Job Discussion Forums

[egwidener]

I'm starting to teach Kindergarten lessons tomorrow...I've done it a bit in the past, but only a bit. My problem is that I have a book with almost no information, just a general idea for me to form a lesson on (this part is OK), however, I'm looking at Lesson 7 and it's just the "one, two buckle my shoe" song...how do you make a lesson of this...just teach the song or do a "numbers" door-shutting, shoe-buckling, stick-picking identification lesson?

Maybe I am over thinking this...

[kev7161]

How long is your class? If it's kindergarten I'm going to guess . . . 30 minutes? Let's see:

1. Teach them the song, of course, with proper pronunciation

2. Teach them the movements to the song

3. With pictures or drawings, identify the different things in the song: shoes, door, sticks, practice pronunciation, use the words in othe sentences . . .

4. Think of other things you can substitute in the original song: "One, two button my shirt, Three, four, shut the window . . . " It doesn't have to rhyme.

5. Have small groups come to the front (after song is learned) and sing along while the others, uh, watch. Or better yet, have each group sing one part of the song, then it passes to the next group, then the next . . .

6. Have a worksheet of pictures and words from the song they can color.

Well, that's a few ideas. Of course, if your class is around 30 minutes, there is no way you can use all those ideas in one day - - one week, maybe.

[Anda]

When you are teaching little kids remember they like to copy you doing funny things like saying funny sounds and body movements gestures etc. Build fun into your lesson otherwise you will bore them.

[vikuk]

Here�s the text to that rhyme -

One two buckle my shoe
Three, four, knock at the door
Five, six, pick up sticks
Seven, eight, lay them straight
Nine, ten, a big fat hen
Eleven, twelve, dig and delve
Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting
Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen
Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting
Nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty

I think native-speaking kindy kids would have problems understanding some of the language used here!! Any western kindy teacher would use these types of rhymes as an introduction for small Children into the world of music - where a lot of attention is used on rhythm, beat and musical/body expression/interpretation � where you can also add into it a simple counting excercise.
Trying to add this kind of material into basic English learning for Chinese kindy kids just muddies the water - and shows just how out of touch most English teaching material is for this age group. As for stuff like teaching pronunciation - well if you don't understand what your saying what�s the point of pronouncing it any way whatsoever!!!!! So with the pronunciation part focus on the stuff that�s important � the numbers - much of the rest of it is useless � unless the kindy really insists that they want their kids to be able to spout out in perfect Oxford English stuff like � �maids a-courting�
If your bosses insist you have to teach this type of material - then the most important is to teach counting up to 20 around the song - so that the kids enjoy themselves. Then at best - even though 99.9% of the class will not have learnt anything that is directly relevant to being able to build an English conversation based on that old nutmeg of mutual understanding within a two-ways communication - they at least will go away from the lesson feeling it was a fun event, which can equate to liking English that may one day serve as a catalyst to future English acquisition - something that is greatly aided when students gradually go through their schooling obtaining a feeling of like rather than loathing for the subject!!!!

Remember the real purposes of this type of lesson are -
1. Producing a product - little Wang goes home and sings the song and the Wang family are fooled into thinking he's learning English
2. Having a textbook for the children - thus making the parent have to buy this and all the VCD's that go with it - producing extra revenue.
3. Displaying a white teacher doing the kind of the tricks the bosses want 'em to do - asking FT's to come all the way to China to teach this type of krap - really is roll out the monkey time!!!!

By the way on a more constructive note - google up kindergarten counting games - then you have a wealth of material for producing worthwhile counting lessons that will aid English acquisition - but I'm sure your bosses wouldn't approve

[Steppenwolf]

Try to keep your kiddies in motion! THey hate sitting down for whole lessons, and they need to move around! You can act out parts of that song, and you can act in other ways too. Think of the TPR methodology!

[vikuk]

If you really want to act this rhyme out (TPR) then it would be far easier if it were edited to include more relevant language (after all think of how you're going TPR bits like - the maids a-courting) - maybe you could change it into something more in the mould of -

One two tie my shoe
Three, four, knock at the door
Five, six, pick up bricks
Seven, eight, the bricks are straight
Nine, ten, a big black pen
Eleven, twelve, book on the shelf
Thirteen, fourteen, children singing
Fifteen, sixteen, cooks in the kitchen
Seventeen, eighteen, children eating
Nineteen, twenty, my bowl's empty

At least here you have a bit more useful vocab - and more easy to make understandable flashcards to go with the words.

But the again this text deviates from that in the textbook - and as the rhyme goes onto say -

twenty one, twenty two, one more Ft in the poo

[SheZook]

[lychee]

Vicuk you got it in a nutshell.

My brief time in kindy ( I broke out in a very serious rash).
For unit 5, page 3 of Kids Castle English textbooks dealing with the serious issue of health.

