Teaching Young Learners – Foundations for Meaningful, Play-Based Learning (6 Sessions)

Skills Learned

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

• Define your personal teaching style and classroom presence, and explain how these influence student motivation, comfort, and learning outcomes.

• Set up an engaging online classroom environment that makes effective use of space, props, lighting, and digital tools, regardless of whether you’re working with a simple setup or advanced tech.

• Plan age-appropriate lesson structures and routines that provide predictability for young learners while leaving room for playful exploration and flexibility.

• Design smooth transitions between activities so lessons feel connected and flow naturally, reducing downtime and distractions.

• Apply positive behavior management strategies that encourage participation, minimize disruptions, and create a respectful online community.

• Adapt offline classroom activities into interactive online formats, transforming familiar games, songs, and storytelling into digital-friendly versions.

• Utilize ClassIn tools (dice, stickers, breakout rooms, pointer, etc.) to support engagement, manage behavior, and enhance student interaction.

• Reflect on your setup and delivery to evaluate whether your environment and routines promote a child-centered, interactive learning space.

Practical Assignments

Your instructor will assign one of the following tasks. Each assignment is designed to help you apply your knowledge of teaching style, classroom setup, and lesson design. Videos created will become part of your end-of-course video resume.

1. Teaching Identity Presentation (3–4 minutes)

• Record a short video introducing your teaching style to parents or colleagues.

• Include:

  • How you create a safe and engaging environment.

  • One strength you bring as an online teacher (e.g., energy, patience, creativity).

  • A demonstration of your “teaching persona” (voice, gestures, energy).

2. Online Classroom Setup Tour (4–5 minutes)

• Give a “walkthrough” of your online teaching space.

• Show your background, props, lighting, or tools.

• Demonstrate how you would use one item (e.g., a puppet, flashcard, or dice) to engage students.

3. Routine & Transition Demo (5–6 minutes)

• Record a micro-lesson where you demonstrate:

  • A warm-up routine (greeting song, calendar check, feelings check).

  • A transition activity (moving from one task to another smoothly).

• Focus on scaffolding and predictability.

4. Adapting Offline to Online Task (5 minutes)

• Choose one common offline activity (e.g., “matching pairs,” “Simon Says,” “storytelling with pictures”).

• Record yourself adapting it into an online format, either using ClassIn features or Zoom screen share.

• Highlight how the adaptation keeps it playful and interactive.

5. Mini Lesson Flow (6–7 minutes)

• Create a short lesson with three parts:

  • Introduction (greeting + warm-up)

  • Main activity (song/game/visual prompt)

  • Review (quick recap with movement or visuals).

• Record the demo, showing how you manage pacing, transitions, and student engagement.

Note: Your instructor will assign you one of these tasks. At this stage, the focus is on building your presence and routines while practicing how to set up engaging, child-centered lessons. Each video assignment adds practical evidence of your growth and will be compiled into your final teaching portfolio.

Skills Learned

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

• Explain the role of phonics in early literacy, and why decoding and blending sounds is critical for young learners’ reading and speaking development.

• Model key phonics concepts clearly (CVC words, blending, segmenting, decoding) using age-appropriate language and visuals.

• Transform repetitive drills into playful activities by embedding phonics practice in games, songs, and storytelling.

• Use ClassIn tools effectively (dice, hidden word games, beanstalk/ladder challenges, stickers) to create interactive and engaging phonics lessons.

• Incorporate rhythm, chants, and TPR (Total Physical Response) to connect sound practice with movement and memory.

• Adapt phonics tasks for different learner levels, ensuring both beginners and advanced students feel challenged yet supported.

• Encourage student participation and confidence by creating low-pressure opportunities for every learner to “try out” sounds and words.

• Plan short, high-energy phonics activities that fit within broader lesson routines without overwhelming students.

Practical Assignments

Your instructor will assign one of the following tasks. Completed videos will be added to your end-of-course video resume:

1. Dice Blending Game Demo (5–6 minutes)

• Record a mini-lesson where you roll dice with letters/sounds.

• Show how students can combine the sounds to form CVC words.

• Encourage learners to read the word aloud with gestures or actions.

