first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Hi everybody,
I have an opportunity to teach almost three year olds once a week, and I have neither teaching experience nor training. It is the english speaking kindergarten and they just want some official classes of the language. I would appreciate some suggestions about the lesson plan for one class (about 30 minutes). I plan to introduce lots of music. I would go through themes like animals, body parts, numbers, clothes...What I don't know is exactly how to do it. Should I dedicate whole class to one theme? Should I finish with one theme over several classes and than go to the next one or should I mix them? Are they too young for storytelling? I know I am to change activities every 5 to 10 minutes but could anybody tell me an example of how one class could look like PLEASE!

Thank you!

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Normally kids cannot concentrate for too long so the best thing is vary your activities and above all make them fun. Using music which involves some body movements will help. A simple example is "If you are happy and you know it CLAP YOUR HANDS." By singing and miming the actions you put in the song you will make such activities fun and educational.
Do not teach too much vocab each lesson. Make your lessons very focused. For ex. I am going to teach them 4 animal names and the sentence pattern "I like cats."
I have been working on a site that may help you. Check out a Free Unit with resources to try.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Kisito thanks for your reply I will chack out the site.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Hi Sanja,

We spoke to each other on another forum about this problem.

Incidentally, I think that sticking to one theme for 30 minutes is more than enough, lends some coherence to your lesson and doesn't confuse them. I also think you can link themes and vocabulary up to stories. So, no, they are not too young for storytelling - they are the perfect age for it and it's a great way to present vocabulary and make it meaningful for them.

You can choose a classic song like Old MacDonald and teach vocab for animals, the farm, the farmer and farmhouse, for example. You can use animal noises as a base for a lot of games and teach the song before finally getting your hands on a simple book telling the Old MacDonald story to read with the children after a few lessons.

Note that I said "read with them" and not just "read to them" because if they have learnt that a cow goes "moo" in English, they can make the sounds when you are reading.

You can get at least four or five lessons, if not more, out of Old MacDonald or Little Red Riding Hood.

Contact me through my blog at Teaching English Lesson Plans for a quick chat about a lesson plan if you need more help for a specific lesson. I'll be glad to help.:)

Louanne

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Louanne thank you again!
On the other forum we talked about my first class, these were mostly 5 year olds, I am doing a coursebook with them. This is another job I am about to embark upon, with AlMOST 3 year olds, and I just thought it was a better idea not to do the coursebook with them. So I have to plan lessons all by myself.
Thank you again for your support and I will be free to contact you if in need as suggested.

Sanja

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Sanja,

I just wanted to say again that I think stories are the best way to go with little kids in the 3-5 age range. There is also a great site called Teaching English Games by Shelley Vernon that has some lovely and very helpful resources for the 3-5 age range.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Yeas, I have received a free story already. The problem is that in my country I don't have the opportunity of paying through internet.:eek:
Do you know any site offering free downloads of stories?

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

I don't know of any. Maybe you could find some on internet, you'd have to look. Otherwise, you can always use stories like I said above, Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Old MacDonald etc...that you can find in any library.

However, I must stress that Shelley's work is very complete and not very expensive. She also has different prices for different countries. If you can't buy through internet from where you are, is there maybe someone you know who can buy it for you and then send it on?

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

We don't have much books in english in libraries :(, especially for children. I have someone from abroad though, who can buy me things I just have to wait for quite a while.
Thanks for your answer anyway.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

It doesn't matter if the books are not in English because the children won't be reading them! They'll be looking at the pictures while you read to them.

You know the stories, so make it up as you go along, but keep it simple. Or write up some lines for yourself for each picture so that you remember what you are "reading" and make sure that you use the vocabulary you have pre-taught them so that they understand.

Old MacDonald, for example, can go something like this:

The farmer Old MacDonald has a farm
This is Old MacDonald's tractor
On his farm he has a chicken
Look, there is his chicken
(once you've read the story a few times and children know their vocabulary you can say "pig" when it's a chicken and they'll correct you)
On his farm he has a pig
Look, there is the pig
(once children know the sounds a pig makes in English, you can say "what does a pig do?" at this point and they'll make the sounds)
On his farm he has a sheep
Look, there is a sheep
(if the children know their numbers and there are more than one animal in the picture you can count the animals with them)

And so on and so on...

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Oh thank you Louanne , you are a real help!!!

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Hello,

I have a class of 18 3-4 year olds and don't know what to do with them. I tried "If youre happy and you know it..." today but they didnt show much interest. Everybody mentions a variety of actiuvities but I cannot think of even one activity that would be interesting to them
(except for the activity with a dice and flashcards which I found on this site, that one worked really well!)

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Hi Beatrix,

It sounds like you're going to have to take charge of what activities your class are going to do and not ask them what they want to do. Have you written up a syllabus for what you want to cover with them for the course? I have written an article on writing a syllabus for an ESL classroom. It may give you some ideas on where to start.;)

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Sanjajerem and Beatrix,

I know the sometimes frustrating feeling of trying to teach pre-school aged children and getting nothing back from them. Some don't like dancing, some are crazy about dancing. They can barely speak their native language, and then we get to come in and make English noises at them.

