Teaching Classroom Objects to ESL kids

Below are a few useful teaching points and ideas taken from our free Classroom Objects lesson plan.

Teaching points / tips

Here are a few fun activities you can do in your lesson based on the classroom objects theme:

1. Introduce the vocab

Today your students are going to learn classroom related words such as table, chair, bookcase, door, window. Before class, print off enough flashcard pictures of each of these words for each student in your class as well as yourself (so if you have 8 students you will need 9 table flashcards, 9 chair flashcards, etc.).

Start off by getting everyone sitting on the floor in front of you. Hold up the table flashcard. Proceed as follows:

Teacher: What’s this? It’s a table. Repeat “table”.
Students: “Table” (repeat 3 times)
Teacher: Can you see a table in the classroom? Point to the table.
Students: (Point to tables)
Teacher: Yes! Good job!

Lay the flashcard on the floor. Then do the same for the other flashcards.

Next give each student the same flashcards and have them lay the cards out in front of them. Touch one of your cards (e.g. door) whilst saying the word and have your students touch and repeat on their cards. Go through all of the cards.

2. Play “Stick the flashcards onto the classroom objects”

Give each student a ball of Blue-Tack. Everyone will instantly want to play with it – allow a couple of minutes to play (encourage them to mould objects, such as fruit, etc.).

Then bring the focus of the class back to yourself and demonstrate the activity: hold up the door flashcard, pull off a bit of Blue-Tack and stick it to the back of the card. Then walk over to a door in the classroom and stick the card to the door. Say “Door” as you do so. Hold up the next flashcard and encourage students to point to the object (act as if you have no idea where it is) then walk over and stick the card to the object, again saying the name. Do this for all flashcards.

Now your students can do the same thing. Teacher says an object (e.g. “table”) and all of the students have to stick their flashcards onto the object, whilst saying the word. Do for all objects.

3. Play “Retrieve the flashcards from the classroom objects”

Now that all of the flashcards are on objects in the classroom, we can bring them back. To do this, the teacher can give individual instructions to students to go and get a different object and place in front of them. Get everyone up and retrieving different cards at the same time, for example:

Teacher: Miki, bring back the door card, please
(Miki stands up and goes towards the door)
Teacher: Jose, bring back the bookcase flashcard, please
(Jose stands up and goes towards the bookcase)
etc.

This should be fun and a little hectic. When everyone has collected the items and sat down with the flashcards in front of them the activity is over.

4. Play “Knock-knock”

Collect up the flashcards. Tell everyone to close their eyes. Walk up to one of the objects (e.g. the window) and knock twice on it. Encourage the students to shout out what they think you are knocking on. Each time they can open their eyes to check.

Then pair up your students and get them to play “Knock-knock” together.

5. Play “Classroom Objects” touch

Have everyone stand up in the middle of the classroom. Teacher shouts out a word (e.g. “Touch the door!”) and everyone must run to the door and touch it. This should be a quick and exciting game.

After a few rounds, feel free to add other words that have been covered in previous lessons.