Get children actively involved in English lessons using a little English friend. A great teaching assistant!
Greeting “Peter” and introducing him to your class:
- Hello Peter!
- Good morning Peter!
- Peter, where are you?
- Peter ? there you are!
- How are you today?
- (Ask the children to say hello)
Ask “Peter the Toucan” some general questions:
- What’s this?
- What’s that?
- What’s your favourite food?
- What’s the weather like?
- Where’s your pen?
- Where’s your red bag?
- Which do you prefer – the red or the green?
- Which do you want?
- Why are you happy/sad/tired/angry?
ESL Drama Games 
Dear Miranda,
I`m an EFL teacher in Germany . I love your body language while telling stories to children in English or Italian.
Thank you for letting me share your ideas. Actually I`m teaching at a special school for children with learning disabilities. They love to sing and move at the same time. The movements help them remember words and phrases. I will try to play some games I found here.
Thank you!
Iris
Hi Iris
Thank you for your kind comments and I’m really happy that I can be of some use to your teaching.
I find that it’s not always easy reading books to young children in English. I tend to feel restricted and obliged to follow the text word for word and it’s often difficult to judge the childrens’ interest or lack of it.
I started introducing story flashcards and props as they are great for drawing in an audience, maintaining eye contact and encouraging group involvement . And to make the story really “active” and “tactile” I sometimes bring to class dressing up clothes or simple hats and masks that the children can wear and physically contribute to the telling of the story themselves .
Happy teaching !
Miranda Flynn Legge
P.S Please drop us a line if you have any tips and suggestions you would like to share for teaching English to children with special needs .