K-Classes

Some of these games can fit into other categories as well, so you don’t have to play them for what they have been listed under! Some of these could also be used in Y or Tales of Joy classes.

vocabulary:

Warm up exercises:

Try warming up with some previous words that they might know that are related to your current vocabulary. For example, if you are teaching “happy” and “sad” the students already know many emotion words. Warm up with words like tired, hungry, sick, thirsty, angry, etc.

Presentation:

Flashcards – Make sure they comprehend what the vocabulary is, and that they do not just memorize how to say it.
TPR (Total Physical Response) – These are physical actions that help to show the meaning of what you are teaching.

Practice:

Drawings – While teaching flashcards, put them up on the board and draw a few other things to hit with the hammer, such as hands, up arrow/swirl/down arrow, and a lion. When you hit the hands, students clap. When you hit the arrow/swirl/arrow, they stand up, turn around, and sit down quickly (first to sit gets a point). When you hit the lion, they act like a lion. This gives students a chance to be a little goofy, get points, and have some fun. This helps keep them focused. These are some other things you can draw that they have fun with: tiger, elephant, dinosaur, fish, bird, butterfly, smiley face (they “show me good”), feet (they stamp their feet), turtle (this ones funny because they go really slow), rabbit, tree (it’s silly, but they think it’s funny as long as you do. You can also imitate a gust of wind and have the kids lean like trees blowing in wind), shark, alligator, cat, or dog. There are so many other things you can do! Have fun and create some of your own!
High Five/Flashcard Hit – This one seems simple, but the kids like it. When going over flashcards, you can take a little break from the whole class and quickly check if individuals understand the flashcards. Go to each student one by one and have them say one of the flashcards while hitting the flashcard, head butting the flashcard, or giving the teacher a high five. For whatever reason, they like it. It also is a check to see what kids are paying attention.
Flash Flashcards – This one is pretty basic, quickly show the flashcard and let the students figure out which one it was. You can also prepare a piece of paper that covers most of the flashcard and only give them a peak at what flashcard it is.
Charades – Act out whatever the flashcard is and let students guess. Feel free to throw old vocabulary into the mix! This helps them review and keeps them on the ball! If you feel the students are old enough, you can let them act it out!
Ninja – Put the flashcards up on the board with magnets. Then you do “karate chops” in the direction of a flashcard and students have to say the flashcard you motion to. Let the students get up and be the ninja. They like to watch each other and it keeps them more focused, usually.

Closure games:

Roulette – Put two hula-hoops on the floor, one with the numbers “1,3,5” and the other “2,4,6” written in the center. Roll the die and if the students pick the hula-hoop with the number you roll, they win! Let students roll, as it makes them happy, and gives them an extra reason to be good.Croquet – Draw a line and stand a few feet away from it holding two hula-hoops. Students have to hit the die with a hammer through the hula-hoops. They get a point for each hula-hoop they make it through.
Hula in the Corner – Put a hula-hoop in the corner and measure 6 footsteps away. Draw a line. Have the kids step into the hula-hoop, and recite the vocabulary. Afterwards, have one of the seated students roll the die (to keep them more engaged). You take the number of steps that the student rolls, then you try to hit the students with a hammer. Obviously, don’t hit them hard and avoid the head. Exaggerate yourself in this game for a good laugh.
Card Cross – Put an orange card on the students’ heads and have them walk from one side of the room to the other. If they can cross the room without the card dropping, they get to keep it!

grammar points:

Warm up exercises:

Review Old Words - When teaching a grammar point, they usually know some of the words from it, such as I, You, They, etc. Go over meanings of such words to ensure that when the new words are added, they have the best chance at fully comprehending the grammar point.
Review Related Words and Grammar Points - For some units, they already know some related words. When you’re teaching “Do you want some milk/bread?” The students already know “hungry” and “thirsty.” Going over this vocabulary and the corresponding grammar points as a warm up. This will help to add meaning to your new grammar point.

Presentation:

TPR – (Total Physical Response) Act out grammar points like “Are you hungry?” by doing poses to help show meaning. “Are” can be shown by a question pose, for “you,” point to the students, and for “hungry,” rub your stomach.
Draw a Picture – Pictures can also help to present a grammar point. Take the grammar point “What do you want?” You can draw a picture of a person and show that they are hungry. Next, draw a thought bubble. You can then draw pictures inside such as food for hungry, drinks for thirsty, or other images for other states of mind.

