Hello, my dear educators! Have you ever wondered how you can teach very young learners and what are some effective games you can play? The next few posts will be guests from Nevena Živković, an amazing preschool teacher from Novi Sad, Serbia, who also teaches English to very young learners in a public preschool! She is not an English teacher, but she completed a professional development program to learn how to teach English to her preschoolers. Her games are shared unedited, as she wrote them! Nevena’s work is outstanding, and her English level is brilliant for a person who learned English as a hobby!
Hit the picture
We developed this game to assess the knowledge of the learners. For example, we have paper cards to draw pictures of words we learn in our new songs, games, stories, etc. If we have older children, they draw the cards. If not, a teacher does it. You can also print flashcards from the internet.
After singing a song or reading a story, I tell them to draw pictures of new words. Then we put the flashcards in a circle, and two children compete entering the circle with flycatchers while the child standing outside the circle gives tasks to the other kids. In this activity, we have three children actively participating. The others are outside the circle, waiting for their turn, singing songs to choose another three players by counting.
Then what happens?
When children get to their places, the child who gave the task has to recite a song. All the children in the circle are singing the song and the child that counts goes around the circle. They choose the first player (when the song stops and the counting also stop on one child). Then, they choose the other child the same way. They stay in the circle with flycatchers.
The lead child says a word (a term found on one of the flashcards). The child who first notices this card needs to hit the card with a flycatcher. The child who “loses” stands in a circle with the other children, and depending on the word in question, the children sing a new song that must contain the word from the flashcard. That’s how they choose a new player who will enter the circle (chosen by the child who lost).
The game continues as a new player enters the circle, and the child who assigns re-assigns some new term found on the cards on the floor. This is one of the easiest games for very young learners, and it will keep them active all the time!
This game is great for assessment. The children like to play it independently, and they are divided into two circles (depending on the space in which we are and the total number of children). Sometimes we make two circles for new and old words. In one game that lasts 15-20 minutes, a dozen songs are repeated.
This game also has its modification. When a small group of children is interested, we arrange the pictures on the table, and the children move around the table singing a song. When the song stops, the teacher (or a child) asks for the word, and the child who first hits the picture with his palm is the winner. The game continues, and it is interesting to move around the table, motivating the children to stay in the game.
The magic box
Two children play this game by putting their hands in a magic box that has two holes provided for it, which contains toys or, for example, fruits or vegetables. The teacher or the other child gives a task by saying which object they need to find in the box. If they take out the wrong item, the child is asked to say what he took out of the box. If the child pulls out the right item, he wins. Another child enters the game with the winner. The game is also great for assessment.
Nevena Živković is a state-licensed preschool teacher. She completed the philological grammar school in Sremski Karlovci. After that, she continued her education and got a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. She worked as a preschool teacher in a children’s hospital and a private preschool. Professional development is one of her passions. She is very invested in advancing her competencies by attending accredited professional development training. She is the administrator of a Facebook group ’’Bunjara’’. This group has over 30.000 members, and teachers use it to share creative activities for children.
She was the organizer and the presenter at a conference,’’ Bunjarci’’, where she taught English to very young learners in a preschool setting. She enjoys using the NCT method of learning, and she also plays the guitar, sings, and acts in her classroom. Her next step is to publish a book related to learning about countries worldwide through songs she developed.
To conclude
What do you think about using these interesting TPR games for very young learners? Do you have any experience that you would like to share? Please write in the comments or via the contact page. I would love to hear your opinion!
P.S. Further reading resources
Check out two posts by my dear colleagues with flashcard games!
- Flashcard games for very young ESL/EFL kids that REALLY work by Fiona Hunter
- 9 fun flashcard games for primary classes by Michelle Worgan
