees and $oes+ If repertoire+ it should !e ill take easier. more time to set up !ut once you have a consistent lesson pattern and

%ou&re

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: ,eading9 If you can find a !ook !ig enough for all of the kids to see+ then reading to the group ould !e good. If they have multimedia options -dou!t it+ !ut. you could scan the !ook and do it on a projector. Although that doesn&t quite seem the same as a group of kids huddled around your hile you physically interact ith them.

Some good !ooks that come in !ig versions are 'ric Carle !ooks+ $he Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See . If there is a pu!lic li!rary around you+ check : '<ercise9 kind of like Simon Says. $his freedom to introduce ne start to do passing type activities hat ith the li!rarians

ould give you a lot of

voca!ulary and learn via $),. "ater you can here you pass a card to one

student and ask a question. $hey do the same to another students and as previously a passive listening e<ercise !ecomes and active speaking e<ercise. If you teach in a spacious room you could divide your kids in groups+ let&s say four groups. 4ive each of the group one &fishing rod& ith a magnet at the end -I just use a stick ith a rope and at the end of the rope I have a magnet.. In the midlle of the floor spread cards that you ant to practise= each card must !e stapled -they ill !e caught on the &fishing rods&.. )ut your four groups round the cards -children from one group must stand one after another : so put them in four &queues& . #n your signal the first child from each group tries to catch a card+ hen they succeed they give the fishing rod to the ne<t child and go at the end of their queue. $hen the ne<t child tries to catch a card and so on. After >:5 minutes -it depends on you. you can stop them and count ho many cards each group has. $he inner is of course the group hich has the !iggest num!er of cards. $hen you ask them simple questions9 hat&s this+ hat are they+ and so on. If they are actions have the hole group perform these actions. If the cards are ith animals or food+ you can introduce I like...?I don&t like... etc. %ou can also say a ord you ant the kids to catch on their rods. In this case you need at least pairs of ords so that at least t o children

can have a ord that you said. /hen t o cards are caught all the first children from the groups go at the end of the queue. At the end kids count the cards they caught. #f course this game can !e played in smaller groups. If you haven&t got fishing rods you can have children pick up the cards+ ho ever+ I noticed that just a simple fishing rod ith a magnet makes all the difference I hope it&s clear. %esterday my kids reminded me of a very simple+ yet lively game they love to play. I think it can !e easily used in large and small groups. /hat I mean is9 ;r Crocodile+ can I? e cross the river@ %ou can prepare t o lines to mark the river in the middle of the classroom or a piece of long paper or material -I sometimes just tell the kids to imagine the river.. )retend you are a crocodile ho likes colours -or anything that you are teaching at the moment.. $o cross the river children must ask for permission9 ;r Crocodile+ can I? e cross the river@ And you ans er9 %es+ !ut only if you&re earing -red+ etc.. $he children ho are earing red can safely cross the river+ the others try to cross the river hile you try to catch them. If you catch them they join you as crocodiles. $his is the version from the !ook !y A. ,eilly and S.;. /ard &Aery %oung "earners&. I teach in a quite small classroom so in my version the kids ho are earing red can cross the river+ the others just ask one more question Have you read+ here on forum+ my post a!out the game &$he /itch&@ I think it can !e also fun for your kids. ;y kids also love chants ith movement. 4ood luck. ;y kindergarten kids like playing ice hockey. If your room is large enough+ you divide them into 6 teams -might even teams@ ah+ ork ith more chaos!..

B. If I&m doing (,1I$+ for e<ample+ I hang a picture of a piece of fruit around each kid. #n each team there ill !e one apple+ one pear+ one

!anana+ 6.%ou also

etc. need

two goals. I simply put a small ta!le on opposite sides of the room+ and the space !et een the t o front ta!le legs is the goal. a rag for the puck + hich you place in the middle of the room. hich you put on top of the ta!le:goals. alls -not the same alls as the course. 2 sticks for hockey sticks+

>. $he teams line up along opposite goals+ of

C. Another kid gets to !e the DcallerD -and you can s itch callers often so each kid has a turn. $hey feel pretty important then.. $he caller calls out a fruit. $urning over a flashcard a 5. $he kids into the chance orks to ell : it gives each kid run.

earing that fruit dash to their ta!le top and gra! the opposite goal. Eo hands allo ed!

stick+ then run to the rag in the middle of the floor+ and try to push it

F. #nce the rag is in the goal+ the sticks must !e replaced on the ta!le tops and the rag must !e returned to the middle of the floor. ,epeat -as long as you have fruit or the kids feel like playing..