Practice:

Pictionary – For certain units, like “What is it?” “What’s this/that?” you can play Pictionary and have students ask or answer. You can also let them draw, and let them say the grammar points.
Teams – Have the teams ask each other the questions and practice answering each other. This helps them understand that this is an ask-and-receive-a-response situation.
Let’s GO! – For the unit “Let’s go to the ___!” A good way for them to practice and hear the grammar point repeatedly is to have them race around the classroom and touch what you tell them to go to. “Let’s go to the door!” They run to the door. “Let’s go to the zoo!” You can have them run to the flashcard or you can bring stuffed animals to class to represent going to the zoo, just make sure they understand what it represents. You can also end it with “Let’s go to our chair!” which they then race back to sit down and “show me good.” Thus getting them points. However, if you do it this way, remember that they should be in a location that makes it a fair race.
TPR – Once you’ve gone over the grammar point enough for the students to get it, you can simply go through the motions of what you are teaching and have them say the grammar point without any word prompts, just visual. Better yet, let the students do the motions as well. This is a good method to use all the time to conserve your voice for teachers who struggle with this, plus it helps reinforce comprehension.
Copy the Teacher - Students must watch the teacher and copy exactly what he/she does. The slowest to respond is eliminated. Try not to have the children lie or sit on the floor as this may cause complaints from parents. Also, be careful of your motions. Don’t make the students accidentally hit each other!
Puppets – Have the puppets of Calvin and Claire and any others you’d like to act out the grammar point. The puppets are fun and keep kids paying attention, especially if you do voices as well! It also helps to make sure they understand that there are two people talking, not just one.

Closure games:

Paper, Scissors, Stone – If you put two hula-hoops next to each other for question-and-response grammar points, this helps to keep the classroom organized, as the kids with stay in the hula-hoop instead of wandering off like they might normally do. After they ask each other and answer the grammar point, let them play paper, scissors, stone.
Military – This game is especially good when practicing the unit “turn left, turn right, turn around.” Act like a drill sergeant and have students “ATTEEEEEENTION!! STAND UP! TUUUUURRRN LEFT!” etc. This is also good if the students are getting a little out of hand and you need to get them focused again. It’s like yelling at them and they find it funny. Just remember to make it goofy yelling.
Teacher Says – This one is like Military, and is used for units that have some kind of action to perform, like “Let’s go to the zoo!” If the teacher says ‘Teacher Says’ before saying the action, the students must perform the action. If the teacher does not say ‘Teacher Says’ before saying the action, the students must do nothing. The child that acts incorrectly is eliminated.
Puppet Play – Having the students act things out with puppets is a great way to get the students’ attention. They enjoy picking the puppets from the stories. It also makes having them say the grammar point run smoother.
Target Practice – Draw a target or any other shape on the board. Then draw a line on the ground a distance away from the board. Students throw the sticky ball at the target for points. You can vary this a bit by putting different distances that they can throw from, worth different things like X2 or X3.
GO! – This game is simple, put a hula-hoop in the middle of the room, flat on the floor. Have a few students come up and stand around the hula-hoop. You will then say a bunch of random words until you say “go.” The first student to put their foot in the hula-hoop wins.
Magnet Slide - Draw a grid or rainbow-style semi-circles on the floor next to the wall. Give each section points and have students slide small magnets into the sections to receive points. For higher level K-classes it can be fun to put random obstacles on the floor for them to avoid.
Card Race - Draw a line on one end of the classroom and have numbers line up next to one another. One at a time, each student flicks or blows a card off their hand as far as they can. The student whose card goes farthest earns points or cards for their team.
Heads or Tails – Have the student place one card on the back of their hands. Before they blow the card off their hand, they have to guess which side will land facing up, either white or orange. If they guess correctly, they get points or cards for their team. For younger students who haven’t learned colors yet, write ‘A’ and ‘B’ on each side of the card.
Backwards Throw – Put a target on the board and instead of the students throwing the sticky ball facing the board, have them turn around and throw it over their shoulder.
Shark Eats Teacher - Draw a shark with its mouth open on the board. Draw a few lines over the shark’s mouth. Use one magnet for the students and one magnet for the teacher and place them on the highest line. Flip the flashcards and have the students guess what it is. If they guess correctly, the teacher’s magnet moves one line down and closer to the shark’s mouth. If they guess incorrectly, their magnet moves down one line and they are closer to being ‘eaten’ by the shark. If they lose, make it silly and pretend to eat all of the students. They usually giggle incessantly.
Dice Race – Students put the die between their feet and hop from one line to the other. With this game, USE CAUTION. I always stand on the other side of the room to catch students in case they fall. I’ve never had a kid fall, but just in case.
Pizza – So we all know this game; Hula-hoop on the floor divided up like pieces of pizza with different point values. However, there are many variations we can do with this game:You can put “pepperoni” on the pizza, which have special point values or card rewards.Let students pick a distance to throw the sticky ball from, the first line is base value, second line, X2, third line X3.You can draw the pizza on the board and make it more like a board game with team magnets where students roll the dice and move around the pizza to collect points.

