Elementary Grades 1 & 2

[Virginia]

NOTE FROM MODERATOR - Here are other threads that relate to teaching grades 1 & 2

Alphabet Lessons/Resources

Phonics Lessons/Resources

Marty's Videos For Young Learners



Quite a few of us have kindy groups that we see about once a week. In my case, I see my kindy kids and my 1st graders twice a week, as well as 2nd graders about once a week (when their teacher remembers to bring them).

Do you remember that classic 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 song? Well, it still works, and is a great way to review counting....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WBWxX3713gc

Make flashcards with the numbers to 20 and get the kids to count out loud, identify them on the board, sing the song (after just a few classes, my kids are singing as fast as the original song goes!), give stickers and encouragement, see how high they can count to while tossing a (soft) ball around a circle....

With kids this young, the possibilities really are endless.

[Nokuthula]

I know what you are talking about but this site came to my rescue last year.

(Mod edit: www.kidzclub.com this link no longer works, try www.kizclub.com instead, I think that's what you meant.)

It has a lot of worksheets that keep everyone busy throught the period. Good Luck!

[infogoddess]

there are a lot of songs that the kids can understand and some have the English as well at Yahoo kids Korea http://kr.infant.kids.yahoo.com/infantzone/index.html?service=english&cate_no=144&contents_no=3677&sort=latest&endpg=9&pg=1&mode=sublist

also - tons of great printables here
www.EnchantedLearning.com

if you aren't a member and want something only available to members let me know

[Eribee]

I know how you feel! I really struggle with the little ones too - I think something needs to be done about Grade 1 and 2 and no co-teachers, I have the same issue.

I use an ABC song off youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XYQd_sJVzk ) to signal the start of the class, and this got them sitting down and singing, they love it! Then some worksheets or coloring or drawing - with promise of candy for the best one. Maybe a bit of bingo (the prize for a line was a 'high 5' and they loved it!), then a running game or TPR song to finish.

I also found that they liked listening to stories once they were settled, but I'm not sure that would work with 25 kids. My largest class was 15.

You could also print off some board games from toolsforeducators.com - all free but nice and colourful.

Even at this age they love competition, but it often ended in tears!!!

Good luck!

[wikawika]

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I couldn't upload my powerpoints directly to waygook.org for some reason.
I ended up uploading them to http://www.mediafire.com/.
To download:
1. go to http://www.mediafire.com/
2. login as imanalligator@gmail.com
3. password is: kimchi
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These are the first several lessons I taught my second graders, after teaching them the alphabet.
1. Animals: The vocab words were: cat, duck, cow, pig, horse, and dog
This powerpoint first shows pictures of these six animals, along with their spelling.
We talked about the spelling, and pronunciation, and then used the rest of the powerpoint to play a "Guess the Animal" game.  Pictures of the animals were blocked by different shapes, and the students tried to guess what animal was being blocked by the shape.  Each animal picture is first blocked a lot, and then less and less, until there is nothing blocking the animal.  The game is pretty easy, but students seemed to enjoy seeing the different pictures, and were excited by the final reveal.
2. Colors- The vocab words were: red, blue, yellow, green, black, orange, purple, pink, and white.  The idea with this powerpoint was to get the students practicing the words one at a time, introducing a new color when they seemed familiar with the previous ones.  Each time a new color is introduced, the students learned the word, and then played a speed game (who can shout out the color the fastest) reviewing all the old colors. And then a new color is introduced.  After the powerpoint the students reviewed by coloring in a worksheet, following my directions for what colors went where.
3. Directions - The vocab words were: left, right, up, down, stop, and go.  The powerpoint is animated, so the students see the spelling and then see the word going the direction it specifies.  To practice we did the Cupid Shuffle <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h24_zoqu4_Q&feature=fvst> (starts at 1:06), but with lyrics changed to:
To the right, to the right, to the right, to the right
To the left, to the left, to the left, to the left,
Now stop! Now go! Now stop! Now go!
Now jump up and jump down, Now jump up and jump down.
The kids really liked trying to get as far as they could one direction before having to switch to the next direction.
4. This is just an animal and reading review.  The classroom we used had a touch screen, which the students really enjoyed using, so this powerpoint was designed to have the students interact with it directly.  Each slide has three animal pictures, and one animal vocab word.  For example, a slide might show a pig, a cat, and a dog, with the word "dog" written above.The student would try to read the animal name, and then come touch the correct picture of that animal on the screen.   Unfortunately, if the student picks the correct picture, the slide does not move on to the next question, it simply deletes one of the wrong answers, and the student must hit the screen two more times before the next slide will show.
5. Color/Animal/Direction/Reading Review- This powerpoint was used as part of a two team game.  Teams would take turns answering what the slide showed, and if they were correct, they got to roll a dice.  The students really enjoyed being able to roll the dice.  However, for the answer to be correct, they must say the animal (or word) and the color (or direction the picture was moving) depending on what each slide shows.

