Teaching young learners

Here I'll show you some suggestions for starting your lessons in English:

• Some suitable phrases for greetings and forms of address:

TEACHER	CHILDREN
Good morning, children Good afternoon, everybody Hello, boys and girls/girls and boys	Good morning, Miss/Mrs/Mr/Ms Good afternoon, [surname] Hello, [first name] Teacher

 

Let’s call the roll Let’s take the register Let’s check to see who is here   Remember to answer ‘I’m here’		Thank you, everybody.     So, everyone is here except… So, only two people away
Is everybody here?   Is anyone away? No-one absent today? Who is missing? Let’s all count to see if everyone is here – girls first, then boys	Oh good, Paula, you’re back. Nice to see you. Are you right now?   Oh, John’s away. Who knows why? Is he ill?     So, how many is 13 and 15? Ok… yes? So that is 28 altogether		Maybe he’s gone to the dentist. What do you think?   Is that more than yesterday? Or less than yesterday? Or the same?

Ways of starting lessons:

• Check attendance 
• Rearrange the classroom
• Sing a song
• Say a rhyme
• Do question routines
• Play a game
• Take the register/call the roll

 

• Some tips to organise your classroom:

 

1. Get your books and pencils out

2. Pick your pencils up

3. Move the tables back

4. Turn your chairs round to face the wall chart

5. Put all your things away

6. Close the window beside you

7. Put your pencils down

8. Turn back to face the front

9. Leave these tables here

10. Leave the window open

 • For ending your lesson, real examples:

- Ok, that’s all for now.
- Right. We’ve no time for anything else – don’t do any more – we don’t have any more time today.
- Ok – just one more time before going out for a short break.
- Ok, now stop! We haven’t enough time to finish the monster today. So stand up…
- Ok – just one more time – and then that’s it.
- Ok, pick up all your things – and put the books in the cupboard.
- That’s all for today. On Monday, there’ll be more.
- Ok, children, make a line to say good bye – following the leader. Bye bye.
- Ok, it’s break-time. So you can go out to play. But first – line up quietly by the door