HaveaBall!

Thisactivityisidealforveryyoungstudentswhoarenotabletowriteaboutthemselves
onthefirstdayofschool.Studentssitinacircleonthefloor.Theteacherholdsalarge
rubberballandtellshisorhernameandsomethingelseabouthimorherself.Thenthe
teacherrollstheballtooneofthestudents.Thatstudenttellshisorhernameand
somethingabouthimselforherself.Theactivitycontinuesuntileveryonehastakena
turn.Teachersmightfocustheactivitybyaskingstudentstosharespecificinformation,
suchasthenamesofpets,favoritebooks,orfavoritefoods.Thisactivityisanexcellent
tensionrelieverforyoungstudents,manyofwhomareseparatedfromtheirparentsfor
thefirsttime.Followuptheactivitybysingingasongthatwillchallengestudentsto
observethingsabouttheirpeers.Forexample:
"Angie'swearingawhiteshirt,whiteshirt,whiteshirt;
Angie'swearingawhiteshirt
Alldaylong."
Instructeachchildtostandasclassmatessingabouthimorher.Evenshystudentswill
enjoyparticipating.
A Smile Goes a Long Way!
Create a giant happy face and staple it to a bulletin board with the
headline "A Smile Goes a Long Way!" Gather students on the carpet
and talk about how this is a happy classroom and it's going to be a
happy year. Then prompt students by saying something such as, "As
your teacher, I want to know what makes you happy." Then pass out
smaller happy faces with lines at the bottom. Children write on the
lines one or two things that make them happy. Post their work around
the giant happy face.
IfICouldBeAnAnimal...

Kindergartenersoftenhaveverygoodimagination,andthisgametakes
advantageofthat.Sitaroundinacircleandletkidstaketurnscompletingthe
followingsentence:"IfIcouldbeananimal,Iwouldbea..."Encouragekidsto
talkaboutwhytheywouldbethatanimalandwhytheyliketheanimalsomuch.
Kidswilllovefindingoutthattheysharealoveofunicornsorbothliketojump
highlikearabbit!

I teach 4 and 5 year olds and have been basing my lessons round
songs. I do lots of activities with the vocabulary (a bit of drilling,
"Point/Run to the..." flashcards round the room, make a... out of
play doh etc) Then sing the song, of course. Good songs: Old
MacDonald, Wheels on the Bus, Heads, Shoulders Knees and Toes.
They LOVE the game JUMP - prepare flashcards of vocab you want
to teach/practise and insert pictures of someone jumping every so

often. Show the cards one by one, all students repeat vocab, when
they come across a jumper they all jump up (sometimes I go round
individually testing words and if someone makes a mistake they all
jump 10 times (or however many you decide) saying the word.
They LOVE it!)

Re:35yearsolds
Hi,I'mteachingallages,myyoungstersbeing2yearsold,myoldestareten.
IstartthelessonwithaHelloSong,thenuseahandpuppettogreateachkid.Withthe
puppet,weplay"Simonsays"(oranynameyourpuppethas),sothekidscanpractize
theverbswhiletheyrun,jump,danceetc.
IuseFlashcardsafterthatandteach510FCsinthelesson(orrepeatoldones).Ithen
doalotofgameswiththeFlashcards,likeaFlyswatGame,wheretheyhavetoswatthe
wordsIcallout,or"What'sMissing",orIprinttheFCsoutsmallerandplayMemory
withthem.
Justtakecarewiththe3yearsold,theyneedtodosomeactivitywheretheyhavetorun
orjumpeverytenorsominutes,theycannotsitstillsolong.

How to Best Teach Preschool

English Language Learners
As a solution to these challenges use the things on the checklist below for
guaranteed success in teaching English. These are the things that children love
to do and you can use them as a vehicle for learning to gain instant results.