2. Hidden Word Challenge (5 minutes)

• Use ClassIn (or slides) to hide phonics words under pictures or shapes.

• Reveal each sound step by step, prompting learners to guess the full word.

• Emphasize scaffolding and excitement in your delivery.

3. Phonics Song or Chant (4–5 minutes)

• Lead a simple song, chant, or rhyme that practices one sound family (e.g., -at words like cat, hat, bat).

• Add gestures or TPR actions to make it interactive.

• Show how you’d encourage learners to repeat and move along.

4. Beanstalk / Ladder Word-Building Game (5–6 minutes)

• Demonstrate how to build a word step by step (e.g., start with c → ca → cat).

• Use visuals, props, or ClassIn beanstalk/ladder tools.

• Prompt learners to say the sounds at each stage until the full word is formed.

Note: Your instructor will assign one of these practicals. The focus here is on practicing sound-to-word activities in a playful way. Each task gives you a chance to show creativity, energy, and clear instructions — all of which employers love to see in your final portfolio.

Skills Learned

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

• Explain why speaking practice is central to language development in young learners, and how it supports vocabulary retention, confidence, and fluency.

• Design playful speaking opportunities using games, roleplay, visuals, and props to encourage participation.

• Model clear sentence frames and prompts so children can move from one-word answers to full sentences.

• Use scaffolding techniques (e.g., modeling, choral repetition, gradual release) to help hesitant learners participate successfully.

• Create a safe and supportive classroom environment where mistakes are normalized and risk-taking is encouraged.

• Incorporate interactive tools (dice, flashcards, ClassIn games, breakout rooms) to keep speaking practice lively and student-centered.

• Balance participation across the group by applying strategies to include shy or reluctant speakers without pressuring them.

• Plan short, structured speaking activities that can be inserted into different parts of a lesson (warm-up, practice, review) to maximize talking time.

Practical Assignments

Your instructor will assign one of the following tasks. Completed videos will be added to your end-of-course video resume.

1. Roleplay Mini-Scene (5–6 minutes)

• Record a short demo where you roleplay a familiar situation (e.g., at the shop, at the zoo, in the classroom).

• Model a simple dialogue using sentence frames (e.g., “I want a ___,” “This is a ___”).

• Show how you would encourage learners to take on roles and respond.

2. Object Guessing Game (4–5 minutes)

• Use a prop, flashcard, or hidden object.

• Give learners clues (e.g., “It is red… It is a fruit… What is it?”).

• Demonstrate scaffolding by moving from yes/no answers to full sentences.

3. Vocabulary Dice Speaking Game (5 minutes)

• Roll a picture or word dice (digital or physical).

• Prompt learners to use the word in a complete sentence (“I see a dog,” “I like cake”).

• Add playful variety by acting out or drawing quick sketches.

4. Story Spark Activity (5–6 minutes)

• Use 2–3 simple images or emojis as story prompts.

• Model how to connect them into short sentences (“The cat is in the box. The box is big.”).

• Encourage learners to add their own sentences to continue the story.

Note: Your instructor will select one of these tasks for you. These assignments focus on demonstrating your ability to create fun, low-pressure speaking opportunities, encourage shy learners, and model clear, age-appropriate sentence frames. Each video contributes to your professional teaching portfolio.

Skills Learned

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

• Explain the importance of sentence building as the bridge between vocabulary knowledge and meaningful communication.

• Model simple sentence structures clearly and consistently, using age-appropriate language and visual support.

• Use sentence frames and scaffolds (“This is a ___,” “I like ___,” “I can ___”) to help learners move beyond one-word answers.

• Guide students through structured practice (teacher model → guided repetition → independent production) so they gain confidence in speaking in full sentences.

• Apply playful strategies such as scrambled sentences, emoji prompts, and storytelling to make grammar engaging and accessible.

• Incorporate color-coding, visuals, or props to highlight parts of a sentence and make abstract grammar rules concrete for young learners.

• Balance fluency and accuracy by encouraging learners to communicate ideas while gently correcting and modeling correct forms.

• Design short sentence-building activities that can be embedded into different parts of a lesson (warm-up, practice, review) without overwhelming students.

