Crafts tips
for ESL kids teachers
Crafts tips to use in your ESL kids classes
Craft ideas for using in your kids English lessons!
Butterfly craft
Here is a great little craft – click here for worksheet and instructions. I use this craft with 3-6 year olds as part of an insects theme lesson. I also let students add glitter to the butterfly’s wings (make little ‘glue spots’ then sprinkle the glitter over the wings). This craft is on a great website: dltk-kids.com, which has lots of other crafts.
Carrot craft
This is a lovely craft: Cutie carrot. Students have to [hide_on_uk]color[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]colour[/hide_on_us] and stick eyes, nose, mouth and headband onto a carrot template. Good practice of face parts or part of a food/vegetable theme.
Eraser clay
This wonderful art product allows students to make their own eraser shapes. Click here for an example. The clay comes in different [hide_on_uk]colors[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]colours[/hide_on_us] and can be molded like any other clay. After making the erasers they are either baked in an oven or boiled in water for 10 mins (depending on the clay product). Good for making food, animal and vehicle shape erasers. (In Japan you can buy this clay, called ‘Nendo-Keshigomu’, at Tokyu Hands for around 200 yen).
Helicopter craft
This is a nice little craft which works well if you are teaching a transportation theme – click here for the craft sheet. Cut out the helicopter flier and have the students [hide_on_uk]color[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]colour[/hide_on_us] the shapes. Then fold the wings over, attach a paperclip to the base and drop from a height (standing on a table works well). The flier will twirl around and slowly float down to the ground like a helicopter!
Paper plate faces
Paper plates are great for drawing faces on (to teach nose, eyes, hair, ears, mouth, hair, eyebrow, eyelashes, cheeks, moustache, beard, chin and so on). You can get really creative too – use string for hair, paints, play doh for noses, etc. Click here for an example.
Stick [hide_on_uk]popsicle[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]lollypop[/hide_on_us] sticks on the bottom of the plates so children can hold the faces up and play out conversations between the plate characters. Emotions can also be draw (happy, sad, angry, sleepy, excited, surprised, etc.) and then used in touch games.
Play-Doh recipe
Play-Doh (see picture here) is such a useful supply, especially for younger students. It can be used for making food and animals, teaching [hide_on_uk]colors[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]colours[/hide_on_us] and even used to make alphabet shapes. You can buy it at most toy stores but it can be easily made – either before class or during class as an activity. Here is a worksheet recipe that can be used to make play doh in your class – click here.
Sesame Street craft
If you use any of the Sesame Street course books or puppets then why not check out this craft page? Kids love making their [hide_on_uk]favorite[/hide_on_uk][hide_on_us]favourite[/hide_on_us] character crafts – a sure fire way to get everyone excited in the activity. Many of the characters are here for you and your students to make – print out and glue together.
Sock puppet dialogs
Learning and acting out dialogs can be dull, embarrassing and sometimes seem pointless in a young learners classroom. However, dialogs can be a lot of fun with simple sock puppets. Students can act out skits with them (for example, based on a story they read in class) and use them to ask other students’ sock puppets all kinds of questions. Students can even make the sock puppets in class – see here for instructions.
