Gr1+2 Elementary after school class - SOS !!!

[dmw]

Hey all,

Just found out I have an afterschool class with Gr1+2 elementary students for an hour  today- am not sure if I'm teaching alone / with co-teacher.

Any suggestions on what to do ??? My mind has gone blank !!!!

Thinking of just doing something simple like the alphabet today plus alphabet song  etc... then maybe some craft ???

If you have done this before please let me know what works / what you did ...

[Chato]

I have had after school classes each time I have taught at public schools and usually you teach them alone. I used to try and do regular classes with the elementary kids, but teaching alone makes it a bit difficult.
I would go with crafts and games that sort of aim them in the direction of using more English. If you teach alone, it is important to do something that holds their attention. Once they are bored and realize there is no Korean teacher, they might get out of hand.
When I was completely out of fresh ideas I would just introduce some simple but new vocabulary to them (household items, shapes, colors, etc) and try to quiz them on the vocab by drawing pictures on the board or having them draw what I ask for (doesn't work so well with colors). I also try to have them correctly pronounce the word three times (or more afterwards) in a row as fast and best as they can. They got a kick out of the silliness of saying kitchen 7 times in a row.
Also, the little ones love songs.

[OnNut81]

Fortunately my grades 1 & 2 class comes with work/activity book.  But in a first class you could spend some time going over the basic actions required in class such as stand up/sit down, raise your hand, listen (cupping an ear) and whatever else you feel like adding.  Get them all doing the actions and saying the phrase and then test it out with Simon Says.  I did that my first class and due to the constant badgering I get from the kids to play I now use it as an incentive. 

[plchron]

set up a fight club, or get some candy and throw it on the floor and watch them fight for it. I love this job.

[eveliens]

I really recommend you ask the school to have a Korean teacher sit in. They don't have to co-teach, just do their work in the classroom.

I taught 1&2 last year and it was FAR more productive with the K-teacher sitting in. She didn't teach. She disciplined the kids a few times and that was that. All the problems I had previously were gone.

Quick Points to remember:

-make a routine
-do things with a lot of movement (clapping for example)
-coloring will probably bore them - bored, energetic kids will be a nightmare/ short worksheets might be okay
-kids that young have a short attention span - don't do things for more than 10 minutes
-consider teaching phonics

My routine when something like this:

Greeting & warmup - 5 minutes
        -hello song, ABC hamster song, 5 little monkeys, head/shoulders/knees/toes, hokey pokey (some kind of DANCE to kill the energy)
        -how are you?
Review - 5 minutes
Presenting Target material - 10 minutes (I doodled the crap out of the board but you can use the computer)
Practicing material - 10 minutes (chants, storybooks, songs, whatever)
Producing materials - 10 minutes (AKA THE GAME)
Quick good-bye - 1 minute

I really recommend the search engine. There's a huge thread on grades 1 & 2 with loads of good information.

[mikeheap]

I have got the same for 2 consecutive lessons on Friday.  I like the idea of doing the class instructions and the alphabet.  Maybe teach them to count to 10 or name colours.  Not sure what I will do yet though.  I can't believe how little they explain things to you.

[teachermc]

I really recommend you ask the school to have a Korean teacher sit in. They don't have to co-teach, just do their work in the classroom.

I taught 1&2 last year and it was FAR more productive with the K-teacher sitting in. She didn't teach. She disciplined the kids a few times and that was that. All the problems I had previously were gone.
[...]

I second this recommendation.  I taught students alone during after school classes/camps for two years at my previous school.  The learning curve was rough but I learned to manage the situation as best as I could.  Then, when I changed schools (and provinces) I came into my summer camp classes and found my coteacher sitting there.  I asked her what her plans were and she told me that she would be sitting in during my classes to help me manage the students.  At first I was skeptical, but she really did just that.  When I explained the situation at my previous school, she acted like that was the most ludicrous thing she had ever heard.  Then, ever after that teacher was replaced, my current coteacher also comes to these classes as a matter of course.

At lot of people learn to enjoy the chaos/responsibility of teaching alone, even though it is against local educational policy for English education.  I feel more that way with some sixth grade classes I teach alone at a small school I visit once a week, but with the younger students teaching alone is just unproductive.  Even when you have some 'success' and you manage to steer students one way or another, you have still wasted too much class time and energy.

[dmw]

plchron - LMAO !!!!

Thanks for replies guys - class actually went pretty well - started off with greeting, seating them etc, then went into an alphabet song. From there made up actions for each letter (Elephant stompin with trunk etc) and went thru song with actions...then followed that up w a guessing game as to what action/animal the student was doing/acting out.

Finished the hour off with them colouring in some w/sheets I found in one of the threads re the alphabet etc - they got so into colouring their parents ended up coming and fetching them from my classroom !!! LOL - god bless crayons !!!

Behaviour was pretty good actually - kids at my school generally are pretty well behaved until they hit mid yr Gr6 !!!