Tips for Teaching Children

“For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be.” - John Connolly, The Book of Lost Things​
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 I love teaching children. I have been blessed to teach 2 to 10 year-old students English in Germany, Croatia, and the US. When I began teaching in Germany, I had a tough time acclimating. I thought I would be able to work with the children since I had taught young learners in the US English and science. I remember teaching a group of 14 seven to eight year-old students. They climbed the walls (oddly there were racks on the walls), fought a lot, and flew paper airplanes everywhere. I went home after a 9 hour day and cried. I wanted to quit. I have a fighting spirit, though, so I went online to research lessons and ideas. Throughout the four years that I have been teaching in Germany I have collected some great research, resources, and tips to make me a much better English teacher of young learners. 

Resources

​​My Posts
Some Slide Presentations

Survival Tips

  • Channel in your inner child!
    • Have the ability to act silly – I often dress-up when reading books, play charades, make silly voices and faces, and sing and dance!
  • Wear the right gear! Don’t dress to impress! Dress for a mess!
  • Children love to play pretend games!
  • Have lively music that is easy for the children to understand and that you will enjoy singing very loudly to! Find music resources here.
  • TPR- Total physical response is a must for every lesson. Discover more here.
  • Puppets are great for children, especially when you incorporate the puppet in every lesson.
  • Play board games, physical games, and online games- We play Twister, bingo, and more.
  • Include stories from great children’s authors and make the reading time fun. Check out my class wiki for various books and the themes they support.
  • Use colorful flashcards and play games with the flash cards.
  • Color with a purpose! Give children a task to see if they can follow directions, such as telling a child to draw a circle and color it yellow. Without direction, I’ve had children color on the wall and on me!
  • Incorporate drama activities such as mime and improvisation games.
  • Felt boards are great for having children piece together what happened in a story or to learn new vocabulary.
  • Finger plays like the Itsy Bitsy Spider work wonders. Read this post on how to digitalize your finger plays using Blabberize.
  • Trust kids with technology! My five year-old students complete online activities each week which I put in a wiki. Kids love technology and will repeat what they learn.
  • Explore the outdoors with scavenger hunts.
  • Use realia- My students play Bingo with pennies from the USA. Introduce real world objects to students from an English speaking culture. Play Show-and-Tell!
  • When all else fails, have fun!