Here are a dozen tips to help you teach online preschool and keep your preschoolers engaged on Zoom! Teaching in a virtual preschool can be challenging. In this post, Deborah Browning, a successful online preschool owner, shows you how to do it.
1. Have A Letter Of The Week Paired With A Systematic Approach
Have a letter of the week, (and a number of the week, color of the week, and shape of the week, too.) Then use a systematic approach and teach the same skills each day of the week. For example:
- Monday—Introduce the Letter of the Week.
- Tuesday—Listen to a song (YouTube video) that shows the letter sound in words.
- Wednesday—Practice writing the letter.
- Thursday—Read a Letter Poem and have students find the letter on the screen.
- Friday—Do a Directed Drawing using the letter, for example, turn the capital letter J into a jack o’ lantern. The teacher draws a line for the picture and the student follows the drawing.
Following this pattern simplifies your lesson planning and helps children to know what to expect in your online preschool classroom.
2. When Teaching Letter Sounds in Online Preschool, Attach A Movement To The Letter Sound
By associating a movement to the letter sound it adds a kinesthetic learning aspect to the phonics lesson which gives the brain one more path to learn the information. For example, when teaching the letter W, you can say, “W, /w/, /w/ wave,” while waving your hand. Then tell the children to repeat the sound and do the action with you.
An added benefit of adding this movement to your virtual classroom is that it gives the children a chance to move. When teaching online preschool, the more movement you can add to your lessons the easier it will be to engage your students on Zoom.
3. Teach Both Capital And Lowercase, But Teach Them In Isolation
When a young child is presented with more than one piece of information at a time, they will focus on just one part of the information or just shut out the information altogether because they are overwhelmed. If you show them a red circle, for example they may notice that it is red or that it is a circle, but their one-track minds struggle to focus on more than one aspect at a time.
So, when you are teaching capital letters and lower-case letters, show only one of them at a time to avoid confusion. Also, avoid using flashcards with pictures on them so that the child can focus on the letter (number, color, shape) that is being taught, and not on whatever else is in the picture.
4. Use A Letter Of The Week Book
These little books are easy to make yourself, or you can find them to purchase or to print for free online. You may even find one at the library. A letter of the week book just has a picture on one page and the name of the object on the other page. Read through these little books on Monday when you introduce the new letter emphasizing the sound of the first letter of each word. You can also send your parents a digital copy of the booklet that they can download and print to read with their child, or they can share it with their child on a tablet or smartphone.
5. Every Letter Has A Song On YouTube
One of the best ways to teach preschoolers is through repetition, but just watching you say and do the same thing over and over again gets boring. So, add in songs to teach part of the lesson. Do a search for “letter J song” and you will find many possibilities. Look for one that teaches the letter sound, words that begin with J, and also adds in practice forming the letter in the air.
6. Also Use YouTube Videos To Reinforce Concepts
If you are studying opposites, there is a YouTube Video for that, if you are talking about the Mayflower, there is a YouTube Video for that, if you are learning about penguins, there is a YouTube Video for that. So many videos to use in your online classroom! And many of them also add that wonderful movement that is so important in a virtual preschool class.
7. When Teaching Sight Words, Teach Them “When You See It, You Say It”
The point in teaching sight words is to train the child’s brain to automatically read a familiar word without need to first sound it out. By teaching them “When you see it, you say it,” you train them to recognize the word and automatically read it.
8. When Teaching Sight Words, Move The Card To Different Part Of Screen
Show the flash card for the sight word and remind the children that “When you see it, you say it.” Then move the card out of sight and bring it back in a different part of the screen. Do this several times moving the card each time, left side, top, middle, right side, etc. Each time the word comes back into view, have the children say the word. This method is a more effective way to teach the sight word than just holding up the card again and again.
9. On Mondays, Review Previously Taught Sight Words
Remember that repetition is an extremely important facet of early childhood education. Continually reviewing the words that have already been taught helps the child to cement them into their long term memory.
10. Throughout The Week Show Sentences Using The Sight Words
Write out the sentences using the sight words and put a red dot under the sight word. As you read the sentences, point out the sight word and read the word together. More repetition, but also showing that there is a use for all the words they are learning.
11. Practice Several Different Skills When Teaching Math
A child can look at a flashcard and memorize the number, but it is also important for them to be able to show you the number. Show them the number 3 and have them show you three fingers, show them three objects and have them show you on their fingers how many there are, then have them say how many there are. If possible, have the parent provide manipulatives (buttons, beans, popsicle sticks, etc.) and have the child show you how many 3 is using the objects. Each of these skills is important to learn. This is also good practice in following directions which is a skill they will need as they get into higher grades in school.
12. Use A Lot Of Movement, Exaggerated Facial Expressions, And Various Voice Inflections
The more interesting you make your teaching the more engaged your online preschool class will be. Speak loudly at times and softly at other times. Use exaggerated facial expressions and arm movements. And, again, find lots and lots of ways to get the children up and moving all throughout the class.
Starting a virtual preschool business is possible and using these tips will help you learn how to teach online preschool.
How to Teach Online Preschool
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