Chop and change your games and activities every 5-10

minutes.
This is vital because preschool children need variety as
they get bored easily and have a very short attention
span.
Vary the pace during the lesson, mixing up excitable
games with quiet ones. You do not want your children
getting bored but you do not want them getting overexcited either, so vary the pace according to the mood
and keep the children on their toes but not over the top.
Repeat, review and revise. Use short games to
review vocabulary and phrases you have taught earlier
in the term and the year. If you neglect this, the

children will have no recollection of the language you

have covered!
Make your lessons playful and full of physical
movement. The children will enjoy them more, be
more motivated and remember the language better.
Teach in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere with plenty
of encouragement.
Avoid competition with preschoolers. It can be stressful
and overwhelm them. Play games where everyone
wins, or where you do not single out a winner.
Encourage and support your young learners. Never tell
them they cannot do it, they are no good at it or that
they have failed. You could put them off wanting to
learn English for life.
Bring in puppets or teddy bears and have the puppet
introduce the new vocabulary for the lesson. If you do
not have a puppet you can make one from a paper bag,
or by sewing a couple of buttons on a sock.
Use chants, rhymes and songs. These are great for
movement and frequent repetition of vocabulary and
phrases. Check the CD of songs that goes with this
programme.
Do not burden your preschool children with reading and
writing leave those for when the children are older.
Preschoolers are still learning to write in their own
language. There is plenty of time for that later.
Concentrate on listening and understanding, building
vocabulary and the acquisition of short phrases.
Concentrate also on speaking practise, starting with
single words and short phrases, and gradually moving
onto longer sentences and questions.
Avoid abstract concepts and concentrate instead on
concrete real items that the children understand and
relate to. For example start with familiar topics such as
colours, numbers, greetings, animals, fruit, food and
drink, families, body parts, shapes, clothing, the
weather, days of the week and short everyday sentences
and phrases.

Teaching these topics using games activities and stories

will engage your preschoolers considerably more than
learning phonics and the alphabet!!
Use please and thank you and be positive. The human
mind cannot actually process negatives - try not
thinking of a blue monkey - you can't help it - you think
of one! Rather than telling children off and telling them
what not to do focus on positive behaviour. If John
is interrupting Jane look at Jane and say, I am listening
to Jane now.
Be prepared - practise telling the stories before you go
into class and have your picture flashcards and
materials ready. This will allow you to be relaxed and to
enjoy the class and the children rather than frantically
trying to organise your materials while the children
become restless and bored.
Mix up active participation and listening. If the children
become restless do something active.
Be flexible. If something is not working then change
the game or activity.
Involve shy children too - give them a central role and
help them come out of their shell.
Bring in real objects when you can, such as clothes to
dress up in, or props for acting out little plays or
stories. When you cannot bring in real items use
whatever objects are available in your class, and use
colourful pictures of real items in the games.
Use stories. Stories are a fabulous resource for
preschoolers, who will want to hear the same tales told
over and over again. We all love stories - just think of
the worldwide popularity of the movies.
You can use games and activities to teach the key
words in the story, inspire the children with colourful
illustrations to help them understand, and act out
parts of the stories or the whole story afterwards with
role plays, games and make believe.
Here are ten great reasons to use stories to teach
preschoolers English:

1. Children love them

2. The story can be the focal point of the lesson,

giving meaning and context to odd words and
phrases learned in isolation.

3. Children can absorb the structure of language

subconsciously as well as hear familiar words they
know.

4. Preschoolers will be happy to hear the same

stories over and over again which is fantastic for
revision and absorption.

5. You can use the stories as a base for fun activities

in class.

6. A useful message can be contained in the story,

aside from language learning

7. Using stories gives you another method of putting

language across and will lead to more variety in
your lessons.

8. You can use stories as quiet time in between

boisterous activities.

9. Stories, along with songs, allow children to hear

and understand far more English than any other

method.

10.
Enhancing story telling with gestures,
actions, colourful illustrations, relevant games and
role-plays increases language retention and
acquisition, and makes for some really fun
lessons. This is logical as you will be repeatedly
reviewing and practising the same language as
well as making it real through play.