Music and movement are excellent learning aids! Let’s jump and practice saying the ABC’s! Song available on iTunes and coming soon on Spotify.
Tag: alphabet
A to Z Letters Song Album now on Spotify and iTunes
The A to Z Letter Songs Album is now on Spotify and iTunes! 26 Songs, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each song introduces one letter and three words that begin with that letter. For example, “A, apple, ant, alligator.” Great for the ESL and EFL classroom!
Song Videos on YouTube
Above you will find the YouTube Playlist with the 19 Today’s Letter Song videos that are now on YouTube. We are currently through letter S. The remaining videos will be uploaded in coming months.
How to Teach
Teachers can use the videos to teach the vocabulary in the song, or simply an alphabet chart and some pictures on the board for the vocabulary. First, teach the vocabulary slowly, and then try to have the students sing along with the song. Be sure to do the actions in the songs, clap, shake, and dance!
Activities
After singing the song, have the students sit down and write the letter on a piece of paper. Next, ask the students to draw something that starts with the letter. For example, if you are starting with letter A, ask the students to write letter A and then draw an apple. For younger students, you may need to help and draw an apple first on the board so that they can follow along.
These are just some ideas, be creative and come up with your own!
Happy teaching!
A to Z Animal Chant New Video
When I teach young learners English (ESL, EFL) I always spend a bit of time on the letters of the alphabet. In class I use flashcards with a letter and an image on it (A, apple, B, bird), or a video. More below the video:
Teaching the Alphabet without Phonics Sounds
When I first started teaching, all of the teachers around me were teaching letters with phonics sounds. In general, I see no problem with this. However, there are many different sounds for each letter. For example, say out loud “orange, owl, otter, orangutan” same letter “o” with different sounds.
I did some research, and found that teaching just the letter name, and a word that it begins with is also excellent for learning. The students start to recognize that letters have different sounds. They also learn letter recognition, and vocabulary.
I made the A to Z Alphabet Animal Chant to use this idea of teaching a letter, and a word that starts with this letter. We also have on YouTube an A To Z Vehicles chant.
I recommend doing your own research and finding the best way to teach your students. I use a bit of phonics, and a bit of letter recognition, and so far I have had great results in getting my young students to learn to read in English. Happy teaching!
The Letter G Song, Teaching Letter Names to Young Leaners
Today’s letter is G! Students need a lot of review and repetition to learn letters. I created the Today’s Letter Songs to help young English learners (ESL, EFL) in this process. You can use these songs and videos to introduce a letter, or to review. Also, each Today’s Letter reviews the whole alphabet, making it even more useful for your classes. How to teach after the video!
How to teach the Letter G Song
You can pre-teach the letter G by writing it on the board, or using a flashcard of the letter G. You can also pre-teach the vocabulary of the video using flashcards or drawings. In this video we have grapes, goat, go-kart. One way I teach the vocabulary is to play the video once, then play it again, pausing at each vocabulary word and having the students say it a few times.
After the Video Activities
Here are some of my ideas for extending the learning experience from the video in your classroom.
- Speaking Activities: Ask the students questions like, “ What is today’s letter? What words that start with the letter G were in the video? What other words that start with the letter G do you know? Do you have the letter G in your name? Do you have letter G as the first letter in your name?”
- Writing Activities: Ask the students if they can write the letter G on the board. In the video I use the capital letter, but feel free to teach the lower case at this point. Ask the students if they can draw anything that starts with the letter G, like grapes, a go-kart or a goat.
- Worksheet Activities: We have a Letter G touch and say phonics worksheet that you can print out and use in your classes. Find that here: http://www.dreamenglish.com/phonics-a-lesson You can also create your own handwriting worksheet or search the web for something great to use in your classes.
So far we have uploaded A to G on YouTube with more to come in the following weeks. Have a look at the A to G videos here.
These are a few ideas to get you started with the Letter G. Happy teaching and singing the letter G!
New Video: Alphabet Actions for Children’s English Class
Learning the ABCs is a really important part of children’s English class (ESL, EFL). It is a good idea to teach the alphabet with books, games, activities, and of course songs! Here is my new Alphabet Phonics Song:
Give it a try in your classes. You can pre-teach the actions, or just play the video and have the students follow along.
Game Idea:
After singing the song, get your students in a circle. Toss a ball around saying the letter of the alphabet and action that goes with it. For example:
Teacher: A add (do the action from the video)
Student 1: B bounce (bounce the ball, or pretend to)
Student 2: C catch
You get the idea! Keep going until you get to Z. You may have to help the students a bit if they can not remember the letter or action. Give it a try, and have fun!