Flashcards created with the illustrations from Bystry Maluszek @Zielona Sowa Publishing House
Ingredients
a set of flashcards
two pieces of cardboard stapled together on three sides
shapes cut out on the front page (cut out before stapling)
Procedures
hide the flashcards inside
show the students only a part of the card on the top, through the cut-outs, ask the kids ‘What is it?’
take out the card and proceed with the rest of them
hide the flashcards inside
show the students only a part of the card on the top, through the cut-outs, ask the kids ‘What is it?’
take out the card and proceed with the rest of them
Why welike it
this is a variation of the Through the Keyhole activity that I once saw in the I Spy coursebook. However, this original version included an A4 sheet of paper with a keyhole that the teacher needed to cut out and then move the card over the flashcard. I found this tool a very interesting one but, at the same time, a bit awkward to use as the teacher needed two hands to manipulate the cards, there was a chance that the children could still see bits of the card apart from the keyhole bit and the activity involved a lot of picking up and putting down the cards. All in all, too clumsy to handle.
to make a funky envelope you need only simple materials (A4 cardboard or simple photocopying A4 paper although it will not be as durable, white, colourful or recycled), a pair of scissors and a stapler or glue. As soon as one envelope gets destroyed, you can easily replace it with a new one.
you can have one simple cut-out shape or a selection of different shapes all over the envelope.
all the flashcards fit in nicely inside, the teacher can manipulate them more easily. I sometimes turn the envelope over, to change the cards inside and to add to the whole ritual.
I normally use when the kids are already familiar with the images on the flashcards not to make the task too challenging, in lesson two or three of the unit. However, there were also cases when I used the envelope to introduce a brand new topic and to raise the level of challenge.
Disclaimers: I have chosen to use Discover with Dex by Macmillan in this exercise here due to a few reasons: I have had a chance to work with it, it is one of the recently published coursebooks and there are some sample pages available online on the CUP website and so I am not at risk of any copyright infrigements here. This is not in any way a criticism of the activities and instructions included in the original material. I just wanted to recreate what I would normally do in this lesson. For that reason, I have decided to do one more thing that I never do and that is plan the entire lesson without consulting the teachers’ book or checking what is there (I really struggle with reading all types of manuals). I left it until after I was done with the whole post. See the last paragraph. It was my conscious decision not to supplement the coursebook activities with any songs, stories or videos or even electronic games such as wordwall, although, of course, I do that in my lessons. I wanted to keep the most basic version of the lesson.
Details: Discover with Dex, Macmillan, level 1, unit 1, page 7.
The original activities can be found in the sample on page 8 as well as in the TB, on the same website, page 11.
Ready?Steady?Go!
Pre-book
Introduction and revision of the vocabulary: simple flashcard games, realia (ie putting post-it notes with numbers on the realia, T: calls out the numbers, Kids: name the item), or realia and flashcards (ie matching the relevant flashcard with the item in the classroom by putting the flashcard on the relevant object) Why? Because students need enough exposure to the target language and enough practice, controlled or freer, so that they are ready to complete the task in the coursebook.
Movement games: using gestures at least for some of the objects (chair – sitting down, table – putting arms on the table, sticker – peeling off and sticking, book – opening the book and reading, pencil – a gesture for writing something carefully, crayon – a gesture for colouring in), puzzle, Puzzle Run – copy the flashcards and cut them up into the jigsaw puzzles (ie two pieces, perhaps three if the kids are older), keep one piece of each in the classroom, leave the rest out and place them around the classroom or the hallway, depending on the location. Pick out one piece, say ‘What is it? It’s a….’ and elicit the rest from the kids (‘a pencil’), ask one of the kids to look around the classroom and look for the missing piece of the puzzle. When they bring it, put the pieces together, elicit the question and the answer, drill. The question and answer can be easily turned into a chant, by adding rhythmical clapping. The roles can be nicely divided, too, with the teacher asking the question and the children replying or the other way round. For instance, if that is the first lesson with this structure, the kids can only repeat the question, it will be the same line over and over again. Why? Becuase the kids have been sitting for quite some time and they will need a stirrer to get rid of the energy that has accumulated so far and to prepare them for a serious settler aka the focused task.
While-book
Funky envelope: this is one of my favourite tools everand it seems perfect for this activity. It will keep the kids curious, it will create an opportunity to practise the target language and it will create a link between the flascard games and the activity in the coursebook. The teacher continues using the same structure, What is it? It’s a… Why? Because this kind of an activity will prepare the students for the format of the task they are going to be asked to complete as part of the focused task.
Open the book (teacher only): the teacher opens the coursebook (or displays it on the screen / the interactive whiteboard) and calls out the names of the objects in the top row, using the key structure again. Why? Because this way the chances are that the students will remain focused on the task and on the instructions. There is only one thing to look at (the book that the teacher is holding or demonstrating), no other books, no other pages in the students’ books etc.
Model: still with only the teacher’s book open, the teacher completes the first part of the activity. The teacher points at the first circle and asks ‘What is it?’, students answer ‘It’s a chair’. The teacher says: ‘Let’s take a red pencil’ and colours the chair in the circle and draws the line. The teacher repeats the question – answer again, pointing at the pictures ‘What is it?’ ‘It’s a chair’. Why? Because the kids need to see how to complete the task, step by step. Verbal instructions only are not going to be as effective and through looking at the task is completed, the children will understand better what they are to do in the following stage.
Open the books (students): the kids open their books. The teacher asks again, give out the red pencils / crayons to all the students, monitors. When the kids are ready, the teacher collects all the pencils and they all repeat the exchange again: point to the circle – What’s this? – It’s table – trace the line – point to the picture of the table. Why? This is for everyone the controlled practice task, repeating the teacher’s actions in their own coursebooks.
What’s this? It’s a crayon: repeat the procedure with the crayon and a new colour. The teacher gives out and collects the pencils or crayons after each round and elicits the question – answer. It might be a good idea to let the kids choose the colour of the pencil / crayon for each round. Why? By adding the element of the different colours and by pencils being given out and collected by the teacher in each round, the teacher ensures that the task is paced properly, that all the students complete the task and that everyone stays on the ball throughout that stage of the lesson.
