Hello!
I have to teach a similar class. Let me say, I've been here about 9 months, and this is my second semester teaching this class and I still find if difficult. I think it takes hard work, creativity, and a lot of trial and error. I asked for some advice last semester, and got some good feedback on the thread. Here is the link to that... I hope it helps!

http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,3077.msg13918.html#msg13918

Hello!
I have to teach a similar class. Let me say, I've been here about 9 months, and this is my second semester teaching this class and I still find if difficult. I think it takes hard work, creativity, and a lot of trial and error. I asked for some advice last semester, and got some good feedback on the thread. Here is the link to that... I hope it helps!

http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,3077.msg13918.html#msg13918

I can relate to this feeling.  I am nearing the end of my second year and I still feel some anxiety about after school lessons.  My suggestion to add is that you keep it simple and light.  This might not seem very descriptive, but I think that many teachers think that what they are doing is simple when it is really quite difficult. 

Take, for instance, many themed lessons that get suggested here on the community for after school classes and camps.  These kind of lessons teach vocabulary within a certain topic.  Imagine going to the local bookstore and picking up a children's vocabulary book in Korean.  You open the book and find that on each two-page spread there are 10-15 words in themes ("at home," "on the street," etc).  Spend a little while looking at a particular two-page spread.  Then, two days later, try to think of as many of those words as you can.  If you can remember most of them, kudos to you and your language studies.

I began with these kinds of lessons for my after school classes.  They are tempting in that for each particular theme you can probably think of at least one unique activity for that lesson.  Then, for the next class, you can just start over with a different theme.  However, consider the learning: What did the students retain from the previous lesson?  Will their English classes in public schooling continue this way - each teacher following you will reintroduce these same topics and attempt to drill vocabulary?

Since my experience during my first semester here, I have shifted towards focused lessons within a particular sentence/grammar structure.  The vocabulary emphasis is on auxiliary words (articles, prepositions) and verbs.  This is much like the way that Korean works - heavy emphasis on verbs/a complete sentence must contain only a verb.  However, in English you need other parts of speech, so I "teach" generic words/pronouns (this [thing/one/time], that [thing/one/time], it, etc.) .  They are usually shorter and actually used much more often in our sentences that you might at first think.

I have found that while these lessons may be more difficult to plan in creativity, they can actually work without much preparation technology wise.  This gives the students' eyes a break from the English classes from the school day (which heavily rely upon a computer) and encourages more language comprehension and production within a given lesson.

Trying to be a little more specific, I would suggest researching "The Silent Way" - a method of (language) teaching proposed by Caleb Gattegno:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleb_Gattegno#The_Subordination_of_Teaching_to_Learning
http://www.englishraven.com/method_silent.html

try to have Learning Centers set up in class- phonics for the young ones, writing practice for the older ones, etc.  That way it gives the older kids, with more English skills a bit of autonomy to work on their own and at their own pace so you can focus on the ones who have little to no English!  It's a lot of work at the beginning but it frees you up to focus on the kids who need it(and of course- different kids on different days!)

I wish it was mine, but i just got told I need 9 after school program ideas  for classes starting on Monday.  I believe we are going to take each chapter and try to use the main phrases and make a skit out of it.  This was done several years ago. i am hoping I will have enough students that like this idea.

I have had a class just like this for the past year, and they gave me a similar one again this year.  Some of the grade 3s can't speak any English or read, and a couple of the grade 6s you can have a conversation with.  They wouldn't let me divide the class into two groups, so I made it work

Something I found that they really enjoyed, and I did as well, was making a movie.  I am not sure if your school has a video camera, but making them think of the script, write it and then practice their lines and direct them was quite the project, but everyone had fun in the end.  The school liked it too.

I only teach afterschool classes, and I make them from scratch.

Your first step is to pick a broad theme for the class. I usually do that by picking a book from the school library and focusing the program on that.  If your school doesnt have a selection of teaching materials;  bend their arm and force them to buy one  ^_^.

If that doesnt work, you can go online and try and download one.

Next:  how many times a week do you have this class?  When you say you lack the material necessary for most games, there are many games offered on this site that require no materials or something extremely insignifigant like a roll of toilet paper than will not be used, just passed around.  Check the game megapack thread.

If you want to add theme classes into the mix, I can  post some for you as well as long as you post your own stuff like everyone else  =)

I have;
Kinder - 40 min a week (this one is easy)
1st - 40 min a week (easy as well)
2nd  - 40 min a week with only like 4 or 5 kids and no book.
3rd - 2 x 40 min a week.
4th  - 2 x 40 min a week.
5th - 2 x 40 min a week.
6th - 1 x 80 min a week.

What I mean by "lacking material" is the actual learning material in the book.  You can only do so much with, Hello.  How are you?  I'm fine, thanks.  Goodbye.  The actual classes are structured with the books (I only have books for 3 - 6 btw), but I feel lost with after school, since there is so little material within the actual lessons.

Hi all, first time poster, long time reader.

Please let me know your suggestions to this situation:

I teach at an elementary school in a rather poor area, so many of the students don't go to a private English school.  To give you an idea of what level of 'poor', I mean, I was told by my co-teacher that many students eat such big lunches at school because they don't eat breakfast or dinner. 
Students in elementary start English in Grade 3.  So I teach grades 3-6.  The problem is that many of the students don't know how to read.  This is because when they first start out in grade 3, there is no alphabet being taught, or phonics or anything like that.  It's just "Hi, I'm bobo.  What's your name?"  We just start out with phrases.  So I'm realizing that many students can speak simple and common phrases but they can't read some 3 letter words, for they've never been taught how to do so!  This includes some students in grade 6 who have been learning the language for a few years now. 

So I've accepted it as we have to teach from the textbooks we're given. 

But -- I teach an after school class twice a week which consists of a mixed group of 3rd and 4th graders.  About 15 third graders and 5 fourth graders.  So far I have failed them in the 6 after school lessons for the most part.  But it's difficult, as in my opinion I should be teaching them phonics, but the fourths already know that, for the most part, and I have to create the lessons myself (no texts are provided). 

Do I teach them how to read, or do I just teach them vocabulary, grammar, and phrases?
If I teach them how to read, what about those who already know how to read?

There are multiple challenges.   :o

I want to do as well as I can as their teacher.  I just don't know what strategy I should adopt. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Sorry for the long post.  Have a good weekend!

 :D

Hi there,

  In my afterschool classes this is what I am doing, I don't know if it helps...

I have to teach 1-6th grade.

1st grade, Story time, matched with a craft project, phonics and writing, We were on ABC, we'll be moving on to D-F this week.

2nd grade, follows the same as 1st grade. My 1st and 2nd graders are on the same level.

3rd grade, Role play, Readers Action Theater and phonics and writring. I do a project every so often with them to break up the monotany. Thier doing Little Red Riding hood English play, it comes with music and masks, and they can act out the play.

My co-t wants them all doing role plays for the end of the Year festival. So we're all learning English plays for 3rd - 6th grade. 4th grade is doing a version of the Grasshopper and the Ants, 5th grade is doing Beauty and the Beast, and 6th grade is doing a version of Heungbu and Nolbu

4th grade - 6th grade are all doing the same as 3rd grade with the exception of the plays.  Hope that helps give you some ideas :)

Wow, your after school classes sound like they are really fun. I'm still struggling to teach my after school kids phonics because they are grade 1 and 2 and have never done any English before...they just want to climb on desks and throw things at each other. I'm at my wits end and teaching alone :( I wish I could do fun activities like these.

@Lisa-Who are the authors of EFL Phonics? Trying to google the book but was unsuccessful.