Category: School Can Be Fun

Routines for Young Learners | Teaching EFL

29/9/2019

One of the best pieces of advice that I would give to a new teacher of young learners is to establish routines and make them fun.

This will help you:

manage the class because the kids know what they're supposed to do
help the students learn and use the language more automatically
have fun with the kids.

That's great. How do I do that?

Jessica Yip shared some important advice when teaching young learners concerning routines.

Routines start as soon as you see your kids.
Routines don't mean you have to do the exact same thing.
Make your routines practical using real life examples.
Give the students free choice within a set of boundaries.

Watch the video below for even more pro tips!

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Some examples of starting routines

Use your routines to do typical things that your kids are already doing. Just do it with style.

The way your kids come in and sit down.
Greeting the teacher and/or each other.
Reviewing vocabulary

Easter Egg Lessons

Confidence - Your kids will eventually feel more confident in your class because they will know your style and what to expect in your lesson.

Teamwork - Your kids will start helping each other and rooting for each other to do the games well.

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EFL Grammar Challenge | Solve The Two-Island Riddle

2/8/2019

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Lesson Plan

LESSON: Describing Order of Events
OBJECTIVES: a. Learn and Use Sequence Adverbs b. Improve Fluency c. Problem-solving
LEVEL: Upper-beginner and Higher
TIME:10-15 minutes
INTRODUCTION: Set up the riddle (2-4 minutes)
·      Ask students to take out their notebooks
·      Draw 2 island-type circles on the board
·      Write or draw a FOX, a CHICKEN, and a BAG OF CHICKEN FOOD on one island, and a boat in between the islands.
·      Describe the task
·      Teach main language

OBJECTIVE:
Problem-solving (6-8 minutes)

·      Transfer all three items from one island to the other island.
·      You can only take one item at a time in the boat
·      If you leave the chicken and the bag of food, the chicken will eat the food in the bag.
·      If you leave the fox and the chicken, the fox will eat the chicken.

Pro Tips:

(adjust the grammar according to your students’ level)
·      You may need to explain that ‘chicken food’ is not like KFC.
·      Allow them to work it out before teaching the hint language
·      Hint (Teach the expression “Take back” if they need a hint)

Student Worksheet
for Your Google Classroom

Download the Worksheet and Watch A BONUS Video

MAIN LANGUAGE – (First, Next, Then, After that, Finally, Take, Go, Go back, Pick up)

1. First, you have to take _____________________________________________.
2. _______________________________________________________________.
3. _______________________________________________________________.
4. _______________________________________________________________.
5. _______________________________________________________________.
6. _______________________________________________________________.

ACTIVITY (a) –Draw the islands, the boat, and the items.

Easter Egg Lessons:

Problem Solving: Most of your students will probably say it's "impossible" at first. Guide them in learning that it's NOT impossible.

Logic: The students will have to think in a logical step-by-step order to solve this problem.

What else can you find?

Good luck! Let me know how it works for you and if you have any special touches that I can try in my classes:

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EFL Opening Routine | Vocabulary Dice Game

27/7/2019

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One of the best tools you can have in your bag or teacher box is a dice. There are many things you can do with dice as a teacher: play a board game, choose who goes first in a game, or you could open your classes with vocabulary review games.

Opening Routine

First of all, ask your students to have a notebook for your lessons. If they have a notebook, turn to the last page to write all the vocabulary words from your classes. (Whenever a new vocabulary word comes up write them on the side of the board. We call this a car park.

Keep track of these words and use them for this game.

How to Play

Break the class into teams.
Choose team names (Adjective + Noun)
Assign the numbers of the dice to do tasks based on their roll (EVEN or ODD if you just do two tasks)

Draw (draw a picture of the chosen word)
Act (act out the chosen word)
-for more advanced levels-
Describe (describe the chosen word without saying any part of the word)

Take turns to come up, roll the dice, and do the task based on the number.

