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PreschoolEnglishLessonPlan:TheMischievousMouseandtheBeerBarrel

Introduction

TeachingEnglishtoyoungchildrencanbeafunandchallengingexperienceforbothteachersandstudents.Onewaytoengagepreschoolersinlanguagelearningisthroughstorytelling,whichstimulatestheirimagination,curiosity,andlanguageskills.Inthislesson,wewillusethetraditionalfolktaleofthemischievousmouseandthebeerbarrelasacontextforintroducingandpracticingbasicvocabulary,grammar,andsocialskillsinEnglish.ThelessonisdesignedforaclassofChinesechildrenaged3-4yearsold,whohavesomepriorexposuretoEnglishbutmaystillstrugglewithpronunciation,comprehension,andcommunication.Thelessonwilllastforabout45minutesandinvolvesvariousactivities,suchaslistening,speaking,acting,singing,anddrawing.

Objectives

Bytheendofthelesson,thestudentsshouldbeableto:

Understandandproducevocabularyrelatedtothestory,suchasmouse,beer,barrel,lid,andtrick.

UnderstandandusebasicstructuresofEnglish,suchassubject-verbagreement,questions,andnegation,inthecontextofthestory.

Developsocialskillsbycooperating,communicating,andsharingwithpeersandteachers.

Enhancetheircreativity,criticalthinking,andconfidenceinusingEnglish.

Materials

Abigpictureofamouse,abeerbarrel,andacat.

Aminibeerbarrel(orasimilartoy)andalid.

Flashcardsorpicturesofmouse,beer,barrel,lid,trick,etc.

Asongorchantaboutmiceorbeer.

Crayons,markers,andpaperfordrawingandcoloring.

Procedure

Warm-up(5minutes)

Greetthestudentsandaskthemsomequestionsrelatedtomiceorbeer,suchas:Doyoulikemice?Haveyouseenamousebefore?Doyouknowwhatbeeris?Haveyoutastedbeer?Showthemthebigpictureofamouse,abeerbarrel,andacat,andaskthemtoguesswhatmighthappeninthestory.

Listeningandcomprehension(10minutes)

Tellthestoryofthemischievousmouseandthebeerbarrel,usingsimpleandrepetitivelanguage,gestures,andfacialexpressionstohelpthestudentsunderstandandfollowtheplot.Pauseatcertainpointstoaskquestionsorelicitresponsesfromthestudents,suchas:

Whatisthemousedoing?(climbingonthebarrel)

Whatisinsidethebarrel?(beer)

Whatdoesthemousedowiththelid?(putsitontop)

Whathappenstothecat?(getsdrunkandfallsasleep)

Howdoesthemousefeelattheend?(happyandproud)

3.Vocabularyandgrammar(15minutes)

Usetheflashcardsorpicturestoreinforcethekeywordsandconceptsofthestory.Askthestudentstorepeatthewordsafteryou,toshowthemtheminibeerbarrelandthelid,andtomakesomesimplesentencesusingthestructuresofthestory,suchas:

Thereisamouseonthebarrel.(subject-verbagreement)

Whatisinthebarrel?(questions)

Themousedoesnotdrinkthebeer.(negation)

Encouragethestudentstotrytousethesentencesincontext,byaskingeachotherquestionsormakingstatements.

4.Roleplayandsinging(10minutes)

Dividethestudentsintotwogroups:miceandcats.Giveeachgroupatasktoperform:themicetrytogetthebeerfromthebarrelwhilethecatstrytocatchthem.Usethebigpictureasabackdropandletthestudentsusetheirimaginationstoactoutthestory,withyourguidanceandfeedback.Aftertheroleplay,teachthestudentsasimplesongorchantaboutmiceorbeer,suchas"ThreeBlindMice"or"ILoveBeer".Singorchanttogether,focusingonpronunciation,rhythm,andexpression.

5.Drawingandsharing(5minutes)

Handoutsomepaperandcrayonsormarkersandaskthestudentstodrawtheirownversionofthestory,ortodrawwhattheylikeaboutmiceorbeer.Encouragethemtobecreativeandtousesomeofthevocabularyandstructurestheyhavelearned.Afterafewminutes,invitesomestudentstosharetheirdrawingswiththeclass,andaskthemsomequestionsorcommentsabouttheirwork.

6.Wrap-up(5minutes)

Reviewthekeywords,structures,andactivitiesofthelesson,andaskthestudentswhattheyhavelearnedorenjoyed.Givethempraiseandfeedback,andreinforcethepositivebehaviorsandattitudestheyhaveshown.Endthelessonwithagoodbyesongorgesture,andremindthemofthenextlesson.

Assessment

Thestudents'learningandprogresscanbeassessedthroughvariousmeans,suchasobservation,questioning,demonstration,andfeedback.Somecriteriaforassessmentinclude:

Vocabulary:Canthestudentsunderstandandusethekeywordsrelatedtothestory?

Grammar:CanthestudentsusebasicstructuresofEnglish,suchassubject-verbagreement,questions,andnegation,incontext?

Communication:Canthestudentsexpressthemselvesclearly,confidently,andcooperatively?

Creativity:Canthestudentsapplytheirimagination,criticalthinking,andlanguageskillstoproduceoriginalandmeaningfuloutput?

Attitude:Canthestudentsshowinterest,enthusiasm,andrespecttowardsEnglishlearningandtheirpeersandteachers?

Conclusion

UsingstorytellingasatoolforlanguageteachingcanhelppreschoolerstoengagewithEnglishinafunandmeaningfulway.Byusingatraditionalfolktalesuchasthemischievousmouseandthebeerbarrel,wecanintroduceandpracticebasicvocabulary,grammar,andsocialskills,aswellasenhancetheircreativity,criticalthinking,andco