Done! the teacher draws a star or a smile to signal that the task has been completed successfully. The kids close their books. Why? Because it helps the kids to understand that the task has been finished.
Post-book
Riddles: it will be a bit of a stretch from the original context but the structure can be used to play riddles, too. The teacher chooses a flashcard, keeps it hidden and asks ‘What is it?’, the kids make their sentences trying to guess the card. It might be necessary for the teacher to model first and provide the first few incorrect guesses to give the children an idea, for example ‘It’s a pencil’ – ‘No’, ‘It’s a sticker’ – ‘No’, ‘It’s a table’ – ‘Yes!’. Naturally, after a few rounds led by the teacher, the kids take turns to lead the game. Why? At this point, with a lot of exposure and practice, the kids should be able to take part in a game when they have to produce the langauge freely.
Pelmanism: in order to play this game, the teacher needs to prepare a set of flashcards, set A: the regular flashcards, with the objects fully seen and set B: either stencils of the objects or parts of the objects (like in the coursebook), matching or, the simplest set and the easiest to prepare: two sets of the regular flashcards printed in two different colours. Actually, with pre-school or primary students, I always use colour-coded sets as it makes it easier to set the game and to handle the materials. The students play together, led by the teacher. The kids take turns to uncover the cards and to find a match. Every single time they ask the question and answer it (What’s this? It’s a pencil). If they have a pair, they put it away. Why? This is another game that creates an appropriate setting for the use of the key question and answer. If the game is played together, without counting points, it is appropriate also for the youngest students.
Happy birthday to you: it is a silly game that we sometimes play as part of the new vocabulary practice and here it would be yet another way of providing another opportunity to practice the key structure within the appropriate context. The kids have to sit in a circle and you need to have a set of flashcards. First, to model the activity, the teacher chooses one card, keeps it secret, face down and gives it to the student on the left. This student passes it to their friend and so on until the card makes it back to the teacher. Then, the teacher takes another card and yet another one and the cards start circulating, all of them face down. The teacher start singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and at one point, the teacher stops abruptly. The teacher then asks ‘What’s this?’ and all the kids turn their cards over and tell everyone what they’ve got ‘It’s a sticker’, ‘It’s a pencil’ etc. Then, they play another round. If there are enough flashcards for all the kids, then, naturally, all the students will describe their flashcard. If, however, there are fewer, then the activity is easier to manage and the kids who end up without a flashcard, they can say ‘Oups’ and it is fun, too as the teacher is the one to manage the song and to make sure that different children get a chance to say ‘Oups’ during the game. Why? There are opportunities for the natural use of the key structure as it is a mystery and the game can be stopped at any moment which will be quite a useful feature at the end of the lesson, when the kids are naturally more tired and less likely to remain focused for a longer period of time.
Question to ask yourself while planning:
What is the aim of the lesson? Even if it is not a formally assessed lesson, it is a good idea to formulate it for yourself, even if only verbally. Why are you and the kids entering the classroom on the day? What would you like them to achieve as regards the language, the social skills, the motor skills or any other area?
How does the coursebook material help you meet these aims? What would you have to add or to adapt?
How much language are the students going to produce? Are there any ways of maximising production?
Will your students (those who are in your group, your student Misha, Peter, Tommy and Andy) be able to complete these tasks? Will they like them? Apart from the fact that you are the teacher (the one asking them to do things) and they are the students (they listen and follow), is there anything in the task and the materials that will get them involved?
How are you going to prepare the students for the task? What activities will you prepare to introduce and to revise the vocabulary and the structure? Is there anything that you can do to prepare them for the format of the task, too?
And now I am actually going to read the teacher’s book…
There is a different TL (Can you see? Yes, I can) which could be used very naturally in the classroom. At the same time, this is not the TL that is introduced and practised in the unit (Have you got? Yes, I have. No, I haven’t). We might argue which structure would be more useful for the students (Can you see? or ‘What is it?’) and both have got their benefits and it is up to the teacher whether to follow the book and what to supplement it with.
The teacher’s book suggest a slightly different procedure and there is a nice variety of structures introduced and practised (Can you see? What is it? What’s missing? Is it a…? Where is the other chair?). It is great to see a lot of natural language used during the lesson but since all of my students are EFL learners with a limited exposure of one or two real hours per week, I would want to focus the language practise and production and work on one structure at a time. Although, of course, the teacher would be creating a proper language environment, without limiting their own production to this one specific structure only.
I am afraid I would not use the original task with colouring the magnified objects to match the real objects. The chair and the crayon are easy but the book and the pencil would involve more than one colour and would take a bit longer than I would like to spend on that activity.
The same goes for the personalisation task. Most of my students are too young to draw such complicated pictures so I would be skipping that one, too. With the older children, I might use it for homework perhaps.
There is a great set of the digital resources to accompany the coursebook as well as the wall hanging to go with the flashcards and these could be a lovely addition to the lesson.
Happy teaching!
P.S. Don’t forget to check out the wonderful directory of all the useful things in the VYL world created by Sandy Millin. You can find it here.
Congratulations FunkySocks&Dragons! It looks like we have just got the longest blog post title in the history of this blog…
It was inspired by a wonderful song from Dream English Kids, a great tool to teach and to practise the Present Continous and the rooms in the house. If you don’t know it yet, please look it up asap. It is also based on the talk I gave at the TeachyForum in March 2022.
All the ideas that you see below come from my classrooms and represent the tricks and the techniques that I have developed or I have been using with my more numerous pre-school groups. Perhaps it is worth mentioning that I have not really had a chance to work with very very big groups. The biggest number that I have had in the pre-school classroom on permanent basis was 12 and I know that there are colleagues out there who teach more.
As usual, these are the things that have worked for me and I hope that you find some of it useful, too.
