The Oxford University Press ELT team has published a new article titled ‘5 ways to Engage with Students Online (and Face-to-Face, too!)’.
Embracing new digital tools to deliver lessons, shortening the hours of teaching and blending lessons with EdTech can be very beneficial for both teachers and students. There are also a few more tricks we can use to keep students focused. Here are some ideas to spice up your online lessons with primary students. Many of these can also can be implemented in your face-to-face lessons.
1) Find Something Blue in Your House in 45 Seconds
Since all your students are at home, you can begin your lesson with a warm-up which takes advantage of the fact that your students are at home. Ask your students to find something blue in the house and share it with the rest of the class via their camera. Set a time limit for this activity, or some students will wander around in the house for hours. You can begin with 45 seconds, and reduce the time span each lesson. Try changing the colour, or you can ask the students to come to the lesson with their favourite toy, book, or anything related to the topic of your lesson. You can also revise some grammar by asking your students to go to the kitchen and find 3 countable and three uncountable items. Ask the students to share why they have chosen those particular items. In class, you can apply this activity with the items in the classroom.
5 ways to Engage with Students Online (and Face-to-Face, too!)