Classroom Resources
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -Benjamin Franklin
Especially with children it is crucial that the lesson engages them and captures their attention. Without this crucial first step often times little is accomplished. This is why I often use games or songs with the children or lessons that involve things the children enjoy, like coloring or drawing.
I use a catchy song with 2nd grade to teach them prepositions of place and I'm proud to say there is not a single child in the second grade that doesn't know these prepositions. See the song below! In my experience songs really stick with younger students. In first grade I have sung a weather song with them in the mornings. One child goes to the window and the rest of us sing a question using weather conditions such as "Is it raining?" while doing a hand motion that looks like rain. The child at the window looks outside and tells us whether it is or not. Today we finally took an exam that involved weather vocabulary and I saw them singing to themselves to remember what the correct answers were. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes is another classic good for teaching body vocabulary. Tongue Twisters are fun to use, and work especially well if they're songs. An example of this is The Wishy Washer Woman.
Simon Says works well to practice body vocabulary and for kinesthetic learners. Charades also works well for younger kinesthetic learners. Operator is very fun and useful because the children have to pronounce the word very carefully. The children take turns whispering a word into the ear of the person next to them. The last person in the line tells the word to the class. To practice numbers with the first graders I put them in a circle and we count one by one until someone doesn't know the next number or says the wrong number. They sit down and the next child begins at one again. We continue until there is only one child left standing. Another game to teach numbers and to practice oral comprehension is to have give all the children a whiteboard or a piece of paper and say random numbers and see if the students can write the correct numbers. The student with the most correctly written numbers wins.
Here's the prepostions of place song! I like to also make my hand in a fist as I sing the song to the children and put my other hand around my fist in a position that represents the corresponding preposition. A lot of times when they aren't sure of the prepositions on the spot during activities I see them sing the song to themselves and do the hand motions to remember.
Routines are very useful with smaller children. They need structure. In second grade we have a morning routine in which we use this board. The children sit in a semi-circle and one child stands in front of the board and calls on students to answer the questions relating to to the date and the weather. The children who answer correctly can place the arrow on the corresponding answer on the board. We also introduce new questions relating to new vocabulary. The child standing will hold a small sign with a question such as as "When is your birthday?" or "What is your father's job?" and asks each of the students sitting. This routine is improving their vocabulary, teaching them grammar concepts, such as ordinal numbers and how to form questions, introducing them to the past and future tenses, and also prepares them for some of the exams they will have take not so far in the future. It also engages the entire class.
I made this to teach third grade about cardinal points. The words are detachable with Velcro. The children took turns trying to place them on the compass correctly. I also attached the dial in a way that makes it movable. It was definitely a success.
I made these aprons for second grade when they were learning about the different systems of the body. They took turns wearing the little aprons and pointing out the different parts of the system to the class and explaining how it functions.
This is an excellent game we use that helps teach prepositions of place and body vocabulary to the second graders. Three students roll one of the dices and then complete the actions that the dices land on. For example, in this picture the students must put their head under their toes. It can get quite silly, which they enjoy and is fun for them. When learning is fun and engaging it is more effective.
For younger children classroom visuals are essential. I have made many posters and other materials to display on the walls to reinforce the material we are learning. This is perhaps my favorite one. Sayings or rhymes like this are also extremely useful and catchy, making students remember grammar rules. I still remember the rhymes I was taught as a child, such as "I before E, except after C."
We teach phonics every Tuesday to the second graders. We first introduce the sound to them and then we watch a corresponding episode of Alphablocks, a BBC phonics series for children. Then, as a class, we come up with a list of 6 words that have the sound we are studying. Afterwards the children write the words and draw a picture in their English notebook. They highlight the letters that make the sound in the words. This activity is great because it incorporates many different styles of learning.