#1 Building the routine
This is one of the key words in the the VYL world and today we are lucky to have the access to quite a few different ideas for different classroom routines, either from the coursebooks authors who make an effort to even prepare the classroom routine chants and songs or from the teachers who share their ideas on the social media or their blogs. Lots of sources of inspiration!
But the most important thing as regards the routine for the bigger groups is the time investment. Some of us might be lucky to get only the little angels in their groups, some of us might have to deal with the ‘regular’ children who sometimes behave, who sometimes want to discover the world and to experiemtn, sometimes are up to no good at all…These children (regardless of whether there are three or ten) will need the time to get used to the lesson format, to the teacher and to the rules we want to implement.
When I started or took over those big groups (a situation even more complicated probably, since you have to ‘re-start’ the group), I would go step by step, aiming at getting a perfect hello circle first, just the way I would want it. Then, once this one done, I would work on improving the revision stage. Then and only when I already was at two stages of the lesson under control, I would move to the following one, working at one stage at a time, until I was finally happy with the entire lesson.
Nothing happens overnight. Be patient! Be good to yourself, too, dear teacher!
#2 Adapting the routine
The routine is never for ever and for always. Children get used to the lesson procedures and activities and they might need be in need of something new. Children get bored with what they know and they might be in need of something new. Children grow and develop their social, cognitive, motor and linguistic skills and they might be in need fo something new.
These changes may involve the physical rearrangements of the room (and related to that changes in the routine) or changing the rhythm of the lesson by splitting up the music and movement stage and replacing it with songs used throughout the entire lesson, as punctuation marks or introducing a whole new stage to the lesson in order to be able to secure a short 1-1 chat with all the students in a large group. Which I described here in more detail.
#3 Rewards’ chart
Yes, I would like to recommend using a rewards’ chart, despite the fact that some educators are against the idea. I don’t use it with all my groups, sometimes it is not necessary at all, but with those of the groups and children that need that, for me a rewards’ chart is a temporary solution and a tool of establishing the routine and visualising the kids’ behaviour. As soon as the target audience ie the kids are familiar with the rules and the routines, the chart is slowly abolished.
And yes, I have already written about it in this post here.
#4 Lesson planning aka balance
Lesson planning for a group of pre-schoolers is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. There are quite a few factors that have to be introduced and that have to be introduced in the appropriate ration. Some of these include
new material and revised material, vocabulary and structures
familiar (aka ‘safe’) and unfamiliar (aka ‘intriguing’) elements in order to ensure that the students are engaged but not bored.
skills, mostly listening and speaking but also reading and writing, when appropriate
settlers and stirrers
a variety of materials or, in other words, not only flashcards.
a variety of interaction patterns, not only individual work and not only whole class because all the children waiting for their turn, especially in large group, will find themselves alternative activities if there are too many T-S activities. If, on the other hand, the lesson is based on the whole class activities, the teacher is at risk of losing the contact with the individual students in the group.
games and ‘paper’ (aka hard work). Personally, I am of the opinion that one paper per lesson is just what is necessary. One page in the coursebook OR one handout OR one craft. No more. During the covid year when we were studying online, I gave up on paper completely. The children had their coursebooks but we used this material only for homework. The lesson time was devoted to interaction.
#5 Kids’ involvement
There are so many things that children can do in class and so many things that children will love to do in class because they want to be involved and they want to be a part of the classroom routine. This will help to make them more engaged and connected to the English bubble.
Kids can help with handing out and collecting materials and resources, choosing songs, games and songs, choosing the next student to take part, checking the register, cleaning the board, watering the plants etc etc. Even if in the beginning of the course, the kids are only separate individuals who don’t know anyone else and who perhaps do not feel like interacting with anyone else, this will be changing throughout the year. There is a lot that the teacher can do to help speed it up.
A community, be it a community made of three members or ten or twelve, will be much easier to manage than a group of individuals.
#6 Who’s the teacher?
To be honest, in my books, the main reason for inviting children to take part in taking control of the lesson is the fact that is maximising production. It is also one of the steps towards pair-work. However, there are other benefits, too. Children become more responsible for the lesson, they become more independent and they learn how to be in control. That, in itself, will have a positive impact on the classroom management and children’s behaviour. But there is more, too!
In a way, children become the teacher assistants, too, and that means that while they are leading the activity itself, the teacher can devote more (or all) of his or her attention to managing of the group and their behaviour.
#7 Pairwork
It is absolutely possible! Yes, yes, yes! I have done it and not once! I have also done it and kept and eye on how I was doing it in order to share it with my fellow teachers. You can read about it here in more detail. I will only say this: it did help me to deal with big groups and to create opportunities for all of my students to produce the language. With careful staging, with a mixed-ability goup and a mixed-age group it took thirteen lessons, from our first ‘Hello’ ever until the lesson when we played in pairs, in English.
#8Staging
Staging is a topic that deserves its own post and I will eventually get down to typing it up. In the meantime, only a few words here.
Staging is important. Children being only 3 or 4 or 5 need the external help from the teacher in order to complete the tasks successfully. The first step is the successful choice of an activity.
The second step is how it is going to be done in class, what has to be done before the lesson, how the kids are sitting, what are the main mini-stages, what are going to be the teacher’s instructions and the way of modelling the teacher chooses and so on…It all matters and if it is not taken care of and planned carefull, the activity is likely to end up being a disaster, especially if it is a craft activity and especially if the group is big and the teacher cannot physically help with cutting, colouring, glueing and assembling…
Songs are great and there are at least sixty reasons to use a song in the VYL classroom. Here it is important to highlight the huge potential they have as regards building a community, forming the everyday class routine and uniting the kids to balance the tasks they complete individually. And, as an easy stirrer. In that sense, these are especially imporatant and useufl with the bigger groups.
#10 Storytelling
In the same way as the songs are a stirrer easily included in the lesson, stories (storybooks, story boards, videos or stories told) are easy settlers. There are of course many more reasons to use these in class (I have found fifty so far) but, again, from the point of view of a teacher of a big pre-school groups, they also help build a community. They are also a great tool that can be effective with a group of one, three or twelve as all the children can participate in it simultaneously, if the activity is set up properly (some ideas of how it can be done can be found here).