Another tip9 my kids like !eing a!le to put their score up on a felt !oard. Hope 0arla y G65 kid class of C:5y?o ent ape for !ingo + if you can get everything distri!uted in time. /e played until I called every single ord and everyone filled up their !oard !ecause they ere so into it. $hey also like to pass something around a circle -if you can get them it "et the orks for kids do someone that out too. there+

to sit in a circle. to say Dchicken please?here you are?thank you?you&re elcomeD. It only really engages them if you get them e<cited ith a stop atch or some music or something. /e also play a circle game here they pass something around to music+ and hen the music stops+ the kid holding the thing they&ve !een passing has to say a voca! ord -prompted !y a picture or some such. or ans er a simple question. $he hokey pokey is fun if you have a CD and don&t mind clo ning around?shaking your !utt. $hey&re not going to really kno left or right !ut they ill pro!a!ly sing along and pick up !ody part voca!. Sometimes I lay out flashcards on the other side of the room and have them run and the first person to sit on the right flashcard ins it for their team. I like it !etter than the regular slapping version !ecause no!ody&s diving head first. $he ladder game orks -the tunnel variation is good for classrooms.9 http9??genkienglish.net?ladders.htm %ou on&t !e teaching them much really+ !ut you should !e a!le to get them to do a !unch of !asic voca!ulary -fruit+ food+ colors+ num!ers+ !ody parts+ jo!s.+ some simple question?ans er -name+ age+ here are you from+ ho are you.+ and some !asic DI like HHHHHD or DI can HHHHHHD type stuff !y the end of the year. /e play lots of 0im&s games ith flashcards9 : quick sho : you slo ly turn the (C round and children guess hat&s on it -later you can turn it more quickly. : hat&s missing@ : you put cca 5 to I flashcards on the !oard and tell children to cover their eyes+ hile they&re not atching you move one and then they have to guess hich one is missing : say the ord like the teacher : hen introducing ne voca!ulary ith (C+ say the ords in different ays= e.g. silently+ loudly+ slo ly+ like a melody.... : hen children kno the voca!ulary ell+ you can make it more difficult9 e<plain for e<ample+ move to left if you hear food+ move one step on the right if you hear a drink+ and then say &cheese& Hope this helps!

0ids seem to love card games+ !lindfold games+ !alloons and stickers. (or my classes+ I use the stickers as a re ard. /hen the hole class is good+ they get a sticker+ so many stickers J candy+ a pri8e etc. Ho ever+ for the games+ all the a!ove can really motivate the kids to try. Cards ill inspire conversation+ even if it is they say hat the picture is and &rock+ paper+ scissors& for the inner. 3lindfold games are good for KLAs : /hat&s your name@ ;y name is.... 3alloons : great for qui88es or for speeding up speech -hit the !alloon into the air !et een ords?phrases.. Chinese /hispers : make teams of Ss + B Ss from each team comes to the $eacher and gets told the voca! ord+ the Ss then goes !ack to the group and tells to the ne<t Student in line+ the ord then goes do n the line until it gets to the end Ss ho has to then collect the flashcard. Bst team ins or make up your o n rules to fit your class. I&m sorry it has taken me so long to reply...it&s !een a cra8y couple of months. ;y kids are no coming to the end of their >rd B7: eek course+ and so far e&ve done feelings+ eather+ days+ months+ names+ num!ers B:B7+ animal-s.+ fruit-s.+ colours+ sports and ho!!ies. $arget language9 ;y name is :+ /hat&s your name@ It&s -day ? month ? eather ? colour. I&m -feeling. It&s a -animal ? fruit.+ $hey are -animals ? fruit. Do you like...@ %es+ I do. Eo+ I don&t. I like... ? I don&t like... I have -num!er. card-s. I find kids at this age respond really ell to routines. I started simple+ and have !uilt it up as they&ve gotten the hang of it... 'very class e do their names+ days+ months+ eather and feelings. (or their names I&ve made a name card for each student. At the start they simply slapped their name and repeated after me &;y name is...&+ and then stuck their card on a poster ith &;y name is...& on it. Eo they ask and respond to each other+ !efore sticking their cards up. Days and months e chant+ then I thro the cards for the kids to run and gra!. /ith the days they place them in the right order - ith my