Flashcards can be an indispensable tool in the classroom. We first introduced hair vocabulary to the children with these flashcards and then drew the same heads with hair on the whiteboard with a vocabulary word underneath as the children copied it in their notebooks. We didn't include the color in the drawings on the whiteboard so they would have to remember which color went with each word. They were warned in advance. This made them have to remember and made the information sink in more effectively. We then used the flashcards afterwards periodically to review.
Younger children really enjoy coloring and when children or people in general enjoy something they want to do it. This is very important in teaching children, to make it enjoyable. It is very effective to incorporate coloring with children for this reason, but also because it reviews colors and teaches whatever other topic is involved. The example on the left demonstrates a good way to execute this. We wanted the children to learn clothes vocabulary, so we gave them this worksheet which prompts them to color a certain item a specific color. This concept can work for almost any vocabulary.
Bingo is another great way to learn vocabulary. Who doesn't like playing Bingo? This is a Bingo game I used to teach third grade about Invertebrates and Vertebrates in Natural Science. Bingo is also a great way to strengthen listening skills, similar to the number game I have described previously.
Another game I have used with third grade that can be used for practicing vocabulary and grammar is a question and answer game. Cut out little pieces of paper that contain questions and corresponding answers. The papers are mixed up and given at random to the students. Then the children have to walk around the room asking their questions to find someone who has the matching answer, without peeking at the other person's paper. Once everyone has found their partner the pairs take turns reading their question and answer to the class. In the examples on the left we were reviewing nationalities and seasons. For third grade questions themselves are something we need to learn and review.
I use this Snakes and Ladders game with third grade to review for the Trinity exam and to review other vocabulary.
I use this memory game with second grade. Words and matching pictures are flipped upside down and the children take turns trying to find a match. I have multiple sets based on different sounds. This set makes them practice the sound ā, as in rain, sprain, drain, while also teaching them vocabulary. I sit with them while they play and say the words as they choose them.
The classic game Operation is a good way to review body vocabulary. I've used it with first grade and they always have a lot of fun!
Sometimes during a lesson I've used this ball when calling on the kids for answers. When someone raises their hand I throw the ball to them and they attempt to answer. If their answer is correct they throw it back to me. If it is incorrect they throw it to another student who is raising their hand. It may seem simple, but this motivates some of the children to actually raise their hands and try or at least pay attention. Another way I motivate the students to pay attention and participate is by keeping score of the correct answers given by the different groups the children are seated in. It turns something that could be dull, such as learning to tell time, into a game. I first introduce the material and then ask questions to all the groups. Again, this captures the attention and participation of many children who otherwise would not be participating or paying attention.
A way I get them more excited and motivated to speak English is by incorporating a speaking race. Every child has a picture with their name on it on a big poster on the wall. We try to keep the theme of the pictures related to the vocabulary we're learning. All the pictures start at the left side of the poster and when I see a child making a lot of effort in speaking English I move their picture a little to the right, closer to the finish line. If a child is speaking in Spanish too much when the expectation is that they only speak in English I move them back a little. The first one to the finish line gets a prize. These reinforcements really work with children.
In third grade I have given a star of the week award at the end of the week based on who has shown the most effort and best behavior. It really helps to encourage them. Sometimes I even suggest during the week to students that are doing well that if they keep up the good work they might be the next star of the week. I also give out stickers occasionally, which the kids always love.
This year the other auxiliares and I created a space in the school devoted solely to English. This has been a great resource for us when we pull children out of the class to work one-on-one or in small groups. It also gives us a space to hang visuals we create that complement what they are currently studying. It really has felt like our own classroom.
Presentation.pptx
Here are two presentations I gave this year. The first is a very simple presentation I gave for first grade that covers the history, contemporary holiday traditions, and vocabulary related to Thanksgiving. The second is a presentation I did for multiple grades on a typical year in the USA in which I talked about traditions and customs throughout the year. I did not include many words because I got the chance to present this to the older kids I don't usually work with and I wanted to use the presentation as a chance for them to have to focus on listening comprehension.
All photos used with permission.