Anything else? Please add your ideas in the comments!
Happy teaching!
Some other posts that you may found useful are here:
The aim of this post is the following: by the end of the post, the readers will be more familiar with the concept of connecting the EFL with the elements of Art Exploration and the appropriate craft activities.
As a source of potential inspiration for anyone who might want to try it.
The group
The kids for whom this course has been designed were a group of preschoolers, aged 4 – 6, who are and were part of a greater project at MAMM with Fun Art Kids and I was responsible for the English language slot. I taught them from October 2021 until February 2022 and we had lots of creative fun in English. I used to joke that these classes were the reason for me to wake up on Tuesdays.
My students were beginners and for many of them, if not for all, those sixty minutes of English were the only real exposure and the only real lesson and, despite the fact that it is not a lot of time (at all) we made progress that I was really happy with.
The format
The whole idea behind the Kids in the Avangard programme was that children should be given an opportunity to experience art and all the many ways of creative communication, through music, through dance and movement, through theatre, through visual arts and through English. The programme was run in module, each with their own theme (colour, shape, line etc) and within those modules the kids would participate in lessons that were separate entities devoted to an artist, an artistic movement etc. At the same time, kids work on a performance which takes place at the end of the ‘term’.
It was not easy to nest the English classes in that format but it was not possible. The main idea is that the English classes in which we deal with the beginner students (or a mixed ability group), it was impossible to aim for a very content-rich input and some adaptations had to be made for that. What I decided to do is to focus on giving the kids a good basis of English, including the vocabulary and structure from the pre-A level (although not necessarily not synonymous with and not in the order of the ‘typical pre-school curriculum’) and to combine it with the introduction to the world of the world Art and related craft activities. Just like in the case of all the other classes of the programme, our lessons were connected but each of them was a separate module, too.
The format of the lessons followed a typical EFL pre-school lesson with the hello circle, revision, new material introduction, movement and table time and it was supplemented with and built on songs and stories, too.
The palette of ideas
In the chart below you can see the content and the ideas for some of the lessons I ran as part of the course. In many ways it was an experiment, this whole course and, overall, it was a very successful experiment, the kind that makes you shout out ‘I want more of that!”. However, it was an experiement and, naturally, some lessons were more effective than others, and some ideas better than others.
In the chart below, I have decided to include those that I have tried and tested and loved, as those that I can strongly recommend, ready to use almost. All the misshaped ones will be worked on and developed and presented at a later date, when I have improved them a tiny little bit at least. But, in order to be honest and to share the experience as it was, I have also decided to include some of the things I have learnt by making the mistakes I did make. All of those you will find in the final section of this post aka What not to do.
Thegallery
KleeGoncharovaKandinsky, Malevich, El Lissitzkyvan GoghWarhol De CosterMashkovMonet
Thenot-so-successful sideof theexperiment
The time allowances: either because it is a brand new thing for the kids (aka the entire course) or because it is a new element to the everyday class routine, the students need time to figure things out, to learn how to navigate around it and to make it familiar. Once they do, the whole programme will be a lot more effective and enjoyable. Don’t be upset if it is not an instant success.
The high expectations regarding the content and the input: the main aim of this programme is not to provide the kids with any substantial input on the artist’s life and career. Instead, they are supposed to be given an opportunity to be exposed to the world art and to interact with it.
Kids will produce the language, however, it is most likely to happen during the English language part of the lesson (introduction of the new vocabulary, practice, language games)
Each lesson has three separate objectives (language, Art and craft) and it is perfectly natural that only one of them will be given priority in a lesson and that English and the language production will not always be the main focus. If these classes are taught as a part of the general English course, then it is assumed that they will be balanced with the regular, more productive English lessons. In case of a separate course, this aspect (and potential parents’ expectations) are even easier to manage by outlining the course objectives beforehand.
Many craft activities look good on paper but they might not be easy to implement and to manage in a group of pre-schoolers. Trying, trialling and testing (aka making it first at home, before the lesson) is the best way to avoid and to get ready for at least some of the potential problems.
Time is on your side. Fnding a strong link between the three elements and preparing a coherent lesson gets easier with time. And more and more enjoyable.
There are plenty of things that can be done just with the simple resources such as markers, crayons or watercolours and paper but don’t forget that there is a lot more that can be done! Experimenting is fun!
Why?
If you are still wondering whether to start including art in your EFL lessons, please have a look at this earlier post and here you can find a great website with lots and lots ideas for art activities.
It is not a lesson plan in a traditional meaning of the word, that is, a set of notes, more or less formal, that a teacher writes in order to prepare the activities for the lesson. It is a list of stages of the lesson, displayed on the board, written both for the teacher and for the students.
The photo that you can see above as the illustration to this post is my primary students’ take on the said plan, prepared for me one of these days, before the lesson. With a clear signal as regards the activities that they would really (really) be involved in. No homework whatsoever, no grammar, either, three games and a party…I have absolutely NO idea what this mysterious ’33’ was supposed to be…
Why do we need it?
For the teacher, it is a lesson in a nutshell, always there, always on display, a clear presentation of all the main stages of the lesson.
For the students, it is a lesson in a nutshell, always there, an overview of what to expect on the day. It serves as a classroom management tool as it helps the kids get a better idea of the lesson. This is how we keep track of the lesson proceedings as we go through it. This is how you can reward the students if you include a story or a game in it. Naturally, the game (at number 9) can happen ONLY if we go through numbers 1 through to 8 first.
The lesson plan also contains some opportunities as regards the students’ taking control of the lesson as they can be involved in erasing the stages that have been completed, after having confirmed that with the teacher, and, in some cases and to some extent, also the opportunity to choose the order of activities, when and if that is appropriate.
In case of the longer lessons, those that last two or even three academic hours, it is a great tool that helps the students manage their time, attention and focus throughout the lesson, the number of activities, the break and so on.
How to do it?