Practical Assignments

Your instructor will assign one of the following tasks. These tasks are designed to help you practice sentence-building instruction and contribute to HTA’s shared library of Lesson Breakdowns, Teacher Talks, or Tutorials. Videos created will be part of your end-of-course video resume.

1. Lesson Breakdown: Sentence Frames in Action (6–7 minutes)

• Choose a short clip (provided by trainers) of a teacher modeling sentence frames.

• Record a breakdown video where you pause to explain:

  • Why the teacher used that sentence frame.

  • How it supported learners to move from one-word answers to sentences.

• Add one example of how you would adapt that technique in your own lesson.

2. Teacher Talk: Making Sentences Playful (5 minutes)

• Record a “Teacher Talk” style video (informal, reflective).

• Discuss:

  • Why sentence-building can be challenging for young learners.

  • One activity you find effective (scrambled sentences, emoji prompts, Q&A games).

  • How you’d adapt it for different levels.

• Use props, visuals, or ClassIn features if possible.

3. Tutorial: Using Visual Supports for Sentences (5–6 minutes)

• Create a short tutorial explaining how to use visuals or color-coding to support sentence construction.

• Demonstrate one simple activity (e.g., color-coded word cards, digital drag-and-drop).

• Focus on clarity, step-by-step instructions, and how teachers can replicate the activity.

4. Story Prompt Demo (5–6 minutes)

• Using emojis, stickers, or flashcards, create a mini-story with 2–3 sentences.

• Record yourself modeling how you would guide learners to build sentences from these prompts.

• Frame it as a micro-tutorial: explain the setup, model the activity, then suggest how another teacher could try it.

Note: Your instructor will select one of these tasks for you. These assignments are designed to go beyond “micro-teaching” by showing your ability to explain, reflect, and teach other teachers — a valuable skill that strengthens your professional portfolio.

Skills Learned

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

• Reflect critically on your own teaching practice, identifying both strengths and areas for improvement with the help of structured tools (journals, checklists, peer notes).

• Plan and deliver a short demo lesson that showcases your ability to apply play-based, child-centered strategies in a real teaching context.

• Give constructive peer feedback using clear, supportive language that highlights what worked well and offers specific suggestions for growth.

• Receive and apply feedback positively, using it to refine your teaching style and classroom strategies.

• Use informal assessment techniques (observation, quick games, exit tasks, Welcome Board checks) to monitor student progress during lessons without relying on formal tests.

• Communicate assessment results clearly to parents in a way that emphasizes encouragement, progress, and next steps.

• Recognize the role of formative assessment in guiding lesson planning and adapting instruction to meet learners’ needs.

• Compile your video demo and assignments into a polished video resume that demonstrates your growth, creativity, and readiness for online teaching opportunities.

Practical Assignments

Your instructor will assign one of the following tasks. These capstone assignments are designed to bring your learning full circle, demonstrate growth, and provide the finishing touches for your end-of-course video resume.

1. Peer Teaching Demo Lesson (8–10 minutes)

• Deliver a short online lesson (or lesson segment) using strategies from the course.

• Incorporate at least one play-based element (phonics, speaking, or sentence-building).

• Submit the recording as your final teaching demo for your portfolio.

2. Lesson Breakdown with Reflection (6–7 minutes)

• Choose a short clip of your own teaching (from an earlier assignment).

• Record a breakdown where you explain:

  • What went well.

  • What you would improve next time.

  • How this demonstrates your growth since Session 1.

3. Teacher Talk: Assessment in Action (5–6 minutes)

• Record a reflection video where you:

  • Share one informal assessment strategy you now feel confident using (e.g., “I Spy,” Welcome Board, quick review game).

  • Explain why it works for young learners.

  • Demonstrate how you’d use it in a short activity.

4. Portfolio Showcase Video (6–8 minutes)

• Compile your learning by recording a video that highlights:

  • One key insight from the course.

  • One teaching strength you’ve developed.

  • A short clip (or recreation) of your favorite classroom activity.

• This becomes a polished “introduction video” for your video resume.

Note: Your instructor will assign you one of these tasks. This final assignment is not only a chance to demonstrate your skills but also to celebrate your growth as a teacher and build a professional video portfolio that you can use beyond the course.