Practical ideas for teachers: How to prepare yourself for English lessons with kids

Teaching English to kids is a pretty specific business - they’re packed with energy, but their ability to read, write, and concentrate is only just developing. The success of your lesson is built on good preparation and setting the right rhythm.

Wow!English has plenty of materials for teachers and students that make your work much easier. Let’s dive in and take a look.

(Fill out the questionnaire at the end to get a sample of Wow!English)

The Wow!English methodological cookbook (part of the Teacher’s Pack) is packed with recipes for fun, lively, and meaningful English lessons for children. Whether you’re only just starting to work with the Wow! materials in your lessons, or you want to find your way around them better, here’s a step-by-step overview of how to work with the Teacher’s Book.

1. Get to know the overall structure

Each lesson contains:

• the aims of the lesson (language and skills),
• a list of the materials you’ll need (videos, flashcards, songs, workbook, real-life objects),
• the time plan for the lesson - clearly divided into individual parts,
• a step-by-step description of the individual activities (including exact instructions of what to say to the children).
•  !Hint!: Begin by going through 1 whole lesson on your own, without the children - play the video, read the activities, get the materials you need ready.

2. Follow the recommended “script”

The Wow!English method is built in such a way that the steps follow on from each other. So, go with it:

• start with the Hello Song and welcome the kids (use a Maggie puppet!),
• continue with an activity that focuses on the target language structure (for example, a story with Steve and Maggie),
• get the kids moving (TPR activities),
• go over the things you covered (and things from previous lessons),
• bring the lesson to a close with an End Routine or a song.

Don’t skip anything - even you think something is “unnecessary”, children love the routine and the repetition.

3. Adapt and adjust, but stick to the core

 The method offers plenty of room for manoeuvre - you can change the pace, make activities and work with the workbook shorter or longer. But:

• stick to the language goal of the lesson,
• repeat key phrases and words from the video in other activities too.

For example: If the target language is “What is it? – It's a cat!”, repeat this with cards in games, with soft toys, and when tidying away materials.

4. Use all media: video stories, video songs, flashcards

Videos are the cornerstone, and your very own pot of gold - Steve and Maggie present the language in a way which is lively, in context, and showing emotions. Let the children respond to what’s happening, guess, repeat.

Songs and rhymes help automatise the language. Use them during TPR activities or, for example, during a quick warm-up.

Working with the colourful Wow! workbook facilitates learnt knowledge easily and in an enjoyable way.

Flashcards - use flashcards when you’re introducing new vocabulary. There are also lots of TPR games in which you can use them, when words are repeated and fixed in the memory: “What's missing?”, “Point to…”, “Run and touch…”.

5. Repeat and go back

All language is learned by repeating - and Wow!English knows it. Go back to songs from previous lessons, play old games again (maybe with new vocabulary), or use phrases that the kids learned earlier within a new context.

Our “cookbook” also comes with long-term plans - meaning you can prepare a whole month in advance, or even the whole academic year.

So, to sum up: When you’re not sure what to do, open up the cookbook.

The methodological cookbook is more than just a “guide” - it’s the friend you can turn to when you don’t know what to say, how to respond, or how to build a lesson. Above all, when you use it regularly, you’ll become more and more confident. And the kids will simply fall head over heels for English with you.

Fill out the questionnaire below, get a sample of Wow!English, and take a peek at how your English lessons might look.

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