There are always ten points, regardless of how long the lesson is and #1 is almost always ‘Hello. Homework’ and #10 is almost always ‘Bye-bye. Homework’. Anything that I plan for the lesson has to fit in, in the remaining eight numbers.
This has got a lot to do with the fact that I personally like the ten sections in a lesson (and 10 is better than 12 and definitely better than 11) but it also helps the kids see the lesson as a whole, divided into the same number of sections, every single day. It also gives me an incentive to pack the lesson nicely into ten sections and, in turn, that means that they all might have a different length. It is never ‘the lesson time divided by ten’. Sometimes, half-way through the lesson we might be done only at number 2, sometimes we go through numbers 1 – 8 very quickly and what is left is only number 9 – a whole project planned for sixty minutes, for example.
As soon as we are done with a stage, we erase it off the board, moving towards number ten as the lesson progresses. Sometimes I do it, sometimes the students help. I noticed that they are paying attention, reminding me to erase a stage, checking whether we have already finished it or not yet, making sure that I have included the break or the game or the homework.
With my older kids, I try to be tricky and the names for the stages are very rarely revealing or direct. The only thing that I am always open about is the grammar introduction and practice and it normally features on the plan as: ‘Grrrr’. Everything else is as vague and random as possible. Another trick that helps the kids to manage the time and the attention. With the older students who take part in the decision making process as regards ‘What’s next?’ (or with the younger ones, when they are invited to choose), the students have to ask about the stages that interest them most and then make a decision.
Who is it for?
I use the plan for most of my classes, including the teacher training sessions for my teachers. With pres-schoolers, we use only elements of it and most of the time it is limited to annoucing ‘a surprise’ which, with time, began to translate ‘anything new’, ‘anything special’, ‘anything out of the ordinary’ and the kids were asking how many of these surprises I had, whether they were big or small and so on. I
I also try to get my youngest students ready for managing the time of the lesson by introducing stages for parts of the lesson. These of course have to be worded in a very careful way, using only the simple and familiar words and I always count the number of these stages on my fingers. This comes in handy at the end of the lesson, when the kids are already a bit more tired and less focused or, also, during the more complex craft activities. For example, at the end of the lesson, I can say: ‘We need to do ‘story’ (the thumb), ‘game’ (the index finger), ‘the homework’ (the middle finger), ‘Bye-bye song’ (the ring finger) and ‘stickers’ (the pinky). Then, we also check how many of these five we have got left. This really helps the kids to focus, even the youngest ones.
With my primary students, as soon as the kids are able to read, I start putting the plan on the board. I do it before the lesson and we read it together. Again, since they are only learning to manage the written word, I put only single words or even symbols. These may become more complex as the kids grow older.
This post is a result of a combination of factors: only a short while ago we started a new IH VYL course, I was talking to a NQT teacher and, last but not least, I have been stuck in quarantine, with a lot of time on my hands, all of a sudden. Writing calms me down and so I am writing.
If you are a novice VYL teacher, don’t forget to check out the first VYL lesson survival kit here. It might help, too! And there is this other one, about landing on Mars and having to teach there.
Now, in a rather random order…
Keep it simple
It is a good idea to stay focused and that means that ‘less is better’ or, in this case, ‘fewer is better’. There is no need for fancy activities, for some intricate craft, amazing toys, multi-item anything or a very complex game. There is no need for the coursebook, either. Everything will be new for you so there is no need to clutter your brain (or your table) and many (or all) things might be new for your students, too, depending on whether they are starting the course or whether you are taking over. In any case, simple resources will make it more maneagable for everyone.
Keep it varied
Simple does not mean monotnounous, though. The younger the children, the shorter their attention span and it is absolutely necessary to be ready to change the activities frequently, ideally when they are still enjoying them (rather than wait until the interest fizzles out and you will have to get them back on track). Luckily, there are quite a few things that can be done only with a set of flashcards, varying the activities slightly without changing the main resource. Although, of course, each lesson with pre-schoolers will need more than just one. If you are teaching colours, for example, you can do it through: flashcards, a song, a video, a wordwall game, realia (kids will be wearing colours on them and there are other colourful things in the room, such as crayons) and a story. This way you will keep things ‘the same but different’.
Keep it coherent
Make sure that you do not overwhelm the kids (and yourself!) by trying to go over too many topics in one lesson. If it is ‘colours’, it is ‘colours’ from the beginning until the end of the lesson. If it is ‘toys’, it is ‘toys’. It is only the first lesson, there will be lessons number 2, 3, 4 and 100.
Keepit interesting
This one will be a question only and a question with more than one correct answer. It has become a kind of a tradition that the first lessons in level 1 for pre-schoolers focus on the introduction of colours. The idea behind that is, I presume, the fact that colours are around us, they are a concept that the kids are already familiar with and that the words themselves are short and easy to learn. But here is a question, is it really the most interesting, child-friendly, fun, engaging, joyful topic that there is? Is it the best invitation to a new story and to a new world that learning English? Toys are colourful, too, they are toys and all the kids are more than familiar with them. Plus you can use the realia from the very first lesson. Pets are cuddly and sweet and all the kids have their favourite ones, even if sometimes less traditional ones, such as a hippo or a frog. The realia can also be found without much trouble and most pets make noises and that is another way of introducing variety in class. Both, toys and pets can be mimed and used in different ‘Guess what’ games in which the kids guess the word by looking at a small cut out of it (aka ‘through the keyhole’ or ‘the funky envelope’). The range of activities gets wider in a blink and the chances that children get interested and stay involved are much higher.
Keep it teacher-centred…
and do not feel guilty about it. Student-centred lessons are the ultimate aim and the dream but in the beginning of the course, it is the teacher and the adult who has to take the full responsibility and the full control of all the activities in the lesson. This is true for both the novice and the experienced VYL teachers as well because they all have to deal with little children who are in a new set-up, in a new situation. Be it either the first ever lesson of English, the first lesson ever in a new group with some new classmates or the first lesson with a new teacher.