Easter Egg Lessons

Adjective + Noun - For many languages around the world, our form of ADJECTIVE + NOUN to describe something is backwards to their language. Therefore, it can take some work to change the order in English. Doing this in the beginning of each class is an engaging way to reinforce their correct order in English.

Added Vocabulary - After the students get accustomed to making team names, they will go through several stages, especially for teens. If you remind them that their is a language purpose of doing this, students usually respect that and start caring a bit more.

Even and Odd Numbers - Doing this as an opening routine for a while will allow you to teach EVEN numbers and ODD numbers. Chances are your students will know what they are, so you can just focus on the best way to help them remember it in English.

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EFL Listening & Vocabulary Lesson | Dumbo

27/5/2019

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If you're looking for a fun, engaging listening lesson that will teach your students vocabulary and enjoy a classic Disney film, this lesson is for you.

I've Never Seen An Elephant Fly

We will base this lesson on the original Dumbo animated film.

Objectives:
LESSON: Dumbo: I’ve Never Seen An Elephant Fly
OBJECTIVES: a. Practice listening b. Learn vocabulary
LEVEL: Intermediate and above.
TIME: 20-30 minutes
PRE-LISTENING: Pronunciation tricks
· Ask students what they know about Dumbo. Write them on the board.
· In pairs (or individual), students write the meanings and/or example sentence using the different vocabulary- 6-8 minutes

Watch the original video and song here and play it for your students.

Pre-Listening Exercise

I. DOUBLE MEANINGS: Write the various meanings for these words from the song.

1. Well, I seen a horse fly. I seen a dragonfly. I seen a house fly.
            Fly (v) - ______________________________________________________
            Fly (n) - ______________________________________________________

2. I’ve seen a peanut stand.
            Stand (v) - ____________________________________________________
            Stand (n) – a kiosk

3. I heard a rubber band.
Band (n) – an elastic string
Band (n) – a musical group

I seen a needle that winked its eye.
            Eye (n) - ____________________________________________________
            Eye (n) - ____________________________________________________

I seen a front porch swing.
            Swing (n)(v) – type of music and dancing
            Swing (n) (v) - ____________________________________________________

I heard a diamond ring.
            Ring (n) - ____________________________________________________
            Ring (v) - ____________________________________________________

I seen a polka-dot railroad tie
            Tie (n) - ____________________________________________________
            Tie (n) - ____________________________________________________

I saw a clothes horse rear up and buck.
            Clothes horse (n) - ______________________________________________
Rear up and buck (v) – the aggressive or scared movements a horse makes

I heard a fireside chat.
            Meaning one: subject + verb
            Meaning two: adjective + noun

How to teach the lesson

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LISTENING: (Make any modifications for your class)

1.    Listen one time and fill in the blanks.
2.    Listen a second time and finish the exercise.
3.    Review answers together.

How To Write The Meanings?

As the students fill out the worksheet before and after watching the video, encourage them to use whatever works best for them to learn the vocabulary.

Write the definitions - a good way to learn the meanings as well as think in English a bit more.
Write example sentences - a good way to learn the words in context
Draw pictures - good for students who are more visual and artistic. Allow their creativity to show
Translation - this can be useful for students who can't grasp the concept of a word or needs to compare the word to their own language. (This may not be useful for words that don't have an exact translation)

Student Worksheet

II. Listen to the song and fill in the blanks with the words in the box.

When I See An Elephant Fly
Dumbo

I seen a peanut (1) ____________, heard a rubber (2) _____________
I seen a needle that winked its (3) ____________
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an (4) _____________________
(What'd you say, boy?)
I said, when I see an elephant fly

I seen a front porch (5) ___________, heard a diamond (6) ___________
I seen a polka-dot railroad (7) ___________
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly

I saw a clothes horse rear up and buck
And they tell me that a man made a vegetable (8) __________
I didn't see that, I only heard
Just to be (9) ___________, I'll take your word

I heard a fireside chat, I saw a baseball (10) ____________
And I just laughed till I thought I'd die
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly

But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly
When I see an elephant fly

III. Superstitions: What is this? ____________________________________________

Dumbo thought the secret to flying was the feather in his nose. This was a superstition.
In my country, people have some funny superstitions.

