Lesson Material by Grade and Topic
Learning objectives and materials for very young EFL learners can be found here. Spoiler alert: the curriculum is roughly the same across both grades. Kids enjoy the songs immensely and continue singing them repeatedly for more than a year, so much of the 1st grade material carries over into 2nd grade. The main difference is that second graders learn more alphabet vocabulary and daily English phrases, and I have higher expectations for penmanship, letter accuracy, recall, and phonetic decoding skills. Because 2nd graders advance more quickly due to the reinforcement from the overlapping content, they tend to finish everything by the middle of second semester. I then start teaching regular 3rd grade material to give them a head start.
Learning objectives and materials for middle elementary students can be found here. The curriculum, including specific learning objectives per unit, is mostly determined by the textbook. Textbook units are topic-based, and the vocabulary presented is related to the particular topic/motif. The grammar patterns to be taught are exemplified by a particular question and answer pattern that fits an imaginary scenario inside the given topic. For example, some characters may go to another character's home and have an elementary discussion about foods when the host offers refreshments, e.g. "What do you want to eat/drink? I want some < vocabulary item> please." Most learning is by rehearsal which is accomplished through textbook drills, workbook exercises, worksheets, and teacher-created games/activities. However, the challenge that English teachers now face is leveraging a textbook designed for learning by recall/memory and upgrading to learning via higher order thinking skills like analysis, evaluation, application, and creativity.
Learning objectives and materials for upper elementary students can be found here. Like the 3rd-4th grade curriculum, this curriculum is mostly determined by the textbook. The complexity of the vocabulary and grammar increases slightly. The students will learn some past tense verb forms in the second semester. Textbook units are topic based, and the vocabulary presented is related to the particular topic/motif. The grammar patterns to be taught are exemplified by a particular question and answer pattern that fits an imaginary scenario inside the given topic. For example, some characters may have an elementary discussion about wanting to go to some location and how to get there, e.g. "I want to buy some <clothes vocabulary>. Let's go to the department store. How can we get there? We can go by <transportation vocabulary > " Most learning is by rehearsal which is accomplished through textbook drills, workbook exercises, worksheets, and teacher-created games/activities. However, the challenge that English teachers now face is leveraging a textbook designed for learning by recall/memory and upgrading to learning via higher order thinking skills like analysis, evaluation, application, and creativity.
These project lessons occur every Wednesday and provide an opportunity to combine grades 3-4 and 5-6, classes A-C. We bring them together to prevent an unhealthy elitism between grades and classes. Grades 3-4 have joint classes once a week to work on stage performance projects. Grades 5-6 meet jointly to work on Youtuber projects. The group projects provide an opportunity to mix and mingle the students so that they have a chance to discover their own talents and appreciate other schoolmates' individual talents. Additionally, we envisage the following aims below:
Cultivate higher order thinking skills, .e.g., analysis, application, evaluation, creativity
Cultivate team work /group work skills
Cultivate an international perspective
Cultivate self-directed learning skills
Learn to use social media and presentation software/APPs
Develop agency/ownership of one's learning
Increase motivation for English study
*** grade 3-4 projects do not include aim 5
Resources are here for teachers to help those kids who ignore the lines and write "floating" words and misproportioned letters.
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