Keep itorganised
Keep what organised? Everything! Absolutely everything. All the materials in the folders (or with paperclips, in boxes, files) in which they are going to be used. All of the resources in a box or in a basket, in order to be able to carry them around, if needs be. All of the things out of the kids’ reach, on the top of the board, on the top shelves, in the cupboards. All the pencils or crayons, by the colour, in separate plastic cups or boxes (but cups are cheap and easily available) and not on the table. The teacher is supposed to give them out only when they are needed.
What I found really useful in the beginning of my VYL career and something that I still do, for every lesson is a lesson plan on the wall. It is simple, big and colourful, with only the main stages and activities, in a place where I can see it and to refer to it from every corner of the classroom. You can see an example of it here.
Keepcalm
Even if you don’t feel very confident. Even if you are worried that you might not manage. Even if you are a tiny bit scared of being left alone with a bunch of kids. Even if the parents are looking at you inquisitively or if they are asking questions. Even if you have forgotten something at home or in the teacher’s room.
Smile, no matter what! Don’t lose your head! You are going to be great. Or almost great!
a very detailed plan and careful staging (see below)
post-it notes (two different colours)
the materials to set the context based on the material from Superminds 5 by Herbert Puchta and Gunter Gerngross from CUP
Procedures
The introduction to the project was based on the material in the coursebook.
Afterwards we made a list of places in the city (I was taking notes on the board). Then, the kids were chatting in pairs, creating questions for each other: Which one is more important in a city, X or Y? Why? This was a fun activity, the kids were coming up with sometimes impossible pairs and providing justification for their choices.
I divided the kids into pairs and explained that we were going to design a good city. Each pair got a set of questions about their city and they were to discuss these with their partner. The handout was cut up into three pieces and they were given out, bit by bit (or rather, that was the plan. In the end, I only gave out the first part, the other phrases and questions were simply written on the board for everyone to see). I was only monitoring and asking follow-up questions. We did not have a whole class feedback.
I gave out the A3 sheets and the yellow square. I explained that it is the city centre and I asked the students to decide where it is in their town and to glue it on. I did it on my model. I drew the map legend box and I drew two items on my plan. Afterwards, I gave out materials and the students started to work.
The negotiation language and the steps (stage 2 of the handout) was displayed on the board. I planned it differently but, in the end, I decided not to give this part of the handout out. There was no room for it on the tables anyway.
The kids were working on the project for about 10 – 15 minutes, until the end of the lesson.
At the beginning of the following lesson, the kids sat down with the same partner and each pair got a set of post-it notes, pink to write what they like about the city and green to write about the things that the city should have. We circulated the projects, kids worked in pairs, looked at the plans, talked and made their notes on the post-it notes, discussed what they liked about each city. They also made suggestions and all their ideas were written down on the post-it notes which they attached to the plans. Each pair had a chance to talk about all of the other posters.
In the end, the posters returned to their owners and the designers had a few minutes to look through the comments.
In the very last stage, each pair of designers was asked to provide feedback on the feedback they received. They did that by answering the following questions: Which are the favourite places in your city? What should your city have? Do you agree? Why? This was the only part of the project that was done in front of the whole group.
In the end, the posters were displayed on the walls.
Why we like it
I personally really liked this project because it was a diversion from a traditional approach to a project in which the students work in pairs or teams to produce something and then present it to the rest of the class and in which a creative stage is followed by a productive stage. I have decided to give up on this format almost entirely and, instead, to minimise the creative stage and to maximise the production without limiting it to the post-project phase.
Throughout the entire project, the kids produced lots and lots of language, they were making suggestions, expressing views and commenting on the other students’ suggestions. There were at least three layers of material created by the students, in one format or another.
In hindsight, I do believe that there were even more opportunities for the further extension of the project by comparing the real cities the kids know and whether they would be a good place to live, by making suggestions how the city they live in can be made better or by ‘visiting’ one of the other cities and writing letters or postcards from their visit…
I was glad that I decided to keep the creative part of the project, even if in a limited format. They students really did enjoy designing their cities, drawing and colouring, even though in my eyes (a boring teacher here) they should be the first to go as not very generative.
It looks like my kids also enjoyed the project. They were asking after the lesson whether I would put the posters up (I did!) and, a few days later, whether we are going to have any more project lessons (we will!)
Dear reader! I hope you are here because you have been in search of ideas for a lesson on Art and English for primary school children. If so, you are in the right place! I would like to share with you a lesson that I taught a few months ago as a part of my Art Explorers programme. I would like to start with some blowing my own trumpet in an attempt to inspire you and to think ‘I want one ofthose!‘
our group of Art Explorers was a mixed-age, a mixed-level and a mixed-ability group, with some pre-A, some A1 and some A2 children and we were all united in art. Everyone was involved, everyone was producing as much as they could and everyone had fun.
the kids who took part were the members of five different groups at the school and it was the first time they had a chance to interact with each other, in English.
the children had a chance to revise and practise English, to find out about Andy Warhol, to talk about feelings, emotions and associations and to exercise their creativity in the craft task.
it worked very well as an introduction to our Art Explorers programme
it was relatively low-key as regards the preparation and craft materials as we used the simplest things available: a powerpoint, a handout, a few sets of vocabulary flashcards, a few sets of watercolours, paintbrushes and cups.
it lasted 60 minutes but it could easily be adapted to 45 or 90 minutes, depending on the needs of the group and the age of the students.
We said hello, introduced ourselves and we had a small ‘get to know each other’. Each pair of students got a pile of flashcards (food, toys, sports, colours, animals etc). The students were supposed to pick out one card and to ask each: Do you like…. There was a model question and answers on the board, together with ‘because’ which the older students were already familiar with in order to encourage more developed answers.
Stage 2: Colours and emotions
We revised the emotions and a set of the basic adjectives was displayed on the board as a point of reference. Afterwards, we revised the colours and I introduced the idea of associations. The key word here (‘associations’) is actually quite similar to its counterpart in the kids’ L1 but I decided to use even a simpler structure ‘Green is a happy colour because…’
The kids were put into pairs, for another speaking activity and they were comparing their own associations related to each of the colours. At this point we did not use the flashcards. Instead, eaach pair got a set of markers and they were asked to discuss all the colours in the set. Afterwards we compared our ideas.
