NO FUSS ENGLISH FOR KIDS
with a little help from an adult
What is Kidlish English?
Kidlish English lessons were created in the time of the coronavirus pandemic to help parents fill the time with fun, educational and low resource English activities when you are stuck inside. It is aimed for kids from 5 to 10 years old and with a mix of language skills. Most of the lessons could also be used to teach/learn other languages as well. The lessons are intended to be led by an adult who can speak English.
LESSON 7: ACTION
Skip, hop and jump
Materials: Nothing except a computer and some space to run around
Preparation: Not much. Just think about some action verbs the kids would know in their own language. Some good ones - clap, jump, run, walk, sit, stand, ski, swim, bike, touch, dance, climb, sleep.
Activities:
1. Stand in front of kids and act out (like charades) an action verb. Ask them what you are doing in their own language. Then tell them what it is in English.
2. Take turns acting out and getting the others to guess. They can come up with additional verbs.
3. Watch and sing along with a dance video that uses action verbs. We liked these two - Action verbs and Freeze dance.
4. Play Simon says. According to Wikipedia, the game is pretty universal but may be called something different in each language.
BONUS: Learn a song and dance along to it. Some good choices are - Twist and Shout / The Twist.
LESSON 6: FOOD
You are what you eat
Materials: Food (real or play)
Preparation: This lesson can be done in two parts (that's how I did it). For the first part, get out different common foods (see pic). For the second, get some ingredients & tools for a simple recipe.
Activities:
1. Have the kids sit around the kitchen table. Pass around a food (after washing hands, of course!) - Each kid should say to the next one "That is an apple" and the next kid repeats while passing the food.
2. Try the same activity but say the wrong word. Ex, pass an apple and say "That is a banana." The next kid says, "That is not a banana. That is an apple." Repeat with at least 10 foods.
3. Watch or listen to the Peanut Butter & Jelly song. Sing it all together with hand motions. BONUS: if you have the ingredients and no nut allergies, make the sandwich. Yes, this it totally American.)
4. Try the song with different recipes. Depending on level, the kids can explain the recipe in their own language. For example, we did banana milk (First, you take the banana and you peel it, peel it... Banana, banana, nana and milk).
TIP: Don't choose a complicated recipe. My daughter made an ice cream cone!
BONUS: Depending on level, you could also try adding a question in step 1 - "What is that?" and the next kid responds, "That is an apple".
LESSON 5: HOME SWEET HOME
Get to know every room in your house
Materials: Paper, 20-25 images of objects found in your house (I used images from an old newspaper)
Preparation: Draw a house with at least 5 rooms (no words), cut out all of the objects and put them on small pieces of paper
Activities:
1. Ask the kids to design a house. Which rooms and where. Say the name of the room in English and they repeat after you two times.
2. Play charades. Each kid acts out something you do in a room (ex. pretend to brush teeth) and the kids guess the name of the room (be prepared for lots of bathroom humor).
3. Give each kid 5 objects and ask them to place the image in the right room. Write the English name on the other side of image. Practice full sentences - "The lamp is in the living room".
4. Mix up the objects and in teams of 2, ask them to put all the images on the real objects in your house (ex. the picture of a bathtub in the bathtub, etc). The fastest team wins.
5. Go into each room in the house and each kid chooses one object in the room. They describe it to the others and the others have to guess what it is. Depending on level, they describe in their own language or in English. The goal is to guess the correct object in English (ex. Child 1 - It is big, it is white, it is soft, Child 2 - Is it a bed?)
BONUS: For young kids, try Elmo episode. For older kids, try this song.
LESSON 4: AROUND TOWN
Where you'd go (if there wasn't a lockdown)
Materials: Big piece of paper, glue, colored pens, toy car, straws or sticks, other items that can be glued to paper.
Preparation: Tape a big piece of paper to the ground or on a table.
