How long to teach a topic?
 

I'm privately teaching english to kids and adults in Germany. For the kids I do a ten lesson course, so a one hour lesson per week. I usually try to pick a topic (colors, numbers, farm animals, etc.), teach the vocabulary, sing a song, play a game, do an activity, read a story, etc.

How long should I stay on one topic? One topic a week? Or do the same topic until I feel that the kids "get it"? I was doing four weeks with a different topic each week and then week 5 for review. But I also review the words from last week, each week with a game. Is that enough?

My coworker reviews a topic about 4 times before she moves to a new topic. I think that is really less. I feel it's better to introduce the kids to as much vocab as possible and build on it over time. What do you do? What do you think?

Re: How long to teach a topic?
 

I teach one topic for 3 or 4 weeks (one class per week) and then I move on, but in the beginning of class I have a 10-15 minute review time where I continue to practice and review the previous topics and language associated with them.

Re: How long to teach a topic?
 

How old are the kids?
I teach 7 to 9 year olds and teach each topic for 2 weeks. 1st lesson to introduce vocabulary, do related activities and maybe a craft. The 2nd week is for review and another 1 or 2 activities.
To make sure they have not forgotten previous topics, I do a quick review at the beginning of each class or do a game if time permits (Simon Says is great for review). To dwell on "easy" topics like colors etc. for more than 2 lessons is testing their patience too much, I would say.

Re: How long to teach a topic?
 

I have different groups. Some are 4-6 years old, some are 7-9 years old. I think 2 lessons for one topic is enough and just review as we go along. Thanks for your replies...

Re: How long to teach a topic?
 

Teaching 1 hour a week for only 10 weeks must be a difficult task. I'm sure parents are expecting results and spending 4 classes on the same topic would be detrimental. One way to see results is to teach your lesson, send interesting practice activities for home (try finding free online games and activities and creating board games they can play with their families), and then reviewing for a couple of minutes in the next class. Also, try getting a song related to each topic so they can be singing at home. If you have a web page, you can upload or post it there. You can do some much for FREE with the internet and get great results. Of course, parental involvement is a must. Good luck!:)