Stage 3: The artist of the day
We moved to the TV room to meet the artist of the day. At this point I was using the powerpoint which you can find in the attachments.
First of all we looked at the photo of Andy and the kids said as much as they could, about his appearance and character. Only later did I introduce him properly, albeit briefly – as artist, from the US, a very creative person.
I showed the kids a few paintings and asked what they thought of them. They were using the simplest structures of ‘I like’ and ‘I don’t like’ and, in the case of the older and more advanced students, to provide a rationale for their views.
The Campbell soup was especially interesting. First of all, because we compared it to the local brand of ready made food that the kids could relate to and it was a huge surprise that such a usual item can become an artifact. Second of all, this particular painting was how we transitioned into the theme of the day: how the same item, represented in different colours can create different associations.
Stage: The colours and the emotions
We looked at the photograph of Marilyn Monroe and one of the most famous paintings by Andy Warhol and at the similar painting of Mickey Mouse. We worked as a group and we talked about the different emotions related to different versions of Marilyn and Mickey Mouse and how they made us feel. I wanted to keep it open class in order to give the students a chance to hear as many different versions and ideas as possible to show them that the same painting can generate a great variety of emotions.
Stage: Let’s create
I told the kids that we are going to try to express our emotions and that we are going to be like Andy Warhol. I added that to Andy, Marilyn and Mickey were important symbols because he was American and that we would use some other symbols. At this point, the kids were already shouting out the name ‘Chebourashka’:-)
We went back to the other classroom. Everyone got a handout (see below) and a pencil or a marker. First, we all decided what feelings and emotions we wanted to represent and we labelled all the sections of the handout.
Afterwards, I gave out the painting materials and we sat down to work. The kids were given time to paint and I was painting my own and monitoring and chatting to the kids and asking the follow-up questions.
Stage: Tell me about your Chebourashka
The kids worked in pairs and told their partner about their pictures and the emotions they represented and, whenver possible, provided rationale for that. In that particular lesson, we only had enough time to talk to one partner but, in theory, there is a lot more potential and it is more than recommended for the kids to swap pairs and to talk to as many peers as possible.
Stage: Goodbye
We finished the lesson with cleaning up, with a round of stickers and with a song.
The off-site EFL classes, with the teachers arriving to the kindergarten and teaching their lessons there are quite common.
Advantages
The environment is by default child-friendly and safe
There are carpets, small tables, small tables or chairs boards and posters are hung on the level of the children
There are plenty of posters, toys, craft and stationery products that are child-friendly (ie crayons or safety scissors), books
Children feel comfortable in the place, they know where to find the toilet, the spare shoe, their shelves
Children already know their classmates
There will be plenty of people who already know the children from the day activities and it will be a great advantage as the EFL teachers can use them as the source of information or even ideas.
Disadvantages
Children are made to study English in a classroom that might be used for some other purposes, they might feel lost or confused when the room that they normally associate with playing will be the classroom in which they need to do some serious ‘studying’
There might be too many distractors such as toys
There might be some rules, routines and procedures in the institution that will also have to be taken into consideration, it is best to find out what these are and to try to combine them with the rules and procedures of the English lessons
Children might struggle with transitioning between the regular kindergarten activities and the English lessons, provisions must be made for that, for example special routines
Any kindergarten activities will have an impact on the flow of the English classes. There might be some specific holidays or trips that might influence the timetable or the curriculum but it is also quite likely that all the children might be tired or, on the contrary, excited on some days, due to the course of the day activities. They might also bring in their emotions and even animosities from the kindergarten.
Solutions
Where to look for ideas for the classroom
Have a look at the classroom before the lesson and figure out how you can make it fityour aims and ideas, adapt when necessary and talk to the directors or supervisors to find out as much as possible about the institution and their procedures. If you are planning to introduce some changes, first and foremost focus on explaining the rationale for them. They might not be quite clear to people who are not language teachers but when you provide a rationale, they might be willing to take your suggestions into consideration. Involve your supervisor if you have one.
Make the necessary decisions regarding the course such as the coursebooks, photocopying, homework and contacting the parents. These are not quite related to the classroom itself but a lot will be influenced here by the procedures and policies of the kindergarten and they might be different for one kindergarten to the other.
Decide where you are going to start the lesson. Ideally, it should take place in a circle, on the carpet but there are other options, too: at the door, in a circle standing. Even if it is a classroom with small desks, there will be some space in-between the board and the first rows or at the back, behind the last row.
Decide where in the classroom you are going to have the storytelling corner, the movement corner and where you are going to sit to work with the coursebooks or handouts.
Build up your routine and stick to it.
Remove the distractors if possible or as many of them as possible.
Find out which of the kindergarten resources you are allowed to use.
Decide where you are going to keep your things and resources such as crayons or markers for the lesson, handouts, flashcards for the lesson. Please use the same place and make sure you establish with the children that they are not allowed to touch anything that is on the table. It might help to keep everything in a box (as it can be easily lifted to keep it away from the children), it is easy to store and it makes cleaning easy. What is more, if you keep all your resources in one container, you gain a lot of flexibility as all your toys are there, in case you need to change your lesson plan. I have had groups with whom I had to keep all my resources in my rucksack, zipped shut in the begining of the course.
Talk to the kindergarten’s stuff and ask them to find a place for you to store your resources in-between the lesson. Otherwise you will have to carry all your resources with you all the time.
It is a good idea to talk to the kindergarten’s admin to find out whether and where you can put the students’ work on display. There might be some room in the classroom or in the hallway and it is quite likely that the administration will like the idea of assigning a noticeboard for you and the English classes work. They will also benefit from promoting the classes to the parents whom the teacher most likely is not going to meet in person.
Where to find more ideas?
