First lesson - lesson plan and freebies

(bunting - activity. Examples from kids 4, 6, 10, 11 yo)

When I do my teacher training, I often come across new teachers who have never written a lesson plan in their lives. Especially when teaching small children they are often a bit lost and don't know what kind of activities to do with children or how long an activity should last (please, don't plan an activity that takes 40 minutes ....) among many other things .
So here is an idea on how you could start (see at the bottom of the post). It can easily be adapted for different ages.
For beginner teachers, I often advise them to do a detailed plan. It takes a loooot of time and you may feel like it's nor worth it. After all the goal is not to plan for 4 hours just to teach 1 hour (and only get paid for that one hour!). Been there, done that! But believe me, at the beginning it is really worth it (I will write another blogpost about why you should have lesson plans), with time it will get easier and you will teach more by intuition.
I'm barely using any lesson plans anymore, unless it's a level or topic that I haven't taught a lot in my career, but even then the plans just contain major points and a list of things to do before the class (may be my age, but I tend to forget to prepare something and then standing in front of the students with the activity in the head but nothing in the hands .. not so cool).
That's why I post a lesson template for you as well. Enjoy :)
And let me know how things went! Take care

Lesson PlanTime: 60 mins
Level: children, beginner (3+)
Target language: Hello, my name is, what’s your name
Objectives : getting to know each other, getting familiar with the environment

Freebies
Full lesson plan: here
Lesson plan template: here
Bunting (3 levels): here

Comments

Monkey Tree Game

Great game to check the newly learned or revise old vocabulary: Show a flashcard. The kids have to tell you what they see. If it's correct, the monkey climbs up the tree (1 spot), if it's wrong, he falls down (either completely or just 1 spot - depending on how well the kids already know the words). The goal is to get the monkey to the top of the tree and eat some bananas. The kids absolutely love this game. Especially when you make funny noises while moving the monkey or let him fall down.

My toddler is in your class for 3 weeks and still doesn’t speak!!! Whyyyy????

Sounds familiar? Ever had those anxious parents that wonder why their child doesn’t speak English fluently yet after having been with you for a few weeks? Ok, maybe not fluent, but at least being able to communicate without problems in case they would go on holidays to England now? Ok maybe no conversation, but at least a few useful sentences? Honey, your 3 year old daughter has been with me for 3 lessons … No, she can’t order a menu at the restaurant in England yet and no, she also can’t ask for directions! The child barely speaks its first language anywhere near well, but parents want you to teach them the entire English language in a couple of months, because you can perform miracles :o I know, it’s exaggerated, jokes aside (well, I have heard of some parents actually really being that way!) , but you will have this question popping up sooner or later: “Why doesn’t my child speak yet?” When parents ask me this , I always ask them back “How long did it tak...

Game time - colors

Now there are literally hundreds of games out there that you can play when teaching colors. Here are 3 of my favorites: 1. Coloring Prepare crayons (several of each color) and place them on a table. Hang coloring pictures on the wall everywhere in the room. Say the name of a student and a color. The student has to run to the table, take the color and choose a picture to color. He or she colors a part (one part only!) and sits down again. To not have the other students waiting and to make things more fun, call many names quickly after another with different colors or with the same color). You can also allow the students to be more creative and add things to the picture. Once finished, look at what the coloring pictures look like after the game. There may be some pretty wild combinations. 2. Tapping Place a few flashcards on the floor (or table). Have the students sit around the cards. Tap on one card and say its color (eg “blue”). The next student has to tap your card a...

S . ESL Teaching

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