For games, I try to stick to the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Touch games, Karuta (Japanese card slap game, I say *monkey*, kids slap that card), what's missing?, matching games, simple gestures, etc. I do it as a group activity and try not to have winners or losers. Safety in numbers. The dice game sounds like a good example. A deck of playing cards can be used in so many ways.

For songs, I use what could be called chants. There is a list of vocabulary or a simple sentence repeated over and over again in rhythm. I like Seven Steps, Head-Shoulder-Knees-and Toes, and the Rainbow Song (Red and yellow and pink and green...). You can take any vocabulary, put it to a rhythm, and make it into a song.

For topics, I like all to teach colors, numbers, shapes, animals, food, and body parts.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Well thank you, it is helpful.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

yes, it is very helpful.thanks :)
can you you please tell in detail about some game with a deck of playing cards that you mentioned

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Beatrix,

I use trump cards to teach numbers, colors (sort of), and body parts.

Numbers: Using 1-10 cards, count together with the kids and deal one card for each number. When the number said matches the number dealt, kids can slap the pile (for older kids, I take away a card away every time they slap incorrectly).

Colors: I deal one card to each kid (or one for the whole group). They have to say Red or Black and guess the next card. You can continue until they guess one wrong, or deal one card each round. You can also do this with numbers and have them guess High or Low.

Body Parts: My friends call this "Funny Faces." Kids get a piece of paper (or you can draw a face on the blackboard) and pick two cards, one from the trump deck and the other with a body part on it. Black=big, red=small. Prompt them to say the vocab then draw it.

These are pretty straightforward and easy to demonstrate. You can probably think of a few others, but with kids under 5, it's better to hold onto the cards rather than let them hold them. My rule is "Keep them on the desk in front of you."

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Could you please tell me of a game with animal sounds appropriate for this age group. By the way I will have only 3 children.I searched the net for a while but with no success. I found one but it requires too much preparation.

Thank you

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

LouannePiccolo already posted one good idea.

I'm quite fond of Old McDonald, prepping the song by teaching the animals with picture cards and asking "A cow says?" Kids answer "MOO!" or the Chinese equivalent. I suggest teaching dog, cat, horse, cow, pig. They should recognize those animals but might not know their names or the sounds they make.

It might be a good idea to find out what the Chinese is for a few of them, and that way you know the kids understand the concept. They're not so different from the Japanese ones that I know. (wang=bark, miao=meow, si si=neigh neigh, mou mou=moo, heng heng=oink)

Once the kids know the voices, introduce the song. Make their only task saying the animal sounds and doing gestures. This can be changed to animal names. My kids only sing E-I-E-I-O and do the gestures :(.

I think anything more complex than this will be lost on 3 year olds.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Thank you, I was not sure what the three year olds can do.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Hi again Sanja,

With three year olds, keep it really simple. It used to drive me mad that at Christmas I'd buy a great present for my sons and they'd end up playing hide and seek in the box it came in, at about that age! Games that you'd find really boring after two turns are more or less what three years olds love.

Here's another really simple animal sounds game you can play:

If your class isn't too big, have them all stand up in a circle and hold out an animal flashcard. If it's a horse, say "what does a horse do?" and begin cantering around the room, neighing like a wild woman. Kids love it. They love a clown and they love to clown around. While you're all cantering around, hold out another card. If it's a bird, say "what does a bird do?" and begin tweeting and flapping your wings.

Kids get quite excited with this game, so remember, if your class is quite big then keep it short and make sure to play a calming game afterwards. For example:
Get the kiddies to sit in a cricle and place all your animal flashcards upside down on the floor. Ask one child, "where's the monkey?". He will turn over a first card, which probably won't be the monkey. If it's an elephant, make the trumpeting sound of an elephant. If you want this to just be a listening game then let them just listen to you trumpeting away. If you want them to join in, make an "all-together" gesture with your arms and get them to join in.
Everytime, the student turns over a card that isn't the monkey, you can make the sound of the animal it is. When he finds the monkey, he can keep the flashcard. Then start all over again with the next kiddy...

Hope this helps!

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Thanks a zillion Louanne. I have prepared Old Mac class. I haven't found the book though but I bought another farm book I think it will do. I have Old Mac flash cards and the song. I found a version with more and the other with fewer animals. Which one is better?

Thanks again

Sanja

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Hi Sanja,

I think the song with fewer animals is best to start off with. Remember to keep it simple. You can always change the song later or add on more animals if your class can handle it.

I was thinking about this and remembered some great resources I found a while back on the BBC site. Have a look at this link for Old MacDonald. It's part of their Brit Lit programme. It's really great, there are flashcards, board games, songs, downloads and all sorts of things. A lot of it is too advanced for your kiddies with regards to their age but some of the resources should be useful.

Have a look around the site because there is also Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk, if I remember correctly.

