5 Tips for Teaching Halloween to Young English Learners

halloween-banner-small

Halloween is a super fun time of year. We can all play dress up, and be the superhero we always wanted to be! When teaching children English (ESL, EFL) Halloween is a fun time to break out of the regular routine and do something a bit different. Below are five ideas for great Halloween Classes:

5 Teaching Halloween Tips:

  1. Songs and Chants- There are not a lot of traditional Halloween songs that are great for kids, so I have made several songs for teaching Halloween. Sing about Favorite Pumpkins, Ghosts and Witches, and Chant about the Halloween characters. Check out all of our Free Download Halloween Songs here!
  2. Games – You can use Halloween themed flashcards and do any of the fun classroom games I recommend on this page.  I like to play a “Trick or Treat” game with the kids. Have the kids line up and knock on a pretend door. They have to say, “Trick or treat” then I ask “What are you for Halloween?” The students can either choose a character, or hold a character card to answer. Next we play Rock, Scissors, Paper, and if the students win I give them a pretend Halloween candy made out of paper. We go through the line a few times to make sure every students gets a paper candy. At the end, we count how many paper candies each student has. Simple and fun!
  3. Worksheets and coloring – We have several worksheets on the Dream English Halloween Page. One of my favorites, is the draw your own pumpkin worksheet. This lets the kids be creative, and have a lot of fun. Be sure to show several examples of Halloween pumpkins to get their ideas flowing.
    Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 1.41.03 PM
  4. Halloween Books – There are many great Halloween children’s books available at your local bookstore. Make sure you choose books that are age appropriate, and not too scary. We have this fun and simple My Favorite Pumpkin book that you can download for free. Print it, and have a blast reading it to your students. After the book, sing the Favorite Pumpkin song with your students!
  5. Halloween Parties- Halloween is a fun time to host a party! You can have a classroom day be a Halloween party, or schedule a separate time to have an informal, non classroom setting party. Play Halloween games, read books, do some trick or treating activities, sing some songs. The idea is to get your students out of their normal classroom environment using English.

I hope this helps give you some ideas of what to do this year in your ESL and EFL classes for Halloween! Check out the Dream English Halloween page for more ideas, songs, and worksheets. Happy Halloween!

Singing with Dan Zanes and Claudia Eliaza – The Wheels on the Bus and More!

I’m a big fan of Dan Zanes, so I was super excited that he could join me in the studio to sing some songs! Dan’s wife Claudia, an amazing singer, joined us and we had a musical blast!

Join us as we sing the Wheels on the Bus Song, a classic children’s nursery rhyme. Be sure to sing-along and do all of the actions.  More songs from the session coming soon!

To learn more about Dan Zanes, the Grammy winning singer for all ages, check out www.danzanes.com

To learn more about Claudia and hear more of her amazing singing visit: https://www.instagram.com/claudiaeliaza/

Teaching Food to Young Learners of English – What Do You Want to Eat? Song Part 2

Teaching food to children can be a lot of fun. Children who are learning English (ESL, EFL) love learning the names of food, It is really important to teach kids how to ask for food in English, so I made some fun videos! More below the video:

This song focuses on asking for food using “want” and “some.” For example, ” I want some pizza, I want some ice cream.”

Lyrics: What Do You Want to Eat Song Part 2:

What do you want to eat? (x2)
I want some pizza (x2)
(repeat with rice, cheese)

Do you want some spider spaghetti?
No, thank you.

(repeat with soup, fish, ice cream,
worm cookies)

Game Idea

Put a bunch of food flashcards on the floor. Have the students ask the teacher, “What do you want to eat?” The teacher answer, ” I want some pizza.” The first students to touch the pizza flashcard gets a point! You can change it up by having the students answer the question.

Be sure to check out the What Do You Want to Eat? Song Part 1 for more food vocabulary. This song focuses on using “want” and “a”. For example, “I want a hot dog.” I hope this is helpful. Happy singing!

Getting Back into Teaching English to Kids After a Break

For many teachers of English to children (ESL, EFL), the summer is a break from teaching.  Of course many teachers teach all year long, but for those of us who do have a break starting again can be a jolt to the system. A fun jolt, like a strong espresso in the morning, but it still takes some adjusting. Here are my top tips for getting things going in a great way!

5 Tips for Starting Teaching after a Break

  1. Go slow! If you have had a break, chances are your students have too. Do not rush the first lesson. Take things slowly, and have a fun review day with songs and games.
  2. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Even I forget the words to my own songs sometimes after a long break. Give yourself sometime to readjust to teaching. Laugh along with the students if any mistakes are made.
  3. Have Fun! Let’s not forget that teaching is fun! Take the first few lessons to establish the fun you can have in a classroom.
  4. Remember why you teach. We all teach for different reasons, but I believe that at the foundation of teaching is the want to help others. We want to help our students learn English. That idea is a great motivator!
  5. Try new things. It is great to try a few new things when classes start again. It could be a new song, a new game, or a new book. Do something fresh and exciting for you and your students.

Oh, and if you need some lesson plan ideas to get you started, check out the Dream English Teaching Tips Podcast here.

These are a few of my ideas, and I hope they help you get off to a great start! Or, if you did not have a break, give you some new ideas to keep things fresh. Have a great one!