Dream English Teaching Tips Blog
Fun Thoughts and Creative Ideas for Teaching Children English
Circle time! A quick tip for your English class: Make a circle with your students and pass a flashcard around the circle. As the students pass the card they say the word on the card.
For example, pass an apple flashcard and each student will say “apple”, then they pass the card to the next student.
For more advanced students, try phrases like “it’s an apple” or ” I like apples.” Give it a try! This is a great confidence builder for your students. I hope this is helpful! Thanks, Matt
I had a lot of fun making the Wild Animals Finger Family Song Part 2. We sing about kangaroos, monkeys, zebras, giraffes, and bears! More below the video:
How to use the video in class:
Listen to Dream English Teaching Tips Podcast about this video. Click here!
Start by pre-teaching the vocabulary in the video: kangaroo, monkey, zebra, giraffe, and bear. Also teach the phrases, “Where are you?” and ” I see a monkey.” You can show flashcards with the animals and have your students repeat after you. Then, watch the video and sing the song with your students!
Mini Lesson about Wild Animals
Depending on the level of your students, you can do a few things with the mini lesson. Watch one time, the mini lesson is right after the song in the video. For younger students, have them just watch and listen. For older students, after watching ask the following questions:
These are just some ideas to get you started. As always, be sure to come up with your great ideas! Leave a comment on Facebook or Dream English Kids YouTube and let us know what you think about the video! Happy Teaching!
My students love the Do You Have A Pet Song! It’s fun and easy to learn. See lyrics and download the Free MP3 below the video!
Click Here To Download Do You Have A Pet? Song Mp3
Right-click to download and save. (Mac users Control-click)
(Song for educational purposes only, copyright Dream English)
Listen to my Podcast on How To Teach This Song! Click Here!
Lyrics:
Do you have a pet? Do you have a pet?
p, p, p, p, p, p, p, p, pet
I have a dog. I have a dog. woof, woof, woof
I have a cat. I have a cat. meow, meow, meow
Do you have a pet? Do you have a pet?
p, p, p, p, p, p, p, p, pet
I have a bird. I have a bird. chirp, chirp, chirp
I have a fish. I have a fish. glub, glub, glub
I have an elephant. I have an elephant paw, paw, pawoo
You don’t have a pet elephant!
That’s true! But I want one!
Lesson Plan ideas
After the song, I always ask my students if they have a pet. Of course some do not. In that case, they can answer “No, I don’t.” If you have animal flashcards you can play a simple touch game. Place the flashcards on the floor. Have the students ask the teacher, “Do you have a pet?” the teacher answers, “I have a dog,” then the students have to touch the dog card. Whoever touches the card first wins. If you have a large class, you can have two or three students at a time play the game. I hope this is fun and useful for your classes!
I’ve been having a lot of fun making the Matt’s Tube Episodes! These videos are great to introduce vocabulary to your Kids English class (esl, elf). Watch here:
Episode # 2 Vehicles and Transport
In this episode of Matt’s Tube we are introduced to ten vehicles: airplane, boat, car, dump truck, fire truck, garbage truck, helicopter, motorcycle, race car, and train.
Watch real footage of the vehicles. Can you hear any tranport sounds? Can an garbage truck fly? Watch to find out!
Contents of the Show:
1. Welcome with Matt
2. Today’s Topic Vocabulary Practice
3. Today’s Topic Song
4. Crazy Dance with Bell and Tunes
5. The Spelling Game
6. Ask Tunes
7. Mystery Box Animation
8. Count with Matt
9. Song Time – Fire Truck Song
10. Quiz Time
11. What Did We Learn Today?
Matt’s Tube is a show designed to teach young learners of English vocabulary, basic phrases, letter recognition, spelling, and listening skills. The show uses songs, real footage, and animation. Let us know what you think on the Dream English Facebook page, or leave a comment on the video. Thanks for watching!
I’ve been getting many emails asking my advice about how to start new classes with young learners of English. My advice: Keep it simple!
I like to start my classes by introducing myself, then learning the names of my students and saying hello to each student. For example, “Hello, Sally. Hello, Bobby.” This helps the students feel comfortable.
Next, I do some simple action warm-ups like clap your hands, wash your hands, jump, spin etc. Then we practice counting from 1 to 10 with our fingers and flashcards. Counting is a great place to start because many young learners have already heard the numbers in English.
Finally we sing “Let’s count 1 to 10“ A great song to start a young learners English class. I also make sure to smile a lot, and I do not push the young students to speak at first. They will begin to speak naturally when they are ready. Slowly but surely!
I hope this is helpful happy teaching. Thank you, Matt
Podcast: Listen to these tips on the Dream English Teaching Tips Podcast here!
Let’s Count 1 to 10 Free Song Download: http://www.dreamenglish.com/numbers
I’m excited to introduce a new show called Matt’s Tube! Great for young learners of English (ESL, EFL) Each show will introduce topics like Wild Animals, Vehicles and more. Students can learn the words through vocabulary practice songs, and skits. Have a look at the first Episode here:
I hope you find this useful in your classes! If you have any ideas for the show you would like us to hear, please put a comment on the video or on the Dream English Facebook page. Thanks for watching! Matt