[elena.larra]

Haha This is the exact situation I walked into this past Friday!  I also want to thank you guys for the good advice and resources. 

BTW - Do you think games like london bridge and ring-around-the-rosie are educational enough?  I tried simon says but that was a disaster.  I guess the rules were too complicated when only explained in English.

[Gillod]

Haha This is the exact situation I walked into this past Friday!  I also want to thank you guys for the good advice and resources. 

BTW - Do you think games like london bridge and ring-around-the-rosie are educational enough?  I tried simon says but that was a disaster.  I guess the rules were too complicated when only explained in English.

I got some good advice that was like. Just play with them. Dont worry too much about it being educational- Just speak English. I manged to teach them a few common words (Scissors, glue, paper) and that gets us through. I'm doing a lot of little craft projects- I do it in stages and hang each stage on the whiteboard so that they can get it visually instead of having to follow my directions.

Other than that- Movies and coloring, man. Not much else I can do with 25 kids.

[sheila]

Here are some of the things that I had used for my winter camp.  Hopefully they're helpful... Enjoy!

[sheila]

and some more...

[lindsayforrest]

For my low level learners I am introducing colors and numbers.  I am having the students color and number these scoops.  We are seeing who can make the biggest ice cream cone!

Below are the links to the templates:

Cone: http://www.first-school.ws/t/craft/ice_cream_cone_1b.htm
Scoop: http://www.first-school.ws/t/craft/ice_cream_1b.htm

[Heath]

I just logged on to this site and found it full of amazing stuff I can use.
But alas I have not yet seen too much stuff for younger kids.

I teach Grade 1s and 2s.
I found that you have to start with the very basics, always making sure you have either a slide show, or flashcards of relevant content. I always teach content for two weeks, until the kids are repeating what I'm about to say before I say it.

Get workbooks they can write in.

Flashcards and slideshows can usually be made by searching images on the net, or www.barryfunenglish.com is a geat source of flashcards.

Music is great www.supersimplesongs.com is good for younger kids.

And remember to make everything a game.
The simplest game I often use to assess to see if the kids have understood what I have been teaching is a game I call 'Flashcard Slam".

Put flashcards of relevant vocab or phonetics on the floor and have competing students listen to the word you say and they have to stamp their feet on the correct flashcard. The only thing about this game that takes any planning is the flashcards.

And get creative with teaching different types of phonics. I do quizes by writing a number of phonics sounds on the board each with a corresponding number or letter. And then I say the sound and the students have to write the corresponding number in their workbook in the order I say them. This is a good way to gage what your kids are having trouble with.....ie. e, i....or c and k. If you haven't not yet started with ABCs and phonics..you should.

In regard to your discipline problem I suggest you learn classroom commands in Korean.

Here are a few:

Jarl doo luh bwa    listen
joeh yong ee        quiet
anjah                sit down
mwo handa        what are you doing?
eeroeh kae hayeo  do it like this.
hajima               dont do that

(and if you really want their attention, although I don't suggest you use it unless you're desperate.....yell     ya! = hey..........all the kids will turn to you immediatley. This is usually used when there is about to be big trouble.)

anyways......goodluck

[suji29]

You need to lay down the rules with them first, as young as they may be.

Try this & they'll soon get into the habit of it. If they're running a riot, just stand at the front, and hold up your index finger. They should clap once. Hold up 3 fingers. They should clap three times. Do this a few times - holding up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 fingers and they should clap accordingly. When you show them zero, they don't clap and there should be silence.

Always start with a song. Even thought I have a co-teacher for my Kindergarten class that I teach once a week, I start off with the "Hello" song from Junior Naver. This is great, because it becomes routine and they will expect to sing it at the beginning of every lesson.