I taught them, Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick sick sick and so on.
I had the props.
One verse was enough to cover all the material in the Unit.

For their exams I would place flashcards around the room and ask them where is the orange etc. So I know they have understood.

Hats off to all kindy teachers especially the Chinese kindy teachers. It is a tough gig

[vikuk]

When looking at the rhyme - an experienced language FT - one whose job it is to support small children during their English learning process - can see that for kindy kids at the very start of English language acquisition - there are at least 10 lessons packed away in version 2 - a lesson for each line.

Just take line number one of the altered rhyme - One two tie my shoe

It doesn't take much imagination to see what kind of fun you can get from a session of shoe-tying (games/tasks/stories) - words like lace, foot/feet, my shoe/your shoe, tie my/your shoe, I can tie my/your shoe etc etc etc � that could maybe culminate in story about shoe tying (eg. the boy who couldn't tie shoes) !!!!

But then again - your bosses may prefer that highly useful word - buckle (one. two, buckle my shoe)

Newbies beware - some kindies/mills have quotas for their FT's about how many songs the kids have to learn each month - this can be a tiresome occupation and has very little to do with teaching English - and a lot to do with being a monkey. Some kindies/mills even have it in their contracts that FT's can be docked wages if they don't meet their quota!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[egwidener]

The class went well...

Yes, it was a 30 minute class, both of them.

There were more students than I expected. 41, to be exact, were in both classes.

I started by introducing myself, telling them where I was from, and I asked them a question about their age.

These were grade 3 Kindergarten, and very well behaved children.

I started with counting, making sure they could go to ten, and found they could actually go to 20. I sung the song once myself, and then introduced and explained the lyrics line by line.

The song I used only went to ten. So some of the more complicated lines later on in the song I didn't have to deal with. I did however start by changing "Buckle my shoe" to "tie my shoe", but when I began I noticed all the children had slip-ons or velcro buckle shoes...So I went with buckle, but explained tie as well.

They understood everything surprisingly well.

I used props and all the children followed my movements. At the end we got the song going in rotation with four groups. The first sang "one, two," the second "three, four," and so on, until after the four groups had gone everyone said "nine, ten, a BIG FAT HEN!".

They also broke out in song for me twice. It was funny, I mentioned a word and they associated with a song they knew and sang...I mentioned an Apple at one point and off they went...it was great.

I agree the kindy books are rediculous, but I have pretty open range to do what I want, as long as it involves something, anything really, from the "lesson" in the book.

I felt they learned something today, even as small a something as that may be...I'll be anxious to see if they remember next time...I think some will.

Some comments for VIKUK:

You said,"Producing a product - little Wang goes home and sings the song and the Wang family are fooled into thinking he's learning English."

I disagree with your opinion on the use of music to help learn a new language. Some of my best students are the ones addicted to English music and singing, and for some, it has been there only previous method. Music is a great tool for learning another language.

Then, you said,"Having a textbook for the children - thus making the parent have to buy this and all the VCD's that go with it - producing extra revenue."

There is no text book, this is strictly an oral english class, they are not teaching them to read. I am the only one with a text book.

Then,"Displaying a white teacher doing the kind of the tricks the bosses want 'em to do - asking FT's to come all the way to China to teach this type of krap - really is roll out the monkey time!!!! "

I knew what I was doing when I came to China, and while maybe I am not helping I lot (I know I am helping some), the children are lovely and fun to work with. And my boss at the Kindy is wonderful.

Maybe because it is Public and not Private?

Maybe not all are so lucky, but I know I am going to enjoy my few hours a week here.

Thanks for all your help everyone!

[Steppenwolf]

[vikuk]

[egwidener]

Thanks for the comments and advice guys. And Vik, I can understand where you are coming from.

However, let me add, about changing the word "buckle", I didn't change it because the vast majority of the children still have shoes that buckle. I would have never expected it until I went to say "say" and saw that they couldn't...

I hope I can keep up my positive out look as well.

[vikuk]

[kev7161]

I've never taught Kindergarten (and god bless all of those that can do it!) but here's my OPINION - -

In kindie, the kids are being introduced to concepts - - letters, numbers, words, ideas, working and playing well with others, etc. If songs were ONLY used as a child moved up through first and second and third grade and so on, then of course there would be something wrong. My second graders and I sing songs all the time - - but it's certainly a far cry from all that we do in our busy English-learning day. We read, we play-act, we write, we learn new vocabulary, we converse, we sing some more, we learn new math terms, we do workbooks and worksheets, we play games . . . .

So, let's not beat up a kindergarten teacher (esp. one that seems quite conscientous as our OP does) for using SONGS as a method of teaching English. The nuts and bolts will (should?) start coming later. I'm just glad some schools are starting English learning at this age instead of waiting for their Junior 1 class!