Teaching Young children can be challenging just because it’s difficult to get their attention and keep it for an extended period of time. However there are a few things to keep in mind that will make teaching young students easier.

Change Activities Often
If you’re teaching children how to introduce themselves, plan a bunch of shorter activities instead of one long one. Each activity should last about five to fifteen minutes maximum. Young children simply can’t pay attention for a longer period of time and will start fidgeting.

Move Around
TPR, or Total Physical Response, is great for children. Think of Simon Says and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Children love to be active and move around, so if you can add any movement to your class, kids will love it.

Games Rule
Forget boring fill in the blank activities. Put those same questions on a game board and children will be mesmerised. Card games work well as well. Try Games Galore http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/gamesgalore/ and Mark’s English www.mes-english.com for game ideas and templates.

Group Children Differently
Children lean just as much, if not more, from their peers as they do their teacher. High level students can learn from lower students and vice versa. By changing the grouping, children move around, but more importantly work with different people. They learn group work skills in addition to language skills. When you pair students up, they can sit side-by-side, face-to-face, back-to-back, or even have pairs on opposite sides of the room. Small groups work well around a table or sitting on the floor. Larger groups, or splitting the class in half work well for competition, whole-class games.

Rewards
Rather than punishing students for bad behaviour, try rewarding them for good behaviour. Stickers, stamps, and little gifts are wonderful ways to reward students that behave well. Even praise works wonders. Watch what happens when you compliment one student on sitting properly in his chair, all the others will quickly sit up straight because they want to be praised as well.

These are just a few tips, try talking with other teachers as well. By sharing your ideas, both you and your students will enjoy learning more.