Sandie Mourao and Gail Ellis ,Teaching English to Pre-primary Children, Delta Publishing
Vanessa Reilly and Sheila Ward, Very young learners, OUP
Herbert Puchta and a big group, there is a semi-circle of small chairs but the room is big enough for the kids to be able to stand up and play some movement games without actually moving too much around the room
A realistic preschool classroom, not quite EFL pre-school but real life.
And another one from PreKPages a great channel on youtube where you can find lots and lots of ideas for working with preschoolers.
The EFL settings, a private language school, a regular classroom adapted to the needs of a group of pre-school children. There are usually big tables and chairs or the foldable desks and materials such as posters that are not necessarily child-friendly.
Advantages
The classroom is quite likely to be big and that means that the adult furniture ( frequently the foldable tables) can be moved around to create the space for the hello circle, the kids tables, the story corner etc.
Using the big chairs and tables can be an advantage, actually, as the children are sitting far apart and they are not invading each other’s space which might happen when you use a small table. Plus, sitting at the big table is a clear sign that the serious work is about to begin.
You can involve the kids in arranging the classroom, that will make them feel responsible for it and it will help the teacher, too.
The children might feel ‘honoured’ to be studying in an adult classroom as this way they will become ‘real students’, especially if they are already 5 or 6 and start dreaming of starting school.
Disadvantages
The likelihood of sharp corners and not very child-friendly items is much higher.
The teacher has to unfold the VYL kingdom before each lesson and fold it back at the end of the lesson because there might be older children or adults coming. And all of that eats up the teacher’s precious break time.
The board might be too high up and the only person who can reach it is the teacher (but it is not the worst thing in the world, you can put up things in places where the kids cannot reach them)
Solutions
Have a look at the classroom before the lesson and figure out how you can make it fit your aims and ideas. Talk to the admin of the school (and the other teacher using the room) and request permission to move the things around and to rearrange things. It is always worth checking the other rooms in the school. Perhaps one of them is more suited to the needs of the little children and perhaps swapping rooms or furniture is possible. It is always worth asking.
Make sure that the classroom is safe. Look out for the sockets, sharp edges, anything that is not stable or sticking out. There are easy ways of making the place child-proof ie moving out the furniture, swapping the classroom, getting the socket plugs etc.
Decide where you want to start the lesson. I am a huge fan oflining up outside of the classroom but it might not be always possible.
The photo that you can see as the cover photo above is our hello circle that I created in one of the corners of our very adult classroom. In a regular lesson with my pre-schoolers, we would spend here about half or even two-thirds of our lesson. A regular lesson started here with a hello circle, songs, revision and the new langauge introduction. Later on, we would move to the big tables for the more serious work with the coursebook and handouts and we would go back to the small circle for the final game, story and song. This lasted a good few years, even after we moved to the primary and we stopped here only when my students, already A2 and as ‘mature’ as 8 and 9 y.o.
Think of the routine that you are planning to have and build it with your specific classroom in mind. Decide where you are going to do the hello circle, where you are going to have your storytelling, where you are going to sit during the focused task. After you have built it, stick to your routine.
Assign a corner or the area for the movement games. Perhaps the classroom is big enough and one of the corners can be kept empty. Perhaps it is not very big and you will have to move the small stools or the carpet out of the way to make room for the movement games.
The same applies to the storytelling corner. If the classroom allows for that, it would be great to have the space dedicated only to the storytelling activities. Ideally, that would be a carpet for the kids to sit on and a chair for the teacher, to sit slightly above the students’ level. If there is no carpet, the kids can also sit on cushions or on small mats or even the foam puzzle pieces which are easily stored and can be dealt with by the children themselves. Having said that, I have also been teaching in the classrooms where the only option was for us to be either sitting straight on the floor, under the board or sitting on the big chairs in a semi-circle around the teacher.
As regards the focused task, it is normally done at the big desks / foldable tables or at a small table that the teacher puts out in the centre. The small table means that we have all the students around us but it is not going to work for groups bigger than six. Everthing becomes very crowded all of a sudden, as soon as the sixth student comes. Using two small tables mean more work and time invested in setting them up and if they are round tables the teacher spends the entire focused task looking to the left and to the right, back and forth. With larger groups, it is almost better to use the adult seats.
Think how you are going to store your resources and your materials. Sometimes scissors and crayons will have to be shared with the other teachers at the school (and hence stored in the teacher’s room), sometimes you will be able to keep them in your classroom. Think of a safe space that is not within the children’s reach ie the higher shelves of the cupboard, a locked-up cupboard etc.
Decide where you are going to keep your things and resources for the lesson such as crayons or markers, handouts, flashcards for the lesson. Please use the same place and make sure you establish with the children that they are not allowed to touch anything that is on the table. It might help to keep everything in a box (as it can be easily lifted to keep it away from the children), it is easy to store and it makes cleaning easy. What is more, if you keep all your resources in one container, you gain a lot of flexibility as all your toys are there, in case you need to change your lesson plan. I have had groups with whom I had to keep all my resources in my rucksack, zipped shut in the begining of the course.
Decide where you are going to put all the kids’ stuff such as their bags and books (which you are not going to use at all times during the lesson and for that reason it is better to keep them in a special place ie on the window-sill, on a special table etc) or even the kids’ jackets and boots. Sometimes it is possible to hang them outside, sometimes they will be hanging in the corner of the classroom. Make sure you keep your activities away from that corner
It is good to have at least one noticeboard where you can display your students’ work. It can be a noticeboard in the classroom but it can be a noticeboard in the hallway, too. I have had classrooms in which the door was the only available space and we used to put up pictures there using blutack.
Try to make the classroom child-friendly. Perhaps it is possible to decorate one of the corners of the room with the colourful kids’ posters or to decorate the windows with snowflakes or colourful leaves in winter and in autumn. Even if there is cupboard or boxes with toys, by bringing just one puppet, your class assistant, you can create great atmosphere in the room and make a huge difference. If there are more toys, it is a good idea to have a container for them, a basket or a box, in order to be able to keep them stored (and out of sight) when you don’t need them.