Walking under a ladder is bad luck.
If your palms itch, you will run into money.
Breaking a mirror will give you seven years bad luck.
Playing sports with lucky clothes.
Routines while watching sports. (eating the same food, not washing jersey, etc.)

What are some common superstitions in your country?
Talk with your partner and create a list of superstitions. As many as you can create in 4 minutes.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Download the Worksheet for Your Google Classroom

Pro Tips:

- Keep a list of new vocabulary words that come up, and write it on the side of the board. Use these words in class games and openers.
- Each listening activity should have a goal for listening (comprehension, listening for rhythm, pronunciation, etc.)

Good luck! Let me know how it works for you and if you have any special touches that I can try in my classes:

Post Listening: Superstitions

Break up into 2 or 3 groups.
- List superstitions in their country.
- Each team gets 1 point for any superstition that the other groups don't have.
(Teachers: Play Stevie Wonder Superstition during their discussion time.)

Easter Egg Lessons

Superstitions - The students can think about superstitions in their and other countries.

Cultural History - Look below at some of the cultural discussions you can lead with nature students.

What else can you find?

Extra Cultural Lesson

For more advanced or mature learners, you can include a cultural lesson about this crows scene. Share with them that the crows were supposed to represent people hanging out "the hood" as demonstrated by their accents and style. They were essentially stereotypes (good word to write on the board) of black people in the United States.

(Conversation starter options:)

What do you think of the stereotype here?
Are there any stereotypes of people in your country?
What are other stereotypes you know of?

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3 Ways to Use Picture Dice In Your EFL Lessons | 1-on-1 Lessons and Classes

18/3/2019

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If you're looking for a useful, dynamic addition for your lesson materials, look into getting your hands on a set of these picture dice. Most toy stores will carry something like this, and they are as useful as you are creative. There are plenty of EFL speaking or writing activities you could create using these, so today, let's get you started with three basic ideas.

1. Group Story Telling

Use the picture dice to tell a creative story in groups. Your small groups will work together as they create a story based on the pictures they roll.

This activity might be difficult at first, but once they get one, it will be fun for your more advanced students. Try it in a variety of ways depending on your particular student. Some students are more creative, and some students are more ABC thinkers. Adjust the rules accordingly.

This activity works great if you need to practice different past tenses.

How It Works:

1. Break the class up into small groups of 2-4 people.
2. Roll the dice and take turns going around the group to create and write their own unique story based on the pictures.

Options for Game Play:

- Roll all the dice at once and create the story you want.
- Give one or two dice to each group and have them roll the dice every couple sentences.
- Have each student in a group choose a dice and roll it for their part.
- Your creation as the teacher

2. I Remember When...

How It Works:

1. Ask the student to choose a dice and roll it.
2. The student and their partner think of a memory that the give dice reminds them of. (You are the student's partner for 1-on-1 Lessons) - The 'memories' can be real or made up.
3. The student says their memory beginning with the expression, "I remember when..." or "I remember one time..."
4. The partner asks Student A questions about their memory to see if it's a real memory or a made-up story.

Pro Tips:

It's always a good idea for the teacher to go first to demonstrate the activity.

It's always a good idea to set time limits for activities and show the student how much time is left in a given activity.

Pre-teach certain words or expressions like "I remember one time..." and to make up something.

Correct any language that the students need and make note of them for later. Work with this language, vocabulary, or expressions after the game.

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Easter Egg Lessons:

Creativity - If we do this more than once, the students will get better and better at thinking of creative stories, questions, and answers.

Community - They may learn new things about each other without even realizing it.

