LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH
THEME: Introduce Yourself
VOCABULARY: what, who, when, where, why, how
KEY QUESTIONS: What is your name? How old are you? What is your favorite color? How are you?
TEACHER PREPARATION: Print out this poster of a body with the parts labeled. Print or write out the question words: who, what, when, where, why, how. Print or write out the following commands in English with the translation into your native language in a different color: stand up, sit down, jump ___ (a number) times, turn around, touch your ___ (body part), touch something ___ (color), walk, run, lie down, get up, go to sleep, wake up. Print or write out the following colors with their translation in your native language: red, yellow, blue, green, white, black, brown, grey, orange, pink, purple, magenta. Print or write out feelings: excited, sad, angry, sick, surprised, happy, unhappy, bored, tired, confused, proud, afraid, embarrassed, hurt, hungry, shy.
- GREETINGS: Greet students by saying, “Hello! Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening.” Introduce yourself, saying, “My name is___. What is your name?” As you say the word “what,” point to it on the poster. Then practice by asking the students: “What is your name?” Point to a person and ask, “What is his/her name? His/Her name is_____.” Practice this with all of the students in the class several times.
- TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE USING MOVEMENTS (TPR): Lead the students through all of the actions on the poster. Add any other movements you can think of. Point to the commands as you say them, and repeat them in random order. If the students understand the commands well, move on. If not, review them in future classes.
- HOW OLD ARE YOU? Say to a particular student, “I am___ (your age) years old. How old are you?” Have them answer, “I am___ (their age) years old.” and then they should ask a different student, “How old are you?” Have the students go around the class asking each other their age, and answering.
- HOW OLD IS HE/SHE? When all of the students have asked and answered this question, ask the students, “How old is he/she?” while pointing to a particular student. Teach them the answer, “He/She is ___ (their age) years old.” This also gives you a chance to review numbers. Feel free to count with them out loud up to the age of a certain student, to help everyone review numbers. Ask the entire class how old each student is, and have them answer in unison.
- WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Say to a particular student, “My favorite color is ___. What is your favorite color?” If the students don’t know their colors in English, review them.
- HOW ARE YOU? Ask a particular student, “How are you feeling today?” Point to the word “how” as you ask. Ask, “Are you___?” while pointing to the feeling words. Help them to answer, “I feel___.”
- SONG: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes to practice body parts.
- REVIEW: Introduce yourself: Say, “My name is___. I am ___years old. My favorite color is___.” Then ask the class: “What is my name? Yes, my name is___. Is my name Sam? No, my name is not Sam. My name is___. How old am I? Yes, I am___years old. Am I 9 or am I ___? Yes, I am ___ years old. What is my favorite color? Yes, my favorite color is (blue). Is my favorite color red? No. Is my favorite color pink, or (blue)? Yes, my favorite color is (blue),” etc. You can also ask the students questions about each other. “What is her name? How old is she? What is her favorite color?” Repeat the questions and answers as much as possible. If students don’t know numbers yet, don’t use your age, just do theirs (keep numbers 10 or under if they don’t know them).
- GAME: Play Simon Says. Use the commands learned in today’s class.