Let me know how it works out!
Louanne

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Thanks Louanne, I thought the short version was more appropriate. I've visited the site already and I used their flashcards. I saw the other two stories so that would be my material when I finish with the old guy:).
I let you know how it went. I have the class on Wednesday.

Sanja

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Great, it sounds like you're all set! Good luck and have fun with him.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

I had my class. It was great! I barely noticed that 45 minutes had passed. I want to thank everybody for the help and support, especially Louanne!
So, thank you!!!

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

That's great, I'm glad it was a success. Tell us about it!
How is your other class going?

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

I didn't have the other class because the children got chickenpox.
With this small ones I had lots of songs I used dream English songs for hello, goodbye, some tpr and old mac. It is the English speaking kindergarten so they knew lots of animals and sounds already. I have 4 children, one is very shy and she didn't really participate. One girl is knew and does not know the language but she was happy to participate. I remembered about clowning around and it worked! I think next time I will do some more animals and the book because they are familiar with most of the animals.
I am thinking about doing Little Red Riding Hood next and covering some wood animals and wood vocab and then I could move on to food for example or body parts.
Yes, we did some colours and numbers through songs and some sorting activity at the begining of the class.
We did those two games that you suggested with animal sounds,it was great we mimed the animals as well. I only had trouble with them trying to take and keep the cards all the time:). I will have to find the way of keeping those out of reach:) in the future.
Wow this post is a bit chaotic but I think you will get the gist. Thanks for taking interest in my classes:)

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

You're welcome. I hope it keeps going well and if you need more advice, you know where to ask!

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Hi again,
I have a little problem. Since my 3 y olds attend english speaking kindergarten they already know pretty much: almost all farm animals, head, shoulders...,..So I am finding it hard to choose the target language for the next class that would be appropriate for their age AND their current knowledge.
I looked The Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk at brit. council site but am not sure what exactly to do them.
I thought about doing emotions with them, or weather like sunny, cloudy, or food and the expressions like how's the weather, are you hungry...
Any suggestion would be appreciated!!!!
Thank you.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Could I teach them days of the week? I have a good song but I don't know how to explain them.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Have you thought about using other children's stories like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears? You can introduce Big and Little along with animals, food, furniture. You can teach colors together with animals or shapes (blue bird, yellow triangle, black cat). You can try teaching basic yes or no questions. Just build on the vocabulary that they already know.

And there's nothing that says you can't teach them new vocabulary. Verbs are fun, and you can play something like Simon Says with kids. It's also a good way to tire them out for a sit down activity.

Are you a cat? No, I'm not. Are you a girl? Yes, I am. Do you like pizza? Yes, I do.

If they study English already, they are probably parroting simple sentences. My just turned 3 yo and her 5 yo brother are completely different in ability level, but she will repeat what I say and can say Yes and No. This is with no previous English. Sounds like your students are well ahead of them.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Eaturcheese thanx for your reply and ideas I will use them.Yeas, I thought about Goldilocks too, I just might do it next week. I am not sure they can do Simon says. They are about 2.5 yo, and I don't speak their native language. They produce only the most simple structures like cow says moo, and I want pee pee, and this is with only 2 out of 4 students. The other two rarely speak at all.
Thanx again,
sanja

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Just one more question:
My students are keen on taking the book I am reading to them from me and of course don't want to share it with others. Should I make the rule that only I hold the book and turn the pages (there are only 4 children by the way) or should I perhaps ask each student to turn a page once in a while? They are very young and I know it is only natural that they want to glance through a book, but if I give them a book at the end of the class they will refuse to share it.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

I think letting them take turns with page-turning isn't a bad idea, unless you think they're easily excited and will tear it up. Me, I don't trust my kids. I control the materials in the classroom, and I enjoy dramatic page turning :o

If they want to see the book up close, I will lay it down on a table or the floor, and they can gather around and look at it.

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Thanx Eaturcheese;)

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

Hello verybody,
I somehow can't post a new thread so I will ask my question here:

I have the opportunity to teach in a newly opened kindergarten which have one mixed group consisting of one 1year old, 2 two year olds, 3 three year olds (I am serious Smile)) and two 5-6 yos. My idea is not to mix the 5-6 yos with others - am I right?
But can I work efficiently with others where there is only one tiny one year old and others 2 and three?
Any ideas how to organize the groups and have efficient lesson plans?
Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you!

Sanja

Re: first time teaching almost 3 year olds
 

This is great advice! I´ve been trying to follow it as best I can. I´ve also checked out Louanne Piccolo´s site Teaching English Lesson Plans which have some really great ideas and links to other articles & sites. I´ve now got some new flashcard ideas as tend to get stuck doing the same ones. I have two classes of 3-5 yr olds, one class is smaller and only has 5 kids in it and the other class has about 9 kids. I find the bigger class is much more difficult and are not very responsive.They are a bit dreamy and don´t want to do things, they say no, or just don´t join in for example when singing (they don´t even do the actions!).I´m finding it a real struggle and I don´t think they are learning anything!!!!