Activities:
1. Ask kids to think of all the things you find in a city or town. Talk about what they are in English and have them repeat after you two times (ex. school, museum, police station, houses, streets)
2. Ask kids to draw a map of a town/city with different buildings, landmarks, streets. Use the straws or sticks to make streets. (optional: choose a specific city)
3. Ask them what each building or location is in English and help them write it on the paper.
4. Give one kid a toy car and practice asking each other the question: "Where are you going?". And the other says I'm going to school or the police station and moves the car to that location. As an alternative, you could make it a command such as "Go to the school" and the other moves the toy car to the school.
5. Sing the Wheels on the Bus song with the dance moves. You can find it here.
ADVANCED: Kids can make the map really complicated using all kinds of objects such as rocks, cardboard, etc. You could also make it more complicated by asking them to give directions such as "How do I go to the school?" and the other kid says "go left, then right, then straight."
BONUS: Play a game using a straw to blow a ping pong ball along the street. See here.
LESSON 3: ANIMALS
Who let the dogs out
Materials: Paper, scissors, cut-outs or stickers of at least 10 animals.
Preparation: Cut at least 10 strips of paper, and then cut again in half like puzzle pieces (see pic).
Activities:
1. Ask kids to draw animals on one side of puzzle pieces (if young kids, use animal stickers).
2. Ask kids what they call each animal in their own language, then you say/write the name in English on matching strip of puzzle piece (see pic).
3. Mix all the pieces up and see how fast they can match the word to the animal image.
4. Depending on reading and English level, turn over all animal images (or all words) and ask one kid to say an animal and the other point to the word (or image).
5. Split into two teams (modify depending on number of kids) and play charades. Put all ten animals in a bowl. One kid on each team has to act out the animal (no sounds) and the others guess. The team that says the most correct animals (in English) in one minute wins.
6. Learn the chicken dance. This video is a good version. There is nothing educational about this but just a fun way to end the lesson.
ADVANCED: For more advanced skills, have the kids ask each other "What is your favourite animal?" and the other response, "My favourite animal is..."
BONUS: Listen/learn the Old MacDonald Song. See here.
LESSON 2: BODY PARTS
Head, shoulders, knees, toes and more
Materials: Colored pens/pencils, large pieces of paper and tape
Preparation: Tape paper together so it as big as the smallest kid. Find something flat, the size of a big coin and put tape on the back so it will stick to something.
Activities:
1. Have the shortest kid lie on the paper. The others should trace their body
2. Add eyes, noes, hair, shirt, pants, shoes, whatever the kids would like the person to look like (see photo)
3. Tape paper up on a wall or door. Ask kids to choose a body part and say it in their own language. You say it in English and they repeat after you two times.
4. Quiz them on where the body parts are. You say the word and they point to the part on the poster.
5. Sing the song - head, shoulders, knees and toes. See here.
6. Play a version of "pin the tail on the donkey" but with body parts. Take the coin-size object and in two teams, one kid says body part and other puts it on the right spot. Try with one kid blindfolded and then spin the kid three times. The kid who gets the coin closest to the correct body part wins.
ADVANCED: For more advanced learners, practice asking each other "Where is your....?" And responding with "My ... is here."
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LESSON 1: COLORS
Learn the colors of the rainbow
Materials: Colored pens/pencils, 2-3 pieces of white paper, and lots of colourful stuff in the house
Preparation: Cut each piece of paper into quarters, color one side and write the English word for that color on the other side. Set them on the table with colors facing up. I added one for "rainbow" (see photo)
Activities:
1. Ask kids what they call each color in their own language, then tell them what it is in English. Ask them to repeat after you so you say RED, then they say RED. Two times.
2. Turn them over so you just see the words. Do it again. Then just play around flipping them over and having them point to the right color.
3. Spread pieces of paper out all over the house - color side up. Ask each kid to collect one thing from the house of each color and put it on a pile on the corresponding color. Go around to each color and have them talk about what they found in their own language or English depending on level.
4. Put all of the household items in a pile and create two teams. I did older vs younger. One team puts the pieces of paper all over the house. Get a timer, the other team has to put all of the objects back on the right color. Repeat with the other team. Whichever team is fastest wins.
TIP: For younger kids, have color side up. For older kids, have text.
ADVANCED: For more advanced learners, try asking each other something like "What color is your shirt?" And responding "It is ..."
