A basic model for teaching kids

This a very logical and easy-to-use starting point for teachers that are new to working with kids or want to improve their skills in this area.

I can't stress enough though that it's only a starting point... you should develop it over time so that it suits both you and your students.

1. Intro: meet and greet individual students at the door. This is only possible with smaller groups.

2. Warmer: an energy-burning game and/or song to get their brains working in English.

3. Review: material from previous lesson/s. This step can and should grow with each lesson. What may seem incredibly repetitive to you is actually very stimulating for students because they know what all of the questions and answers mean. And that, my friends, is called a second language.

4. Verbally and physically introduce the new material to be learned. Use flashcards and realia, etc., and model basic questions and answers. This step is all about listening and speaking, and should not involve reading or writing.

Short games help students to remember new vocabulary.

5. Phonics and reading of the new material, with the former being absolutely fundamental. Phonics should always be a part of your lesson and there's a stack of free material on the Internet to choose from.

Short games reinforce phonics and help students to recognise new vocabulary.

6. Writing and spelling of the new material. Don't get hung up on grammar with kids. If you have a bright class of P3's and 4's then, sure, introduce basic elements of it, otherwise it isn't overly important until later in a students school life.

7. Outro: bid farewell to individual students at the door, and don't let them escape until they've answered at least one basic question about the new material! Again, this is only possible with smaller groups.