Teaching Experience

Assigned Grades and Subjects

I share grades 1, 2 and 3 with another language assistant, Georgia. This works out well as we can share ideas on different topics and tell each other what works well and what doesn’t while doing activities with the children. Furthermore, while testing and grading the children we tell each other the activities used to ensure that the children are being tested fairly.

The subjects I have with the children are English, Natural Science and Social Science.

Main Activities developed as an LA

1st Grade:

House and Family Members

Using an A4 sheet with the parts of the house such as: the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room. The children cut out pictures of the family members and then place place the family members in the different rooms. There are many variations of games that can be played using these materials such as, turning the pictures of family members over and guessing who is in which room, taking it in turns to put the family members in the rooms and making their partner say where the family member is. Another variation which the children particularly enjoyed would be putting the family members in various rooms whilst their partner had their eyes shut, then they have to say for example ‘mum is in the kitchen’ and ht partner has to say ‘yes she/he is’ or ‘no he/she isn’t.’ This is also a good way to allow the children to practice using he and she and is and isn’t.

In, On, Under

A fun way of getting the children to remember these prepositional phrases, is to use toys and a a box/bucket. Engaging the children by  each choosing their favourite toy, they then have to say a preposition and then the other child has to move the toy accordingly. I found this game to be very successful and I could easily vary who gives the order to keep the children engaged.

This song is especially popular with the first grade and is fantastic for leaning ‘in, on, under’ and other prepositions. I also actually really like this song and find myself singing it all the time!!!

Sports

By using flashcards and asking the children what the name of the sport is and doing an action to represent the sport is a fun and memorable way for the children to learn new vocabulary. Also asking the children which sport is their favourite and what types of sports they play help them to use the vocabulary in sentences.

5 Senses

Using a worksheet with simple sentences such as ‘I see with my eyes’ get the children to read the sentences and then identify one object they can see around them. This exercise is also useful to practice vocabulary for parts of the body like eyes, mouth, ears, tongue, hands.

Parts of the Body

Using a textbook for a guide, once the children are familiar with the vocabulary, play a game of Simon Says with them but using body vocabulary. By using the method of a fun game they associate with ‘play time’ they pick up on the vocabulary quicker as they are eager to join in with the game.

Birthday Party

The birthday party can be tricky to explain e.g. party hats/candles, therefore using a textbook/worksheet/flashcards can making explaining the items easier. To practice the vocabulary, use actions that the child can associate with each word to help them understand the word a little better. Then do the action and ask the children to guess which item from the birthday party you’re acting out.

Date and Weather

At the start of every class I ask the children for the full date in English. This is a fun activity with the whole class and in which everyone can be involved. I then ask questions like ‘how many days are there in a week?’ or ‘what day was it yesterday/will it be tomorrow.’ I also ask one child to describe the weather to me and then depending on whether the whole class agrees or not I write on the board ‘Today it is sunny and hot.’ Sometimes if I feel like the children are restless or bored of the date and weather questions I’ll ask them when their birthday is or what their favourite colour is to keep them interested and eager to participate.

2nd Grade:

Time

Time can be very tricky to grasp, therefore by making it into something fun with unusual materials makes it seem fun. I used ping pong balls with different times on for example 17:55 or 10:00, the child closes their eyes and then selects a ball at random and then has to say the time in English.

Daily Activities

Having flashcards that have pictures and then separate flashcards which have the word to match the pictures are great for playing matching up games to get the children engaged. By adding a competitive element, the children are more eager to learn the words so they can match them. Once all matched up, the children can then look at what flashcards they have and say what the daily activity is and at what time during the day they do the activities.

Family Members

Once again by using unusual materials such as lollipop, it can make the exercise seem more interesting. Using these sticks to practice family members, once the names are learnt, they can then give me more information about their family members such as name, age and occupation. However, it is important to remember that this can be a sensitive subject for children so more let them share details about their family with you, rather than forcing information from them.

Food

There are a few children in the second grade who need extra help, therefore whilst working with them on food I use flashcards in which there are several pictures of the same foods. I then try to make it more engaging by asking the child if they want to sort the foods into different piles, so when I show them the flashcard they can repeatedly identify the food.

3rd Grade:

Were/ Wasn’t/ Weren’t

Using a textbook, I compare two pictures with the children, one from 1610 and one from 1940. By looking at the examples given, I then ask the children to make up their own statements about the two pictures, then the their partner has to guess whether they are describing 1610 or 1940.

Food Market

I found this to be the funnest activity with the third grade. Using a whiteboard, the children have to pretend that they have a market stall with various foods. Then one will be the shopkeeper, and the other a customer. They will then have an dialogue and ask ‘how much are/is the …’ then the shopkeeper writes down a price (using the pound sign) and the other will have to read it out.

Time

By once again using whiteboards, get the children to draw 6 clocks with different times on them. They then have to read the times from the other person’s whiteboard. This is more engaging than using a textbook and by correcting each other the children learn more.

Hobbies

This is a great way to try to get the children to have a more fluent conversation with each other. By having some pictures of hobbies as a springboard, get them to compare their likes, dislikes and what they love and hate doing.

Goals for Self and Learners

My goal for this year is to make the activities as interesting and engaging as possible for the children so they get the most out of the time I spend with them in groups. It is also my goal to make the children who are more shy feel comfortable with me so that their English can improve even more, as well as their confidence.

My goal for the learners is to teach them to just talk even if you think you’re making too many mistakes; it better to talk and enjoy the activities, rather than being too scared or embarrassed to speak.