PARACHUTE
If you don’t not know yet about the "Parachute", then urgently buy it. It is really awesome multifunctional teaching tool, all your students will be delighted!
Parachute is one of the best warm up, trust us.
How to use?
Ask kids to make a circle, count to 10, and then catch it together.
After move it up and down, shake it slowly and fast and at the end run it up.
No more than 3 minutes, but during this time you practice verbs (shall, catch, fly), opposites (big & small, slow& fast, up & down).
Colorful Balls
It’s really cheap and easy to use teaching tip.
You can use them to introduce or review colors by random taking out from jumping bag. Also you can put them on a parachute while kids are holding it. Ask them to count 1 2 3 and sound out colors name and lift this ball up by parachute. Don’t forget about colorful balloons or clay! Colors is the best topic for real!
You can diversify your relay races. When kids will achieve checkpoint to answer your questions, give them one ball for each right reply. In the end of race let them count how many balls their team have got.
If you are a good sniper, you can try really nice activity with your kids. Put upside down fruit chairs in front of your students. Show them flashcards, words or just ask them question. Throw balls as a reward. When it’s done ask kids to count to see how many balls they got.
Colorful Soft ABC Blocks
Universal teaching tip. You can drill phrases, practice new words with your young English learners, they will follow you.
It works like reward. Ask your students to answer the question. If they’re too young and content is new, it’s enough just to repeat after you. Ask one kid to take out one cube and then place it on a previous one. Also ask him about cube’s color or mentioned letters & numbers.
You should ask not random students to take cube, but those who are really trying. You can build complicated towers, not only one by one.
Name Wax Sticks
During your classes you face a dilemma: "Who will answer?" Or you can just forget about someone that it's not good either.
How to be?
A great solution will be wax sticks; on which you write the names of children. Put them in a cup, names upside down, shake it and pull out a random one.
Now there are no offense and the children are excited! It's great that, among other things, children remember how the names of their group are written!
Tap Bells
Really awesome tip to raise the excitement of your students.
Ask 4 kids to get ready.
Show them flashcard or slide.
Students have to give the reply and tap bell after. Or do it only after received card.
Also you can use bells in the end of relay race.
Fruit Chairs
Almost the same tool as fly swatters, but less variable. Can be used only with young kids, but it works great!
How to play?
Kids are holding the chairs, it’s better to play in pairs to control them all.
When you sound word out, kids have to find it out, sit nearby and pronounce this word by themselves.
Also you can play cross the river or use them for rock scissors paper game.
Jumping Bag
When you’re teaching young English learners, you have to play games with them.
To make it funny, just add jumping bag. Doesn’t matter, indoor or outdoor, you and your students will enjoy it!
Relay race, competition in pairs, even one kid, jumping bag will work always!
Don’t forget to change activities all the time, don’t let your kid to feel bored!
SHARK TEETH
Teaching Young English Learners, it’s always about stimulation. This shark will really help you to drill difficult phrases with you students.
You can use it as a reward. Ask them to sound out necessary word or phrase. After, they can press one tooth. The greatest thing is shark mouth’s random closing!
Kids will ask you to play again and again, so you ask them to pronounce difficult words or phrases.
Moustache Smash
Fly Swatters
Nice tool to have fun during your class. Kids really love it. It doesn’t matter how old they are, both 3 years old or adults will enjoy it a lot.
How to play
You will need flashcards with or without picture on it, depends on students’ level. Place them on a floor or whiteboard, wherever you want.
Pretend that there is a fly in the classroom. You can make fly’s sound (zzzzzz). Ask your kids: “Did you hear? Here’s the fly, we have to find it out and swat. Look what I got: fly swatters.” Actually it’s up to you which story to tell them.
Also you can say that fly is invisible, only teacher can see it. That’s why kids who hold fly swatters, have to listen carefully, where is fly sitting right now.
When you prounce the word, kids have to find it out, sound it out and only after swat.
To make it funny, sometimes you can pronounce word or phrase which was not mentioned.
Clay
The best topic to teach young English learners first time is Colors.
You can use different tools to do it. But clay…How to use it?
Well, it’s really easy and great. Once, I decided to fix yellow clay on my right palm. I didn’t plan to do it before, but sometimes it’s happened, you can find new idea just during the lesson.
Then we were giving fives to each other’s and kids were sounding colors out. We were laughing a lot and learned all the colors!
Green & Red Circle
Awesome tip to control your student’s response.
Enter new rule: when you’re asking question and if showing a red light to your kids, all of them have to think but don’t response. But when it’s green, they can.
Thus, after waiting a short pause, you achieve synchronization of the answer and allow “slow kids” to response on time. It’ll give them confidence.
Hoops
All the kids like to run, jump, they’re really full of energy. You will need four hoops.
First of all, review lesson’s content and give these hoops as reward to 4 four different students.
Ask two of them to stay inside and two others to assist them.
When race is started, ask hoop holders to put their hoops in front of their partners.
Their partners have to jump or step forward in the hoop.
Hoop holders have to move free hoops in front of partners.
In the end of race, ask them anything you want (word, phrase, sentence).
When it’s done, they have to come back in the same way.
Notes:
Try it outdoor, kids will enjoy a lot (same as jumping bags).
Holders and Jumpers can switch in the middle.
It was tried with 3-4 years old and 9-11. Both enjoyed a lot.
Magnetic Fishing Rod
It’s time to go fishing!