Use candy, stamps or stickers. At random, choose one or two kids who are exceptionally well-behaved, are being active during activities and doing their work well. Bring them to the front of the class and reward them in front of their friends.

Since it's an after school class, minus points won't work well. Rather, reward them!

With YL's, remember you become an entertainer! Teach them songs with actions like "Head, shoulders, knees & toes / Eensy Weensy Spider / Hokey Pokey / Skidamarink"

I start all my YL's with parts of the body. This can take a few lessons to cover. In the first lesson, you may only just be able to cover "eyes, nose, ears, mouth". Drill this in and then add maybe two more.  I have a great activity for this that they love. All you need are crayons and paper. Let me know if you'd like it.

Otherwise, give the other suggestions a try and let me/us know how it turns out:)

[lindsayforrest]

Here is a great site for body parts flash cards as well.  Anything visual works great with these kids.  I also like making a memory matching game with flashcards for them too.  They love the competition, plus it works multiple parts of their brain!

http://www.esl-kids.com/flashcards/bodyparts.html

[kate.d]

this stuff seems great-I have after school lessons without co-teachers of all grades and they are all hell because of the reasons discussed above.  They are also all combo classes (1&2, 3&4, 5&6) which means there are always huge differences in level.  Any ideas of what to do with the kids who finish everything in 5 seconds and start creating chaos while I am running around trying to help the kids who don't know the ABCs?  Or how to keep them from continuing and finishing the whole book while they wait, leaving them with nothing to do for the next lesson?  I can't keep these kids from getting out of their seats/beating each other up/whinning GAME TEACHER GAME etc.  Thanks again for all the ideas!

[Heath]

Review worksheets.
 
I don't have specific ones in mind, but you can search the net for all sorts of stuff. For the 1s and 2s I suggest dot-to-dots (simple and self explanatory), or games that can be played with a partner, such as tic-tac-toe. With the older kids wordsearches and crosswords are a great way to keep them busy while you help the lower level kids.

I have also found that older children enjoy coded messages. All you need to do is create a key where a different letter or symbol represents a letter of the alphabet and type out the sentence in code. The kids then have to figure out what the secret message is.

Another way with dealing with kids who move faster than the rest of the class is to do it together. Make sure you get the whole class involved on the task together. That way if the low level kids don't know what is going on the can see from example what should be done. Move around the class getting different students to answer the questions or problems, normally a low level kid will never raise their hand, so simply ask them what the answer is once a high level kid has already given it and check that the low level student is doing the right thing. If you do things as a class it ensures that tasks are finished at the same time and means you don't have to explain things more than once.

here is another site I have been using for my 1s and 2s
http://www.tlsbooks.com/kindergartenworksheets.htm

[Heath]

I decided to focus on farm animals this week....so i made this....it includes a pass the ball game at the end....as part of this class I have the students write out the animals names and sound out the letters as they write them down.

[k_belle]

This website really helps me with my K,1,2 class

http://www.tlsbooks.com/kindergartenworksheets.htm

[Racheal]

I have a similar situation...I have a coteacher but she does nothing...so I play ALOT of songs.
Another thing I find really helpful, is to give them an action for every word you teach them. It will help them remember and its keeps their little hands busy while you are talking.

Korean teachers often send kids to the back of the class for punishment but in a room full of little kids and no coteacher it doesn't work. If they are really acting out I make them come up to the front and hold my hand while i teach. I use their hands to show the class what to do...I think it embarasses them a little bit so I never do it for more than a minute. But it works.

My coteacher also taugh them to hold their mouths shut. So I clap twice and say "cha cha"..and they say "close your mouth" and then  hold their lips shut. It's really helpful, it quiets them for about 10 seconds.

To elena.larra., I have also successfully used incy wincy spider and head and shoulders and if you're happy and you know it...all work well!

[infogoddess]

I teach 1st and 2nd grade twice a week without a co-teacher and have been trying to build lessons around the skimpy national textbook.  I just discovered that MES English has a "Speaking First" curriculum outline for using the flashcard sets and I have started following his guide with great success with my kids.  Read more about the curriculum here http://www.mes-english.com/curriculum/  and don't forget to look at his phonics worksheets too http://www.funfonix.com/intro/   

as always, his stuff is free free free

[skimango7]

Heres a few ppt.'s I use for my after school class. I usually do one class a week doing this and then the next one I give out worksheets, have them color, or we watch a movie. Hope it helps!