• Home
  • Login
  • Registration
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
ESLarticle.com
Tweet
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Members
  • Add Article

Top Categories

Teaching 509
Other 210
Classroom Management 138
Career Development 135
Learning Methodology 121
Study Skills 90
E-Learning/CALL 87
English Language Learning (ELL) 78
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) 77
Teaching Methodology 76
English Language Teaching (ELT) 73
English as a Second Language (ESL) 64
Teach in Shanghai
Home / Articles / Lesson Planning / View Article

Publishing

  • Articles
  • Add Article
  • Articles Archive
  • Latest Articles
  • Popular Articles

Latest Articles

Jan 5, 2019

Metacognition in Reading Competency

As related to the reading process, metacognition can be defined as contemplation concerning one's own thinking processes or knowledge of one's own...

Jan 5, 2019

Mass Media Literacy Reflections for Language Instructions

"You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself." Galileo Galilei Mass media forms thrive today. As development...

Nov 30, 2018

Ideas for the First Class with New Learners

~~The first class with new learners can be an anxious one for all concerned – teacher as well as learners. Below are some tips to make that first...

Nov 19, 2018

10 Amazing Hacks for English Learners

10 Amazing Hacks for English Learners It is estimated that there are over a billion English speakers in the world, including native speakers,...

Nov 15, 2018

Building Reading and Writing Knowledge with Very Young Children at Hom

Education Today, December 2013 Building Reading and Writing Knowledge with Very Young Children at Home  Timothy G. Weih University of Northern...

Popular Articles

1144525 Views

5 Creative Ways to Decorate Your Classroom Bulletin Board This Winter

Back to school, fall leaves, Thanksgiving and Christmas all easily lend themselves to great decorating themes, but what to do when those are over...

383240 Views

Three Unique Ideas To Make Your Bulletin Board More Useful

Bulletin boards have long been existent in campuses. They have proven to be such versatile and useful aids in both the learning and teaching...

141003 Views

History of the Chalkboard

Walk into just about any classroom and you will find one: A dark green board on the wall, lined with pieces of chalk and felt erasers. Chalkboards,...

65307 Views

Report Card Comments

For a small minority, writing report cards isn't a big deal. But most teachers generally dread report card writing time. Completing the comment...

49456 Views

Second Language Acquisition: Swain's Output Vs Krashen's Input

1. Introduction: Input versus Output. A general overview In order to assess how compatible Krashen's and Swain's views are, it is essential to...


Preschool Theme Lesson Plans

by Mary Robinson

Aug 14, 2009 Lesson Planning 6933 Views

_notregistered/art_2436_3b8306d180~.jpg

Why Use Themed Lesson Plans?

Preschool themes are not essential for a successful preschool lesson, but they do help bring everything together and keep students engaged in learning.  For that reason, preschool themes are highly encouraged to help teachers save time and energy in their planning.

Preschool themes also help teachers show students how different things can be interrelated.  It allows them to dig deeper into the theme and explore it from different angles.

How to Use Themes

Once a teacher has chosen a theme, the next requirement is to determine how to fit a lesson into the constraints of the theme.  There should be several components to a themed lesson.  The first would be the main objectives, whether they are to teach geography or animals or new vocabulary.  These objectives should tie back to the theme.  For example, if the theme is animals, the learning objective could be to teach rainforest animals and the reason for their colors. 

Next, the lesson should have a physical activity to get students moving around and involved.  This activity could be a song, dance, scavenger hunt, or follow-the-leader game.  Again, the activity should tie back to the theme and allow students to explore it further.  If the theme is animals, students could imitate animals and require students to guess the correct animal.

Finally, the lesson should include a craft project.  This project should engage students creatively, encouraging them to use art to express themselves and learn more about the theme. 

Sample Themes

Because preschoolers are interested in the world around them, good themes tie back into the things they see everyday.  The following list is a good starting point for preschool teachers needing the ease of flexibility and a way to tie everything together.