You need one or two magnetic fishing rods, Metal clips, and printed fish. Fish can be named by different letters, numbers, colors, diphthongs or words; it’s up to you.
Ask kids to sit in front of each other’s. Place your fish between and ask kids to start fishing. When fish is caught, her name. Then continue.
Sticky Ball
Buy one (or several!) inexpensive suction cup balls, and your whiteboard games will never be the same! These balls are made up of several tiny suction cups that stick to whiteboards. There are many games you can play - as many as your imagination will allow- but here are two:
Draw a target with concentric circles on the whiteboard, each with a different point value. Quiz students and if they give you the right answer they get to throw the ball for points.
Fill your whiteboard with letters or syllables and each student has to supply a word that starts with the letter or syllable they hit.
SKIP BALL
Use your ankle to swing the ball around while you hop over it. A perfect game for fans of hopscotch and jump rope! Slip an ankle through the Orbit Skip Ball's hoop and swing the ball around and around while you hop over it with the other foot. Timing is key! You can even play in the dark; once rolling, the ball lights up. This challenging game is a great form of exercise and helps kids to practice spatial awareness and body coordination while they play.
Paper Cups
How to use?
"Where's ping pong ball"?
Put one by one set of flashcards in front of your students. Take paper cups, the same quantity as flashcards and put them nearby. Use one ping pong ball, put it inside of a cup and place all the cups upside down. Shuffle cups then stop after while and put them nearby flashcards. Ask your students: "Where is ping pong ball?" Kids have to sound out flashcard name. If they're right, ask one of them to come and lift this cup up. Continue!
Build Flashcard Tower Up
Place paper cups upside down like the columns of the building. Depends on flashcard size, use 4 cups if A4 and so on. Then take one flashcard and ask your students to repeat after you (if content iss new) or sound out by themselves (review). Then call one kid to come and place card on cups. Then put 4 cups on the card. Continue in the same way while it works or time allow you.
Notes:
If your students too young, you also can practice cup's counting with them.
If you have enough time, when tower is done, you can play backwards.
Listen, Fnd, Repeat, Take Cup, Place It
Place flashcards set on a floor with a half meter gap between each card. Put paper cups on cards. Two cups per one card. Two kids are staying in front of each others. You can use two hoops like two "cup's homes". Your kids have to listen carefully. Whe you sound out the word, they have to find it out, repeat, take cup placed on this word and put it at home. Then continue.
Cones
Kids really love colorful things. But cones...how to use them?
You can play football. Place flashcard between cones
Preveously ask kids what color is cone, just drilling.
Prepare 3-5 flashcards & cones sets.
Ask kids who wants to play football, kick the ball between cones, make card fall down. All of them want to, so explain them: to get an opportunity, they have to deserve it.
Bounce ball nearby one set, kids have to tell you flashcard's name. Ask the best one to try first.
Tell this student random flashcard name. Student has to find it out, repeat after you and ony after kick.
DICE
Here are 10 ways to use dice to make your class more fun and interesting.
Use dice to choose students for activities. Using addition or multiplication, 2 to 3 dice can be used to help the teacher have a random way of picking students for activities when each student is assigned a number.
Use dice to help choose groups. Though groups may get be a bit lopsided at times, using one die for each student can work if you have odd and even groups. That way there is a greater likelihood that you will split the class into groups evenly.
Use dice in conjunction with book exercises. Using 2 -3 dice and addition, any book exercise can become a game in which students roll and the number of the question is the one that they must answer in their group. If they answer correctly, they get a point (etc.).
Use dice to learn verb tenses. Very conveniently, there are 12 verb tense forms in English. This works great for grammar review if you assign each tense a number 1-12 on the board and have the students use dice and a verb of their/your choosing. When students roll, they must produce the verb form that corresponds with the number and verb. I usually do this in groups to get more students participating.
Use dice for Grammar Board Games. Create your own board games and have students play the games in class for prizes or other incentives.
Use dice to choose the level of difficulty in games. If you have a review exercise with varying levels of difficulty, have each student roll a die and answer either the hardest or the easiest question based on their roll (1 being the easiest (simple present), 6 being the hardest (future perfect progressive)). If they get it right, they get more points for their team, if they get it wrong, they either lose points or simply gain nothing.
Use dice to assign bonus points. Have a student roll a dice at the beginning of a test to assign how many extra points the bonus will be worth (no more than 6 points). It's up to you how you would give the points.
Use dice to decide who goes first in presentations. Every student hates to be first, and every teacher hates to decide who has to go first, so randomize it! This is easier with 2 dice and addition. The student with the lowest number goes last/first. Again, it's up to you how you do it.
Use dice to have students create sentences. The large, soft, foamy dice work well with this. Have one student roll the dice in front of the class and the students have to compete on the board to write a sentence with the number of words that matches the number on the dice.
Use dice at the end of class. Very close to the end of class, have students roll dice to find out how many more questions they should answer to get out. If they get a one, they only have one left. If they get a six, they have six left.
Not all of these may work, depending on your teaching context. However, many of them may be modified for your class and utilized to help make your English class just a little bit more exciting. Please comment and let me know if you have any ideas to add using dice.
BUBBLES
Puppets
Kids love animals. Especially when it sounds like their favourite teacher. Use soft puppets to make your kids laugh. Interact with them, give them five, make animals sounds, let students enjoy your lesson.