3. Follow-up Questions in Conversation

This lesson idea will bring incredible value to your 1-on-1 lessons with teens or adults.

If you don't have picture dice, I recommend you take a trip to a local trinket shop and invest around 10€ in a pack of picture dice like these. They will serve you very well for many years to come, especially if you teach 1-on-1 teen or adult lessons.

Photo via Instagram

How it works:

1. Ask the student to choose a picture dice. (If it's an online class, I do the rolling)
2. Roll the dice and each of us think of a question or conversation topic based on the picture.
3. The question should be INDIRECTLY related to the picture. (It's best if the other person has to ask how you related your question to the picture.)
4. Continue the conversation using follow-up questions based on the other person's answers
5. When the conversation naturally dies down, switch turns and begin a new conversation.

Follow the video tutorial if you have any questions. Subscribe to the channel if you like it.

Why it works

Teens and adults love this lesson because they decide where the conversation goes.

This turns the typical English lesson dynamic on its head by guiding the student to lead a conversation. The student will get to practice leading a conversation that they get to create, and take it to wherever they want to take it. This is also REAL WORLD conversation practice because it builds more than just English language, but genuine conversation skills.

Pro Tips:

It's important to pre-teach or at least review the concept of follow-up questions and even practice with a basic example.
   A: What's your favorite food?
   B: I like pizza.
A: What do you like to put on your pizza?
   B: I like ham and pineapple.
A: We have a name for that kind of pizza in the US. Do you know what it is?
   B: Hawaiian
A: It's my dream to visit Hawaii. What's your dream vacation?
   ETC.

The teacher should go first (at least the first time you do this activity) as a demonstration of what you expect.

This can be adapted to classes if the students are advanced enough. You will need to break them up into pairs. Give them a time limit for the conversation time. At the end of the given time, ask them where their conversation started and finished. (For example: -banana picture- The conversation started with "Have you ever seen a nature documentary?" and our conversation ended up talking about cars.)

No dice?

If you haven't bought any dice yet (or aren't interested in buying dice), I'm sure you could search "random picture generator" and see what comes up. Then do the same kind of activity based on that.

Let me know how it goes!

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Describe and Draw | EFL Speaking Lesson (with video)

8/3/2019

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Sometimes it can be challenging getting the students to speak in English class. Sometimes it's because they're shy, and sometimes it's because they just don't want to be there.

This EFL speaking activity will get students participating with a partner and is a great lesson for teens and adults.

Catch us on IG

Have you ever noticed...
"... and sometimes it's because they just don't want to be there."
and
"... and sometimes it's just because they don't want to be there."
... mean different things.

Pre-teach:

It might be a good idea to pre-teach any expressions you'd like them to use (especially B1 or low B2 levels).

At the top/bottom
On the left/right
Behind/ In front of
On/ Under
Etc.
It looks like...
It seems like...
I think... because...

Grammar:

Present continuous

How it works:

1. Get a partner
2. Open Instagram or your Photo Gallery
3. Choose a photo
4. Describe the photo and your partner draws what you describe.

This activity should last about 6-10 minutes depending on class size and how much you need to describe or demonstrate.

Two Options

Photo On Screen
Create a PowerPoint or use the one available for members to show the photos on the screen, and have the students break into pairs. One partner has their back to the screen and the other partner describes the photo.

Instagram
Students open their phones and follow the instructions above.

Combine Lessons for a Full Speaking Lesson

Find a complete lesson plan combining this lesson with PRONUNCIATION CALL to create an entire speaking lesson for your classes.

Get Your FULL Lesson Plan and Material

Pro Tips:

Ask the students to hide their drawing as their partner is describing. This will help the flow of the description so the conversation isn't filled with, "No, the hair is longer than that."

Two or three times each partner is enough. Any more than that, the students start getting bored. We want to keep them engaged.

Easter Egg Lessons:

Active Listening - Students will have to be engaged as they're drawing. They can even ask relevant questions while they are listening.