• Automobiles
• World geography
• Mountains and volcanoes
• In the kitchen
• Pets
• At the zoo
• Weather
• Flowers
• Vacations
• Winter activities
• Holidays
• Seasons

Daily vs. Long Term Themes

Teachers who use preschool themes have a few options when it comes to the length of the theme.  They can either choose a theme for a day or one for longer.  Anything less than a day is not long enough for students to understand the connectedness of the activities.

If teachers want to expand preschool themes for a week or longer, they must choose a broad enough theme that all the days can tie together in some way.  For example, if the theme is weather, Monday could be the basic elemental movements making up weather, Tuesday natural disasters, Wednesday the water cycle, Thursday clouds, and Friday can tie it all together.

Final Thoughts on Preschool Themes

Preschool themes can help teachers tie lessons together and explore ideas in a deeper way than they otherwise could with less time.  Themes should be no shorter than one day, but can be much longer, such as a week or even more.  Themes should be broad enough that teachers can touch on many different aspects, but should be focused enough that students can see the connectedness of the ideas.

Article source: http://eslarticle.com/pub/lesson-planning/2436-preschool-theme-lesson-plans.html

  • General Information
  • Pictures
Author Info

Author Name: Mary Robinson

About Author: Mary Robinson has been teaching preschool for well over a decade. You can get instant access to her preschool activities, crafts, and lesson plans by visiting her website:\\r\\nhttp://www.mypreschoolplan.com

General

Pictures:

Most Recent Articles

  • Jun 21, 2017 Lesson Planning by Mary Robinson
  • Jan 21, 2017 Let Your Students Do the Thinking: The "4P" Approach to Lesson Design by Mary Robinson
  • Apr 8, 2016 Writing a Lesson Plan by Mary Robinson
  • Dec 9, 2015 How One "Magic Number" Should Shape Your Lesson Plans by Mary Robinson
  • Jun 28, 2015 The Real Curriculum Students Need by Mary Robinson

Actions

  • Print Page

Articles Archive

  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • December 2021

Random Articles

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)

Teach English and Live Abroad? Your Top TEFL FAQs Answered

Did you know that your ability to speak English could enable you to live abroad making money teaching English? A simple TEFL/TESOL course could be...

Reading

Metacognition in Reading Competency

As related to the reading process, metacognition can be defined as contemplation concerning one's own thinking processes or knowledge of one's own...

Learning Methodology

Learning Styles May Be a Myth, But Learning Preferences Do Exist

A lot of research has been done to discover if there is any truth to the idea that there are actually "learning styles." The studies have found...

Teaching

Ethics in Education - What Role Should Teachers Play

John Dewey, the father of progressive education, promoted the revolutionary notion for his time that formal education should be about more than the...

Classroom Materials

Flash Card Tips and Tricks

Flash cards remain one of the best tools for memorizing and learning information. The most common way to create flashcards is to use paper index...

About ESL Article

ESL Article is a private ESL/TEFL site designed and maintained by educators and educational administrators. It was launched in August 2008 with the aim of bringing ESL/TEFL students, parents, teachers and schools information and articles about the teaching profession and learning community.

Icon Group Member

ESL Article is a member of Icon Group Thailand (IGT), a group of ESL TEFL TESOL websites providing educational resources and information to teachers, schools and students around the world. The group was founded in 2003 and now includes 15+ websites covering educational information services, teaching resources and e-learning.

What is ESL?

English as a second language (ESL) is the use or study of English by speakers of different native languages. It is also known as English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), English as an additional language (EAL), and English as a foreign language (EFL).

  • Home
  • Registration
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Help
  • Partner
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
​

© 2022 ESLarticle.com.
Member of Icon Group Thailand - Educating the Future:
TESall All TESOL  Total ESL  ESL Job Feed
TEFL World  TEFL Jobs Overseas  Teach Overseas
Asia TEFL  ESL Powerpoint  Teacher Training