Project-­‐Based  Learning  for  Preschool  EFL  

By  Vanessa  Jencks  

Preschool  focu

sed,  

EFL/ESL  and  PB

L…..  

that  seems  

impossible!  

It’s  All  in  the  family  •  Preschool  EFL  Curriculum  

Standards  for  Unit  2:  –  Family  Names  –  Birthday  CelebraKons  –  CounKng  –  Sequencing  

 •  Problem:  The  unit  focuses  

JUST  on  vocabulary  and  grammar  acquisiKon  instead  of  deeper  learning.  

Family  language  unit  for  a  whole  month….  Boring!  

Entry  Event  –  Step  one  •  Teacher  exposes  students  

to  diverse  families  from  around  the  world  and  what  they  do  together.    –  Books  –  Videos  of  families  –  Videos  of  guest  speakers  

from  around  the  world  •  Teachers  MUST  guide  

iniKal  exposure  in  all  project  based  learning.    

•  Even  the  youngest  students  should  noKce  a  difference  in  living  quarters  and  physical  features.  

   

Webbing–  Step  Two    

•  Students  and  teacher  brainstorm  about  what  families  do  together  to  form  a  web  chart.    –  Examples  

•  Eat  together  •  Go  on  vacaKon  •  Do  chores  

•  Webbing  supports  student  voice  and  choice  for  preschoolers.    

Families  

Eat  together  

Go  on  vacaKon  

Do  Chores  

Live  together  

My  kids  will  need  me  to  prepare  pictures  so  all  language  level  students  

understand  “eat  together”  and  other  ideas  we  brainstorm.    

Project  CreaKon  –  Step  Three  •  Create  Projects  for  Top  

Interest  Links  –  (Students  probably  had  the  most  

to  say  or  the  most  excitement  when  this  acKvity  was  listed)    

Last  year  my  students  were  fascinated  by  

big  style  houses  in  the  US.    

Pre-­‐Project:  From  my  family  to  yours  

•  Teacher  will  expose  students  to  homes  and  families  of  specific  countries  through  further  exposure.    

•  This  introduces  comparing  and  contrasKng,  a  criKcal  thinking  skill  needed  for  preschoolers’  futures!  

Project:  From  my  Family  to  Yours  •  In  Small  groups,  students  will    color,  cut  and  glue  

together  “homes”  that  represent  families  from  around  the  world.    

•  Preschoolers  need  to  make  things  with  their  hands!  

AccommodaKons  

•  Since  preschoolers  are  limited  in  ability:  – Pre-­‐made  black  and  white  clipart  images  for  coloring.  

– Keeping  it  simple  for  EFL:    •  Japanese  home  coloring  pages  will  only  have  Japanese  family  opKons,  no  mixing  with  American  or  Chinese  family  opKons!    

 

Project  PresentaKon  

•  Groups  show  off  project  to  the  whole  class.    – Teacher  will  focus  on  posiKve  feedback  rather  than  criKques  at  this  age.  

•  Projects  displayed  on  the  English  bulleKn  board.    •  Pictures  sent  on  WeChat  to  students’  parents.  – Parents  can  engage  with  students  about  what  they  learned.    

References  •  What  is  Project  Based  Learning  (PBL)?  

(n.d.).  Retrieved  September  20,  2015,  from  hep://bie.org/about/what_pbl  

•  Bietz,  K.  (2012,  September  9).  Engaging  Your  Early  EducaKon  Students  With  a  Webbing  Curriculum  (J.  Wylie,  Ed.).  Retrieved  September  20,  2015,  from  hep://www.brighthubeducaKon.com/teaching-­‐preschool/93158-­‐creaKng-­‐an-­‐early-­‐ed-­‐webbing-­‐curriculum/?cid=parsely_rec  

 

•  Bietz,  K.  (2012,  September  9).  UKlizing  Project-­‐Based  Lessons  for  Your  Preschoolers  (J.  Wylie,  Ed.).  Retrieved  September  20,  2015,  fromhep://www.brighthubeducaKon.com/teaching-­‐preschool/93027-­‐project-­‐based-­‐learning-­‐for-­‐preschoolers/  

•  Bietz,  K.  (2012,  September  9).  Engaging  Your  Early  EducaKon  Students  With  a  Webbing  Curriculum  (J.  Wylie,  Ed.).  Retrieved  September  20,  2015,  from  hep://www.brighthubeducaKon.com/teaching-­‐preschool/93158-­‐creaKng-­‐an-­‐early-­‐ed-­‐webbing-­‐curriculum/?cid=parsely_rec