letters:

Warm up exercises:

It’s good to warm up with letters by reviewing old letters real quick.
If you are reviewing letters in hour 3 or 4, try saying the sound of the letter and having students guess the letter.
Review upper case letters when teaching lower case.

Presentation:

Flashcards
Letter TPR (with upper case letters only) – This is good for the later hours when they already know the TPR.
Use upper case letters when teaching lower case to show that they are the same letter and sound, and that they just look different. This can sometimes add confusion, so only do this if it’s a class that can handle it.
Write the letter on the board and drill the letter pronunciation. Then try and change the letter into a picture of word that it is supposed to represent. Even if it looks terrible, the kids will find it amusing. If there is a smart kid that already knows the corresponding word, have them try and draw it from the letter. Stop the kid if he/she is not drawing the correct thing as to not confuse the kids.

Practice:

TPR motions – Your co-teacher probably already has motions in mind for the letter and word, so ask them ahead of time for the motions. This helps them remember and comprehend.
Memory Hammer Hit- Hit the flashcards in a certain pattern and see if they can repeat that pattern.
Sounds - Practice saying sounds and showing the relation between the letter and the word.
Student Hammer Hit – Put the flashcards on the ground, letter side up. Then put a hammer at each end and have pairs race to hit the letter you say. Also, you can have them say the chant “a, a, a for apple.”

Closure games:

BaskDICEball – Students must throw die into the hula-hoop, which you hold up like a basketball hoop.
Bastickyball – Students throw a sticky ball into the teacher’s basket for points, they pick a distance. The further away, the more points.
Write/Circle/Hammer/Erase Letter – Divide the board into however many teams there are (for K-classes, generally two). Write a bunch of the letters you are working with on the board. Students must run up and circle the letter you call out. Have them neatly place the markers back where they got them, sit down, and “show me good.” First to do that gets the point. You can also have them erase or hammer the letters. Mark the spot for the object they use with a circle or outline of the object. If they are old enough, they can write the letters themselves. Ask your co-teacher if you are unsure.
Act out TPR – Have students do the TPR and say the letter chant, then play a game and/or reward the best TPR.

numbers:

Warm up exercises:

Review previous numbers

Presentation:

Flashcards
Finger Count
For lower numbers, make sure that you are teaching not only the character of the number (1, 2, 3, etc), but also that they comprehend how many it is.

Practice:

Counting – Have them count either on the flashcards, or objects around the room.
Hammer Hit – Write the numbers on the board or post the flashcards and hit them with a hammer for students to say.
Hammer Student Count – Hit the space in front of the student to prompt them to say the next number. Walk around the classroom hitting the hammer in a random order to give some spontaneity to the game.
Clap Count – After they know the numbers pretty well (later hours) and can count fast, you can clap your hands X amount of times. They have to count quickly in order to say the answer. You can reward the fastest student with a point, roll the dice, or an orange card, but usually just recognizing them with some positive words is enough!
Guessing Game – Write one of the numbers you are working with on your hand, then let them guess which number it is, crossing out the numbers they’ve guessed. This works better if you are working on more numbers as opposed to only a couple. Otherwise the game is too easy.
Finger Count – In China, you can count to ten on one hand. Depending on where you are in China, this might change. Ask a local how to do it!
Dice Addition – This game is for higher levels that can add. You roll two dice and the students have to add up the total and say aloud.
Dice Pass 10- Have 4 students stand in a square. The distance between them will depend on the level of the class (K1 for instance will need to be fairly close together). Students must simply throw the dice to each other around the square. Have the rest of the class count with you as they throw. If they get to 10, reward each student with cards or points. If the dice falls to the ground at any point, the 2 students involved in the drop (regardless of whose fault it actually was) play paper, scissors, stone to decide who is eliminated. Once one student is eliminated, begin the game again with the 3 remaining students in a triangle shape. If another is eliminated, begin again with 2 students on diagonally opposite sides of the square. If only 1 student remains, have him throw the dice above his/her head and attempt to catch it 10 times. For low level classes this is a lot harder than it sounds. It really does need the teacher to determine the distance between the students correctly or the game will be too easy or too difficult.

