[Ster]

Hi! I am new here and I need help. I teach a large class of young kids (3-6). Each class is 2 hours long which is way too long for such young kids. Plus the parents stand at the glass window and watch which causes the kids to misbehave even more. Bascially, class control is almost nil. The only things that keep the interest are games and games and songs. Oh, and they are mostly boys with low attention spans. I've done all the normal games and flash card related games but I am running out of ideas. I taught Kindergarten for 2 years but I have never seen such awfully ill-behaved kids before.
Any ideas please?

Going crazy.....

[ICAL_Pete]

Have you tried miming? Miming can also be a useful technique to get your students attention and keep them involved.

This ICALwiki article explains how

Miming in Class - ICALwiki

See also my post on the Teaching ESL forum under the “Frustrated Teacher” thread.

[KathrynBrooks1]

I'm new at teaching young kids as well, but what I've found to be the most successful is to praise, praise, praise the positive behavior that kids display and quickly and quietly correct those that are off track.

PS - TPR works really well, but can be tiring for the teacher. Look up TPR or buy Asher's book. Well worth the effort to learn the skill. Best of luck.

[Eric]

Quote KathrynBrooks1

I'm new at teaching young kids as well, but what I've found to be the most successful is to praise, praise, praise the positive behavior that kids display and quickly and quietly correct those that are off track.

I couldn't agree more! I've had great results praising the rowdy, attention seeking students when they do something good. In one case, one rowdy student turned into an angel student. The transformation was amazing!

[Ster]

Thank you for your ideas. I've noticed the naughtiest kids in my classes are actually the smartest. They're just bored because the books are way too easy. The school gives me one page with about three words on it (ie. apple, banana, orange) and expects me to make a 2 hour class out of it. I've found the flashcards on this site very helpful. Thank you so much!

[ghazala aftab]

Hi!
Try playing 'Simon say.....' & silence game .

Take care.
ghazala

[Dawn Andersen-Lux]

Playing "Loud or quiet" is a good way to grab the attention of younger children, teach behaviour-related vocabulary and, at the same time get them to let off steam.
Get the children to shout "loud", as loud as they can. Ask them to shout it louder, then louder. Then get them to whisper "quiet" a few times, as quietly as they can.
Each time tell them to say it more quietly, until it is barely audible, then get them to shout "loud" again.
You can usually repeat this excercise quite a few times without them getting bored. It helps pad out a lesson when you run out of ideas, the little ones have picked up on that and getting restless.
You can also teach quite a lot of different words around the "quiet" & "loud" theme with this game.

[mesmark]

Quote Dawn Andersen-Lux

Playing "Loud or quiet" is a good way to grab the attention of younger children, teach behaviour-related vocabulary and, at the same time get them to let off steam.

That's always a great focusing activity

Here is a podcast on teaching children and there's some info in there on crowd control
ESL Teacher Talk » Blog Archive » Teaching Children vs. Teaching Adults

Here's another one and the guest Richard discusses some of his methods for handling large groups and the game of the week is a 'game' to get students into groups.
ESL Teacher Talk » Blog Archive » Getting ‘Genki’ With It

[mandyloo]

Hi!
I have them play 'Blindfold'.
Just get a cotton scarf or big hankie to tie around the kids eyes (more if there are several) Then dictate anything from animals & clothes to the sentences in a story for them to draw on the whiteboard.
Students really enjoy seeing the 'mess' they've made when they take the blindfold off. Good for practicing prepositions too!. If the class is big, you can have them make a picture in teams then vote whose was the craziest!

[Rafinha]

Hi!
I like the games 'slow reveal', 'disappearing cards' and 'Kim’s game'.
-Slow reveal: Cover a flashcard with cardboard larger than the size of the flashcard. Reveal the card little by little. When the students discover what the picture is, they raise their hands and say it.
-Disappearing cards: Students observe a set of flashcards for a minute. Then they close their eyes and the teacher makes one card disappear. Call a student to say what is missing.
-Kim's game: Show students a sequence of six cards and place them on the board facing down. Number all the cards. Divide students into 2 groups. A member of group A tosses a dice and names the card that matches the number on the dice. If correct, the group scores a point and the card is taken from the game.
Well, these games are really good, children love them! I hope you like it!