In the online ESL classroom, physical props are SUPER DUPER AWESOME for adding some pizzaz to your lessons. You only have 25-28 minutes to capture the student's attention and keep them engaged. Student engagement is the key to increasing your opportunity for quality English language practice. I find that having a handful of colorful props within reach increases my effectiveness as a teacher and also encourages student output (which the parents LOVE).
When I was first hired, I spent a lot of time preparing props. However, once I found my teaching groove, I was able to see which props I was using over and over again, and which props I could probably go without. ALL of my props are contained in one desk-top container and one desk drawer. That's it! And I'm okay with this. Keeping my stash small cuts down on my prep (and clean up) time, and keeps me from becoming overwhelmed with stuff.
I also have two boys at home, ages 2 and 4. Their toys totally double as my props. I usually look over my lessons the night before and make note of some toys that I could grab to explain a concept or demonstrate vocabulary. Cars, trucks, trains, puzzles, books, animals, play food, tools, etc. If you have easy access to TOYS, you're set!
One tip I have for keeping your prop stash compact is to use the same prop in as many ways as you can. You can use your Meg character to teach "she", "her", "hair", "eyes", "legs", "shoes", etc. You can use a couple of toy vehicles to show "long", "short", "fast", "slow", "big", "small","wide", "narrow", "same", "different", colors, transportation, etc. In this way you can cover many more lessons and concepts with less physical props.
When you're working on gathering props for your classroom, remember to think thrifty! It's way too easy to spend a fortune on all of the cute prop things. I made many of my props (as you can see) by printing them or by drawing on flashcards. I also kept my eyes open for useful props at thrift stores, dollar stores, garage sales, and of course the beloved dollar spot at Target. Some of my 2D props are laminated, however, I actually prefer to just print them on sturdy card stock. This way I don't have to worry about the camera/light glare while teaching.
My favorite prop tip is to check out Google Slides! Now. Go. Run. Here you will find a plethora of free, teacher made props and rewards, organized beautifully, ready and waiting for you to start supplementing your physical props in the classroom. Game. Changer. (I would wait to start exploring these resources until after you have a few classes under you belt. This way you will have a good idea as to how you'll be able to implement them in the most effective and seamless way.) **If you are a true minimalist at heart, VIPKid Google Slides (and a whiteboard) may be all you really need! They’re the THAT great.**
Physical props I would recommend having on hand:
Whiteboard and dry-erase markers (I regularly use 2 whiteboards)
Letter/number flashcards
Color flashcards (or grab some colored markers/crayons to represent colors)
Emojis of some sort
A puppet (I found mine on eBay) (or stuffed animals - the students love them)
A few examples of shapes (you can also draw on whiteboard)
Some animals/animal flashcards
China/America flags
Simple world map or globe
Ball, apple, cat (A, B, C)
"My name is ___." visual
Visual for "family"
Dry erase dice (from the Dollar Tree) (I use these every class to practice sight words/verb conjugation)
Something fun for celebrating success (hand clappers, pom poms, trophy, etc.)
YES/NO cards
Meg, Mike, Dino (and a few other VIPKid characters)
Microphone (I use this for the opening/closing songs in every class. My first microphone was make out of a toilet paper tube and a ball of foil!)
A system to teach pronouns/verb conjugations
Here are some other great resources to check out for FREE props:
VIPKid Printable Props & Resources - this is where I found my VIPKid characters, verb conjugation sheet, and so much more!
Search on the Teachers Pay Teachers site for free printables and online teaching rewards.
What questions do you have about props? What are your must-have props? Stay tuned for another post soon about #REWARDS!
<3 Teacher Chelsea
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