Closure games:

Prepare pictures to Count – Draw some pictures like three apples, six bananas, etc. Have the students count them. It’s better if they know the word for what they are counting.
Hammer hit numbers in order – Give a student a hammer and have the numbers on the board, constantly rearranging them in the wrong order. Have the students hit the numbers in the correct order and say them at the same time.
Bounce and Count – This one is a bit tricky, so gauge if your students can do this before trying it. It works better when they are a little older. Take a lightweight ball that bounces, and have the students count how many times it bounces while they dribble it. Make sure you count along too, in case they dribble higher than they can count! If they either mess up, or lose the ball, their turn is over, but reward the kids who get high numbers! Also, with this game, have them actually count first, then play the game, being that not all kids will be able to make it past a few dribbles.

Songs and Dialogues:

Warm up exercises:

The songs and dialogues are based on the vocabulary and grammar points they learn, so warm up by reviewing those.
When reviewing a dialogue, consider reviewing the earlier story as well. The K books are all one long story, so reviewing the dialogues from previous books might help them understand the whole story better.

Presentation:

TPR – This is a big one for teaching songs and dialogues. Usually, the co-teacher will already have actions for them, so check with them beforehand to see what those actions might be.
Just the Song – The point is for the students to get the words more than the music, but some kids get hung up on the music, so try doing them separately. Simply sing the song on “la la la,” or just have them say the words.
Listening – Many times, the co-teachers will have the CD for the songs. If you present the song by listening to it, make sure you are keeping kids engaged, and not just sitting there listening, because chances are, they aren’t listening. Show them the motions with it. It will aid in comprehension and if you make it energetic, it will keep them focused.

Practice:

Dice and Posters – If you have the posters for the dialogues, they have the words, though the kids can’t really read it yet. They should, however, show the image for what is being said. Therefore, if you number the dialogue 1-6 for each line (this only works if it has 6 or less lines), have students roll a die and they all say the line for the number the student rolls. If there are less than 6, you can make one of the numbers do something else, like in the game “Drawings” where they pretend to be cats or something for a little while. You can also roll a second die that has them say the line that many times. This allows good practice, and the kids are willing to do it if they get an extra chance to roll the dice! Make sure they understand the story before doing this activity. Use this in your later practices, like hour 3 or 4.
Radio – You can either draw a radio on the board with these instructions, but usually your motions will be enough. Have the students sing or read quiet, loud, slow, fast or any other variation you can think to add. Drawing a long triangle to represent volume helps.
Funny voices – Draw an alien, boy, girl, monster, whatever you want and they have to read or sing mimicking that image. This can be a lot of fun!

Closure games:

Onstage – Have the students come up to play the parts in the dialogue. Have them use puppets if you can. This keeps them more engaged. Play a game after they finish reading.
Best Performance – Show the kids that a big part of their performance when they come up is their actions that go with the dialogue or song. Make sure you and the students know the actions before playing this game. Whoever performs best wins! If both students are really good, then reward both of them!
Guess the Line – (Do this as practice and closure, because they may not get your actions if they haven’t seen them) You perform the actions, and the children say the line of the dialogue associated with the action.

miscellaneous:

These games are for a quick break when you might have a difficult lesson that the kids need to have a little fun to stay focused. Sometimes they get a little overwhelmed, and therefore taking a quick break from the material will be more productive.

Left or Right – This is a game designed to take a short break while teaching a grammar point to keep the kids engaged. Hold a small magnet or marker cap in your hand and hide it behind your back in one of your hands. Choose a student who is well behaved to guess which hand it’s in. If they get it right, they get points. This also motivates the students to be really good!
Where’s the sticky ball? - Give the class one sticky ball. They pass it amongst themselves while you close your eyes and count down from 10. They put their hands behind their back and you search for who has it. If you can’t find it in three tries, they win an extra orange card. Have your co-teacher help to prevent students from cheating, because they will try.
Go Go Stop - Draw a line on one side of the room. When you aren’t looking, students can move towards the other side of the room, but when you turn and look at them, they have to freeze. This is fun, because then you can mess with their hair, or try to make them laugh when they aren’t supposed to move. First student to the goal wins.

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