help of course!.+ and slap the right card hen I ask &/hat day is it today@+ hich they then stick on a poster. In the !eginning they just repeated the day after me+ !ut no they say &$oday is...& /ith the months it&s too many to order+ so they tell me ho many cards they caught &Ho many cards do you have@. In the !eginning -after learning num!ers!. they counted out B+6+>...+ no they add &I have ->. cards& -after learning singlular and plural.. /eather started as a chant ith actions -e.g. indy+ and e !le into the air.. After all cards had !een done this ay+ I asked+ pointing out the indo + &Is it...today&+ encouraging them to simply ans er &yes& or &no&+ sticking the &yes& cards on a poster. Eo the actions are gone+ and I simply lay the cards on the ground and ask &/hat&s the eather like today@&+ and they search out the appropriate cards+ saying &It&s -sunny.&+ !efore sticking the cards up. (eelings ere done in a similar ay+ !ut a lot more action and singing. #ne !y one they chose a card+ and then e jumped up together singing eg. &If you&re -grumpy and you kno it stomp your feet!.& As a!ove+ no e&re up to laying the cards out and the kids say ho they really feel. Introducing voca! and sentence structures also orks on a routine. /e chant out the voca! sitting in a circle+ and then e play &race and gra!&. At the start all kids ran together+ !ut no I pair then up -too many heads ere !umping together!!.. If I&m teaching a grammar eg &It&s -colour.& e then play race and gra! again+ and hen they gra! the card they say the full sentence. #ther activities...sho pictures in a !ook and they gra! the corresponding card. &/all run& : stick voca! cards on the all and they run to the correct all. Also orks hen you stick a giant tick and cross on different alls for things like plural - ith &s& they run to the tick+ ithout &s& they run to the cross.+ do you like...-yes I do+ no I don&t.. &Hide and Seek& : hide the cards and they race to find them. &Mump and chant& : lay the cards on the floor and they chant as they jump from card to card. &Charades& : I say an activity eg &dancing& and they have to act the action out. At the end the kids al ays get a sheet to take home. #ften I use ;ark&s &voca!ulary handout&+ and the kids stick the ords on a sheet I&ve created -eg ith &I like.. and I don&t like !o<es.. Colouring sheets are good for practising colours -every time the ant a ne colour they have to ask. or I let them colour it at home -after having learnt the

colours+ I don&t have the kids colour in class : I think it astes time.+ ;ark&s &,ace to the (inish& games are good hen the kids have learnt a lot of ne ords. 3asically I ork on a routine system here the language !uilds on itself -eg you can&t do &like& ithout doing &plural& first.. 'ach time e learn a ne grammar+ I use voca! the kids are already familiar ith+ so only the grammar is ne + and they&re not over helmed. 3ecause the kids are so young+ each activity is short and a sitting activity is al ays follo ed !y an action activity. I hope this helps a little. I think a lot of these activities ould ork ith larger groups -eg & all run& rather than &race and gra!&.+ or ould also orks if you !riefed the other staff !efore hand and then divided the kids into small groups -eg to do the sheets.. ;y aim is for the kids to have fun+ and have a positive vie of 'nglish learning !efore they go into school. "et me kno if you ant to kno 4ames that ork ell are9 more+ and ho you go!

)ass the !all game. /hen the music stops the student looks at a flashcard and says the ord.

ith the !all

A simple !oard game. I dra a !oard on the hite!oard. $here are t o teams. Students say a voca! ord from a flashcard. $hen+ I have an eraser in my hand !ehind my !ack. Students choose a hand. If they choose the eraser they get to move 6 squares+ if they don&t choose the eraser they get to move B square. (our corners game. I count to 5 and the students go and stand ne<t to one of four flashcards. I call out the name of one of the cards and they are out and sit do n. A po erpoint follo the card game. $his came from a site for 'nglish teachers in 0orea -the name is chase the voca!.. 3asically the cards get shuffled and the students have to follo the items and say here they are. (or e<ample+ if there are > fruits after they are shuffled I ask hat is num!er B and the students guess. It is difficult to descri!e !ut orks pretty ell for voca! practice.

$he slap game. 4roups of students have cards laid out in front of them. $hey put their hands on their heads and hen I say the ord they slap the card. 3ingo didn&t ork so ell the first time !ut I might give it another try.

67 minutes isn&t really long enough to get into riting so I haven&t done any of that yet. I plan to teach them the alpha!et ne<t semester !ut I don&t think I ill do riting ith them. /ith >7 students it is just too hard. I am really enjoying teaching them+ though it is very useful that I can understand most of hat they say to me in 0orean other ise I might find it alot harder. #ne of my favorite games to play in the smaller groups is Slam. "ay a line of flashcards on the ground. $ o students stand at either end of the line. $ o other students stand on either side of the line. $he t o students at the end must take turns calling out the name of a card hile the other students run to that card. After a hile just s itch roles of the students. $his orks ell if you split them up into smaller groups. Another great site to check for ideas is the esl cafe.http9?? .eslcafe.com? /ith 5:F year olds+ they can follo 3ingo and really seem to like it. Ho ever+ slightly younger groups don&t really seem to like the standard 3ingo. /ith them+ I just let them place a chip on a picture hen it comes up. /hen their !oard is full -!lack out. they in+ !ut others can keep playing until they finish. It&s actually very good since you ill go through all of the cards. medium to small classes : I have also played a 3ingo type game ith young kids here I take a set of flashcards and let them choose > to place in front of them. I place another deck in front of the group. $hey dra one card at a time and perform some language class ith each card. If their card comes up+ they can turn the card over. /hen all of their cards have !een turned over+ they in. Another option is to let them thro their card in a !ucket hen it comes up. I see me students for 67 minutes t ice a eek so I don&t have too high e<pectations of ho much they can learn in that time+ !ut they usually pleasantly surprise me. 3asically I also never do craft activites as they take too long. I

