For Young Learners

Animal Charades: Students act out as an animal in front of the class while the other students guess. The student who guesses first acts out the next animal.

Shopping Game: This game is designed for practicing “shopping” dialogue and vocabulary. Materials: “produce” and play money. Object of the game: To accumulate as many products as possible.

Students are divided into clerks and shoppers. Clerks set up “stands” to allow easy access for all shoppers (around the outsides of the room with their backs to the wall). Shoppers are given a set amount of money and begin at a stand where there is an open space. Students shop, trying to accumulate as many items as possible. They will use appropriate vocabulary like “What do you want? I want.. … How much is it, etc.” Periodically, the instructor will say “stop” and call out a name of one of the products. Students with that product must then put ALL their products in a basket at the front of the room. The remaining students continue shopping. Students who had to dump their products must begin again from scratch (with fewer units of currency). The student with the most products at the end wins. Students then switch roles.

Balloons: Young learners love balloons. Give them each a balloon and have them count 1-20 or say the ABC's. This is a good warmer. If they drop the balloon they have to start over.

Numbers: There are a number of fun games you can play with numbers. For counting 1-20 have the students clap/jump/spin, etc. while counting. Walk around with a toy hammer and tell the students if they aren't counting that you will tap them on the head with the hammer and they are 'out' of the game. For sequential information, such as numbers or days of the week try Duck, Duck, Goose.

Duck, Duck, Goose: (The traditional way to play.) All but one of the children sit in a circle. A nominated child walks around the outside of the circle gently tapping each child calling them a “duck.” As soon as the child taps someone and says “Goose!” the goose must then chase the child around the outside of the circle in an attempt to tag him/her before the lap is completed. The student has was tagged/not able to tag in time then continues from the start. Variation: (EX: Counting Numbers... 1,2,3... when the child walking around the circle messes this up, the other child has to chase him.)

Chair Games (Counting Numbers): Get the students to stand on their chairs in a circle. Begin counting around the circle. The first student to make a mistake or hesitate sits down and the rest continue until only one student is left.

Blindfold Guess: The students have to guess from a bag of objects (example: fruit, or magnetic letters)

Sharks and Minnows: One student is in the middle of the room and the rest of the Ss are on one end of the room. Draw 2 lines on either side of the room. These are your safe zones (the beach). The students (minnow) have to run from one end of the room to the other without being eaten by the shark (the student in the middle). If they are caught they have to join the shark and try to catch the other minnows. Any target language can be used for this. (For example, the student in the middle ask a question, “How old are you?” and once the other students answer it they can begin to run across the room).

Leap Frog: Tell the students that they are frogs and have to jump from leap pad to leap pad saying the vocabulary item (flashcard) that is placed next to each pad. To make it more interesting have the students collect balls when they finish. The first student to collect 4 different colored balls wins. You could also make it into an Obstacle Course by climbing over tables, crawling under chairs, jumping over boxes, etc.

Train Ride Game: Have Ss form a train (standing in a line behind the teacher holding onto each other.) Choo Choo around the classroom and call out instructions (faster, slower, turn left, jump, run, etc.) It's a good game to do before lining up to go to the bathroom or at the end of class. Variation: Follow the Leader: Ss line up behind the T and follows him/her around the classroom. The T does an action and shouts out the word for that action. The Ss copy the action and repeat the word. Good action include: wave, hello, goodbye, run, skip, crawl, walk backwards, sit down, stand up.

Juice: Bring a small bottle of juice to class. At some point during the lesson take out the bottle and have a sip. Say this sentence to the first S and get him/her to repeat it. Here's an ideal opportunity to teach “Can I have some juice, please?” Bring juice and a few plastic cups along for a few weeks to practice this.
Rope Jump: You need a rope for this one. Have Ss stand behind each other in a line. Hold a rope (have a S or your assistant hold the other end) at a height that the Ss should be able to jump over. On the other side of the rope spread out some flashcards or objects in a box. Call out the name of the objects for the first S. For other rounds you can hold the rope down low, so Ss have to crawl/roll under.


Teaching Actions

Teaching actions are a fun way to get young learners excited about learning English. Here are some fun actions to do: Skip, dance, fly, hop, run, spin, wiggle, sing, dance, do a star jump).

Action Race: Have the Ss split into two teams and sit in lines with a chair by each team and one chair at the other end of the room. One S from each team stands next to their chair and T calls and action, “Run!” Ss must run to the chair on the other side of the room and back, sitting down in their chair.

Freeze Actions/Dance: This is a good warmer, or to get their energy out. The teacher asks, “What can you do?” The Ss respond with, “I can (action).” while performing this action around the classroom. When the music stops the Ss freeze in the position they are in. (I can dance, wiggle.. etc.)

Red Light/Green Light: The teacher has a green and red flashcard. The teacher says the action while the students perform this action around the room (option: while saying “I'm ___ing.) GREEN: Go (perform the action) RED: stop

Songs:

  1. Wheels on the Bus – Substitute wheels with.
    1. Horn – “beep beep beep”
    2. People – up and down
    3. Mothers – “shh shh shh”
    4. Babies – “Wah, wah, wah”
  2. The Itsy Bitsy Spider
  3. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
  4. Ring Aroud the Rosey

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