Online ESL Curriculum for Beginners
For Online ESL Teachers, Level 1 can be challenging to teach, but it’s also a lot of fun! Level 1 classes must be high energy and provide a strong phonics foundation for beginner ESL students to blast off!
We packed these lesson plans with bright colors, animations, songs, and immersive 3D graphics to grab your student’s attention. There are plenty of vocabulary builders, practice sentences, activities, and phonics exercises to keep your students learning effectively!
Read on for a short guide to help you and your student get the most out of our Level 1 Online ESL Curriculum!
Are you ready to blast off?
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Yes, I want my free trial!Who is our Level 1 ESL Curriculum for?
Our Online ESL Curriculum is specifically for online teachers working with beginner English students. Level 1 students are usually in grade levels PreK-1st. This curriculum is not for teaching English to adults.
You can also use it with native English speakers learning to read and write. You can even use the slides with in-person group classes by presenting on the board. Parents can use these lessons at home to practice and reinforce language skills.
What does Level 1 cover?
Our Level 1 Online ESL Curriculum covers the basic alphabet and short/long letter sounds. Students will learn vocabulary groups; feelings, colors, shapes, adjectives, animals, family, action verbs, body parts, clothing, seasons, the five senses, the home, food, occupations, places, and prepositions.
Level 1 Overview:
Unit 1: Big/Small Letters A to Z, Numbers 1 to 10, Basic Feelings, Colors
Unit 2: Short Vowels A and O, Consonants (B, M, T, P), Shapes, Adjectives, Jungle Animals, Same/Different
Unit 3: Short Vowels (A, E, I, O, U), Consonants (C, D, N, S), Shapes, Adjectives, Family Members, Action Verbs, Many/Few
Unit 4: Short/Long Vowels (A, E, I, O, U), Consonants (H, G, F, L), Action Verbs, Body Parts, Clothing, Seasons, To Be
Unit 5: Short/Long Vowels (A, E, I, O, U), Consonants (R, W, K, V), Action Verbs, Body Parts, 5 Senses (Taste, Smell, Touch, See, Hear), Comparing Sizes
Unit 6: Short/Long Vowels (A, E, I, O, U), Consonants (Q, J, X, Y, Z), Action Verbs, Home Vocabulary, Rooms, Prepositions of Place
Unit 7: Occupations, Places, Action Verbs, Transportation, Digraphs (ee, ea, ey, i_e), Prepositions, Comparing Sizes
Unit 8: Food
Unit 9: Time & Date
Unit 10: Big Review
How should I pace the Level 1 lessons?
We highly recommend your students take only 1-2 classes per week. We designed Level 1 for complete beginners without prior English language training. The first unit starts with the ABCs, so skip it if your student already knows the alphabet.
If your student is a quick learner, you might move through 2 lessons in one 25-min class period. If they need a slower pace, take your time working through each lesson. Adjust the speed to match your students and take more time for free talk if their ability allows for it! It’s beneficial to go back to the review classes from time to time.
At this level, it is important to build a solid foundation of skills. You can take things step-by-step here! Online English students benefit most from the talk time. During Level 1 ESL lessons, take any opportunity for simple chats.
Is the Level 1 curriculum interactive?
We have made sure that our Online ESL Curriculum is fully interactive. Each unit has slides with click & drag activities, clickable buttons, interactive rewards, gifs, transitions, audio effects, hover effects, and games.
Most of our Level 1 classes start with some music! Songs are a perfect way to start or end class. You can also use the videos anytime your student needs a break.
Check out some of our favorite interactive slides from Level 1!
How do I use these lessons in class?
You can access the Level 1 ESL Curriculum in the Curriculum Control Center. Just select your unit and start teaching!
You can view sample slides without a membership, but need to sign up to access the complete lessons. Use the long free trial period to ensure our Online ESL Curriculum works for your student’s learning goals. You can cancel your membership anytime.
To use, open your browser and screen share directly into the class using Zoom or any platform. The interactive features will work for you. However, interactivity will only work for your student if you use a platform that allows co-browsing. (Try KoalaGo or RemoteHQ)
Read more about using RemoteHQ with this curriculum here.
In ClassIn, interactivity will work for the student if you use teacher screen share and the student uses a computer. It does not currently work if the student is on a tablet. The ClassIn browser tool works well for cleanly presenting the lesson without screen share.
Even if your student can’t use the interactive features, having the interactive slides (especially drag/drop) is helpful when explaining concepts. It still will hold their attention better than a static slide. We hope to see even more co-browsing solutions geared towards education come out in the next year!
Do I need any other teaching tools or resources?
1) You will need a small prop collection covering the basic vocabulary groups.
Whiteboard, Microphone
People & Animal Puppets (We use these.)
Color & Shape Props
Food Props (We prefer actual food!)
Clothing Props
2) You will need some homework/assignments to use if parents request extra material.
It is up to you and the parent to decide if homework is necessary. Some extra practice is a good idea for kids just starting a new language!
In the future, we will add homework packs for each of the units. For now, this workbook will help you with Unit 1 homework. It is free in our download shop!
3) You will need high energy!
You can use singing, dancing, and TPR to keep your students moving. The younger kids enjoy building the letters with their arms or singing silly songs. They sometimes need a lot of encouragement, so keep it up with the high-fives during this level!
Are you ready to blast off?
Unlock the full ESL curriculum for 1 month!
Lock in a lower membership rate while we expand our lessons
Yes, I want my free trial!To sum it up...
Our Level 1 ESL Curriculum is extremely rewarding to teach! Level 1 lays a solid foundation for beginner ESL students to build on. Enjoy singing, dancing, and learning sounds/vocabulary with your Level 1 students! It is especially important to build up their confidence during this learning stage.
Leave us a comment below if you love teaching Level 1 ESL students and tell us why!