occasionally ill do a listen and color activity hich is ok and gives me the chance to alk around and ask individual students hat things are in 'nglish. 4enerally+ my class goes like this. Hello song Ask a!out the eather ,evie last time&s voca! ith flashcards and?or song "earn a fe more voca! ords -may!e 6 or >. ith flashcards and?or song )lay a game for 5:B7 minutes I !riefly e<plain games and then play them. I find they usually don&t go very ell the first time !ut I don&t orry a!out it and then play it again !efore too long has passed and they do a !etter jo! the second time. I am a !ig !eliever in playing to learn ho to play rather than spending too long on an e<planation. $he students ho didn&t get it at first can learn from the other students during the game. I have only done !ingo as a revie game. game so I had more time for the

I have to generally play hole class games !ecause if they play in pairs or groups they don&t use any 'nglish -unless it is a listening game. and the !iggest pro!lem ith this is that they all ant a go at the same time. I have managed to teach them that everyone has to have a go !efore they can go a second time though. 3ecause I have so many students I also don&t orry too much if they aren&t all participating -especially the really young ones.. I haven&t taught any sentences+ only voca! ords !ecause the class si8e is so !ig and I see them for such a short time each eek !ut they have remem!ered many of the ords they have learned.

B. $hree and four year olds seem to !e constantly in motion and have !oundless energy. Action:!ased activities ill gra! their attention and keep their interest. Children of this age group enjoy movement play. 'mphasi8e acting out stories+ repeating predicta!le te<t+ puppetry+ chants+ rhymes+ finger plays+ songs+ and role:playing. Have students make !elieve !y playing house

or pretending to !e firefighters. $each them to play games. "et them run jump+ skip+ dance and hop. $hese activities can !e utili8ed to encourage ver!al e<pression and language development. 1se hat these children love to do in order to help them learn. 6. Develop oral language skills. $each young '""s to speak and understand 'nglish first. $hey need to learn voca!ulary dealing ith greetings+ families+ !ody parts+ school and classroom items+ days of the eek+ 8oo and farm animals+ num!ers+ shapes+ seasons+ colors+ clothing+ and fruit. $each them commands such as Dline up + raise your hand+ and go to the circle.D 1se songs and chants to make learning fun. >. 1se visuals+ including graphs+ posters+ videos+ picture !ooks+ educational computer games and realia to help students acquire language. 3ring in a !ag of old clothing hen teaching the names of clothes= share !anana slices or use Cheerios for counting and ;L;s for color. C. It&s great to use seasonal themes !ecause they are meaningful to the children. #ne e<ample ould !e teaching a!out autumn !y collecting fallen leaves+ decorating pumpkins+ creating your o n costumes or masks+ making !utter from hipped cream+ dressing up as )ilgrims and Indians+ and having a simple $hanksgiving (east. $hese activities make the voca!ulary more relevant to the children and+ therefore+ more memora!le. F. %ou ill also ant to !uild on the prior kno ledge of your students. ;ake sure the theme is appropriate for the culture of the country you are teaching in. A Hallo een theme ill not mean very much to students in China. N. Activate prior kno ledge. Choose themes that can !e linked to hat your students already kno . )re:teach voca!ulary and

concepts that your '""s rhymes.

ill pro!a!ly not kno

such as nursery

Accommodations for EFL Students

(or those of you ho are teaching 'nglish as a (oreign "anguage -'(".+ you ill need to modify these ideas to meet the needs of your 'nglish language learners. %ou can e<pect to go much slo er and provide a lot more repetition. %ou ant to develop cognitive skills !ut not at the e<pense of social+ emotional+ and physical development. %oung children should not !e learning 'nglish !y completing phonics orksheets. /hat are the signs of a good preschool program@ ,ead this article on kindeergarten classrooms at0id Source.

Themes for PreSchool

B.%ou ill ant to recogni8e that '""s have different needs than native speakers. Although you can use much of the curricula found on the sites mentioned !elo + you need to respect the stages of second language acquisition that '""s ill go through as they learn 'nglish. A !rief e<planation of these stages can !e found at Stages of language acquisition on this site.
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A Hotlist of )reschool lessons ;rs. AyersO 0inder$hemes )reschool !y Stormie A to P $eacher Stuff Homeschooling Adventures

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Art Ideas for Preschool

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Songs for Preschool

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Children s Literature Sites

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Commercial Preschool Curricula

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