Korean Job Discussion Forums

rowdie3 · Joined: 22 Sep 2003 Location: Itaewon, Seoul

Hey!
I am teaching 7 20minutes classes tomorrow at kindie and need some ideas. All of the students are under 4 and at the most basic level. My coworker tried to teach the alphabet last week, and was told it was "too difficult". So, I'm getting stuck for ideas. If you have any ideas for games, activites, etc. I would really appreciate it.

I'm also doing alternating days of 2 forty minute classes and would love ideas for that.

I've been doing this schedule for two months and am running short of ideas.
Thanks!
J

Corporal · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Tomato usually has lots of good ideas for the beginner kids. You could probably shoot a PM his way and I'm sure he'd help you out.

granola · Joined: 27 Apr 2003

the magic finger is always good for teaching the alphabet. show them your magic finger- then use the capital letters. example, A- with your magic finger, saying aloud, down, down and across. do it a few times. also songs are great, for example, row row row our boat. They sit in pairs, facing each other and holding hands. back and forth- row row row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream. get a tape, with a book for these songs, they will show you the actions. also, make the alphabet on big paper, a separate peice for each letter. then, hand them to the students and make a contest of putting them in the right order. also, handouts of the alphabet, one letter at a time, that they can color, usually includes pictures associated with the letter.

SweetBear · Joined: 18 May 2003

You may wanna look at this,

http://eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=54178&highlight=&sid=983d1910450bc1cf3a5484bd70e32886

I would think that the alphabet would be an ideal place to start however, I'm wondering if the teacher there made the lesson too difficult. Alphabet, color, number games and songs and lots of simple actions are standard for this age. I have been teaching a four year old privately for a couple of months now, she has no problem with Let's go 1 already whereas before she barely new the alphabet.

Good luck to you.
PS There should be a sticky on Kindie, it gets asked all the time.

tomato · Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:50 am Post subject:

rowdie3 · Joined: 22 Sep 2003 Location: Itaewon, Seoul

Thanks so much for your help!
That panicked feeling I usually have going into a Monday is subsiding.
Weeeeeeee!

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

One potatoe two potatoe three potatoe four is something that my kindy class loved.

"Duck duck goose" as a reward for being well behaved went over well too.

"Simon says" was an excellent TPR activity.

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Rather than teach them the alphabet, which is quite abstract, how about teaching them vocabulary for physical, concrete nouns and verbs? When you want to teach them the alphabet and phonics in 5 months, they will have some words to connect these concepts to. Nothing drives me crazier than teaching phonics to a student who has no grasp of the language to begin with.

Hotpants · Joined: 27 Jan 2006

Phew, I never knew the ABC song could be THAT challenging!!

Songs with actions have always been the number one hit with me and kids.

Craft activities can also occupy a large amount of time, so you can reduce your planning - the only thing is that you have to keep watching that kids don't cut themselves with scissors or get clothes covered with coloring equip.

There are tons of ideas for very young ones. You only have to search the web and pick up a book or two for ideas. For the craft ideas especially, I have seen a great series of books (in Korean?) in YP and Kyobo that can be easily adapted for English classes.

I also make excuses to take young kids on toilet break just so we can get out of class and move around and do something different - get them to line up like a caterpillar and instruct them to walk quickly, slowly, quietly, noisily etc...