Cooperation - Students will have to work together while they're drawing and sharing numbers during the pronunciation call.

What else can you find?

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Writing A Chain Story (Great for Teens)

25/2/2019

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Writing lessons always bring a groan from the teens, don't they?

This one too~ But by the end, they'll love it!

Photo from Instagram

Do you teach teenagers? Do you need a dynamic English writing lesson? This is one your students will love.

Your students are going to write a chain story. They may not like the idea at first, but then by the end, they will love it!

You may have heard of this idea before or even may have done it in your lessons, but I added a few small details that really make the process go by much more smoothly. Here's how I do it.

How It Works

ACTIVITY: Write a Chain Story
GROUPS: 6-9 students
LEVEL: B1 (Lower Intermediate) and Above

TASK:
1. Students sit in a circle.
2. Everybody needs a pen and a piece of paper.
3. Start by writing the word "Yesterday"
4. Pass the paper to the person to the write, and that person begins writing the story.
5. Student writes for 90 seconds or 2 minutes. Give later students extra time to read the story.
6. Pass the paper to the person to the right. Continue the story that comes to you.
7. Announce the final 2 or 3 rounds.

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Additional Tips to Save Your Sanity

1. Allow them to moan and groan at first. Just continue with your lesson.
2. Limit your control on their content. (I've seen some CRAZY stories.) Let them be creative.
3. Give them time goals to organize themselves in a circle. For example: "You have 2 minutes to organize the class in 3 equal groups and form a circle." (For large classes)
4. Show a countdown timer on the screen. I normally either use Google or Online Stopwatch.

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Teachers' RoomCreative English Lessons ​& Teacher Support

Routines for Young Learners | Teaching EFL

That's great. How do I do that?

Some examples of starting routines

Easter Egg Lessons

Want more?

EFL Grammar Challenge | Solve The Two-Island Riddle

Lesson Plan

OBJECTIVE: Problem-solving (6-8 minutes)

Pro Tips:

Student Worksheet​for Your Google Classroom

Easter Egg Lessons:

What did you think? Want more lessons?

EFL Opening Routine | Vocabulary Dice Game

Opening Routine

How to Play

Easter Egg Lessons

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EFL Listening & Vocabulary Lesson | Dumbo

I've Never Seen An Elephant Fly

Pre-Listening Exercise

How to teach the lesson

LISTENING: (Make any modifications for your class)

How To Write The Meanings?

Student Worksheet

Pro Tips:

Post Listening: Superstitions

Easter Egg Lessons

Extra Cultural Lesson

Want more?

3 Ways to Use Picture Dice In Your EFL Lessons | 1-on-1 Lessons and Classes

1. Group Story Telling

How It Works:

Options for Game Play:

2. I Remember When...

How It Works:

Pro Tips:

Easter Egg Lessons:

3. Follow-up Questions in Conversation

How it works:

Why it works

Pro Tips:

No dice?

Want more?

Describe and Draw | EFL Speaking Lesson (with video)

Pre-teach:

How it works:

Two Options

Combine Lessons for a Full Speaking Lesson

Pro Tips:

Easter Egg Lessons:

Want more?

Writing A Chain Story (Great for Teens)

Writing lessons always bring a groan from the teens, don't they?This one too~ But by the end, they'll love it!

How It Works

Additional Tips to Save Your Sanity

Contact Us On SOCIAL MEDIA

Have more time.Make a difference.​Enjoy teaching.

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Teaching is MORE THAN about just improvingENGLISH

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Creative English Lessons & Teacher Support

OBJECTIVE:
Problem-solving (6-8 minutes)

Student Worksheet
for Your Google Classroom

Writing lessons always bring a groan from the teens, don't they?

This one too~ But by the end, they'll love it!

Have more time.
Make a difference.
Enjoy teaching.

Teaching is
MORE THAN
about just improving
ENGLISH