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7 Tips for Creating ESL Lesson Plans for Kids

By Altiné Moumouni
When you teach English as a second language, particularly in kindergarten, it is not always easy to come up with lesson plans that are fun, engaging, and effective.  Here are a few tips on creating lesson plans that will not only give you lots of fun and engagement but also help you effectively manage your […]

When you teach English as a second language, particularly in kindergarten, it is not always easy to come up with lesson plans that are fun, engaging, and effective. 

Here are a few tips on creating lesson plans that will not only give you lots of fun and engagement but also help you effectively manage your classes.

1 Choose your lesson plan objectives

The learning objectives are the most important thing when making ESL lesson plans for kids. 

  • When teaching grammar: Decide which part of grammar your lessons will focus on. Whichever part of grammar you focus on, ensure it is suitable for young students. Here are some ideas: 
    • articles
    • asking follow-up questions
    • practicing continuous tenses 
    • practicing the present progressive
  • When teaching pronunciation: Find activities that encourage students to practice speaking English and focus on motivating students to talk and share ideas. It is crucial to work on students’ confidence at this level. I suggest using movies and songs to help your students improve their pronunciation. Here are 7 Games for Pronunciation you can use in your next class. 
  • When teaching vocabulary: Focus on reading and ask your students to underline any words they are not familiar with. 

Having clear and specific lesson plan objectives will help design better lessons, particularly for kids. 

2 Create an outline

Whenever creating an outline, ensure you allot more time to individual work and lower your teacher talking time

To keep yourself organized, you can include the estimated time spent on each section to keep things organized. 

Here are a few suggestions: 

  • Before starting your class, allow 2 to 3 minutes for students to settle down, particularly if you have a noisy class. 
  • Take 2 to 3 minutes to quickly review your previous class content. 
  • Take one minute to introduce the lesson of the day’s objective.
  • Some teachers write their outline on the board to keep themselves organized. 

3 Pick a suitable ESL activity

There are so many ESL activities to choose from, and I suggest you pick a suitable ESL activity to help you better accomplish your lesson plan objectives. Remember, ESL activities with visual and audio work well with younger students. 

I love using games, particularly with kids, as game activities encourage participation, keep students engaged and help them learn in a fun and relaxed way. 

Here are a few excellent ESL activities you can try in your next classes: 

4 Use premade ESL materials and worksheets

Here are excellent premade ESL materials and worksheets you can use in your classroom. Using good and premade materials and worksheets will save time and make your lessons more enjoyable for your students. 

5 Create captivating visual aids 

I use PowerPoint because it is easy to use, and most computers support PPT presentations. 

  • The more commonly-used visual aids are PowerPoint presentations (PPT): I generally add practice questions on my PPT so I can show my students the steps to answer questions. However, not all classes required PPT presentations. 
  • Some teachers use videos in their ESL classes. Videos are excellent visual aids as they keep students engaged. When choosing videos, ensure they are appropriate to use in class and that they fit your students’ level of comprehension. Beware of background music, multiple people talking, and inappropriate jokes. 
  • You can also be creative using other visual aids, including newspapers and comics.
  • You can also bring in fruit like a banana and apple for vocabulary lessons. 
  • If your students are more advanced, use a calendar, can-opener, currencies from different countries, or even cooking items.

6 Use optimal seating arrangements

If you are teaching kids of different ages, ensure you sit the older children next to the younger children to encourage class cohesion and interaction. With this type of seating arrangement, the older kids will help the younger ones. It also helps with general class behavior. 

Before starting your class, take 2 to 3 minutes to excite and invigorate your students and bring your class’s energy level up. 

7 Plan homework in advance

Giving homework will help check your students’ understanding of the day’s topic and promote parent participation. 

When planning, ensure you give your students an appropriate amount of homework and homework that focuses mainly on helping them understand the learning objectives. 

In addition, make sure you regularly and consistently check homework completion and use rewards and punishment to motivate your students to complete and submit their homework. 

Written by Altiné Moumouni for Teflnet July 2022
Altiné is from Toronto, Canada, and currently teaches mathematics at a high school in Guangzhou, China. He has a master's degree in International Economics and Finance from Ryerson University in Canada and is passionate about helping people worldwide through his blogs. He writes about TEFL Teaching and Health and Fitness. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, running, traveling, and anything that allows him to experience the beauty of nature. You can find him at altinify.com.
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