Teaching Kids aged 8~11

[DouceGen]

Wow....I have never teached before, except nutrition and cooking classes in Montreal to kids...Do you have any advice for a summer class...of children about 8-11 in China....I choose the seasons...have found games, a way to introduce the subject...but how far can I go taching them english...are they pretty good? We are doing this with a charity that my friends started in Quebec, it is our first trip teaching...6 weeks, classes of around 4 hours...1 hour of subject them games, activities and else


Than you!

gen

[english grammar man]

Originally Posted by DouceGen

I have never teached before

I'm sure you meant to say "I have never taught before". Careful with your grammar.

Kids aged between 8 and 11 wont have much communication skills in English. Realise that they wont understand the majority of things you'll say, so make sure to use good body language.

I suggest sitting down with them during the study time and teach them directions. I use big colourful flashcards of people performing certain actions. Eg:

• Stand up
• Sit down
• Jump
• Walk forward
• Walk backwards
• Turn around
• Stamp feet
• Knock knees
• Bend arms
• Blink eyes

So get them to learn directions from you so that when you are all out in the field playing, they will understand your directions.

I throw these flashcards around the classroom and name them out load with students trying to be the first to grab the flashcard I announced.

[DouceGen]

Thank you for the advice,

My lessons will be about the Fours Seasons....we will be teaching other subjects, but each of us has one to complete. I will use your idea with nature scenes, holidays and other perticular actions linked to the matter

I thought about a treasure hunt in nature, a music related exercise and dividing the class into little groups, for the purpose of drawing their houses in different weather conditions (They will use natural material, which will be picked up on the treasure hunt), and then have to explain why it falls into that category.

Remember that we are not certified teacher, and trying to do our best....We are all french canadian, going to YangShuo to help out during summer school, and try to make a difference. Many of us do not have training...but it will be an amazing experience...

I am trying to make it the most stimulating possible for them...It is a 4 hours class.

[gfell]

As you are assigned a "season" to teach, eg: summer, then you may want to also think of what holidays occur in your season. Eg: Valentines Day, Xmas, Easter etc., and have the students do someo art and craft that ties in with this season.

So you would be teaching them to cut, fold, glue, colour and so on when making their card or whatever it is you think of.

[DouceGen]

Originally Posted by gfell

As you are assigned a "season" to teach, eg: summer, then you may want to also think of what holidays occur in your season. Eg: Valentines Day, Xmas, Easter etc., and have the students do someo art and craft that ties in with this season.

So you would be teaching them to cut, fold, glue, colour and so on when making their card or whatever it is you think of.

Perfect! I had not thought about the art and crafts idea....Thank you

[ShelleyV]

Arts and crafts are great but they are best for an art class rather than a language class in my humble opinion. Although four hours is a long enough session to include some colouring or making things but if one is teaching the more usual time slot then I think spending time making things is a bit of a time filler and there are more effective ways to spend the time, such as listening and speaking games where the children are using English.

Here are a couple of games to try out and they are adaptable for small and large classes, as in China the classes are often huge by European standards.

Free ESL game for children
Fun ESL game for children