Discover creative strategies to engage young learners under 10 in virtual exchanges with Level Up Village. Explore tips to enhance their global connections, communication skills, and learning experience.
1. Keep Activities Short and Sweet
You think it’s hard to keep a teenager’s focus? Good luck with the kiddies, then! I’m a self-proclaimed dynamic personality in the classroom, and I’ve never felt more ignored than when I taught seventh grade. Young children have much shorter attention spans than their older models, so it’s essential to keep activities concise and focused. Aim for activities that can be completed within 15-20 minutes. Break larger tasks, like reading Strega Nona or Monkey, prewriting video scripts, and the video process into smaller steps and provide clear, simple instructions to avoid overwhelming them.
Their videos need not be all one take, either! Encourage them to keep things exciting by making shorter clips, and help them get over any anxieties that “it has to be right the first time.” This will help keep them on task, as well.
2. Use Visuals and Interactive Tools
Incorporate visuals, props, and interactive tools to make the experience engaging. For example, when students record their videos, they could hold up drawings, maps, or crafts they’ve made. Level Up Village’s platform supports multimedia sharing, so encourage students to upload photos or videos of their work to enrich the exchange.
In addition, for class discussions, have students write or draw their ideas before they contribute them. Are there places in their community they’d like to share by drawing a map of the town and labeling important landmarks? Perhaps a tour of their home might be easier with a labeled blueprint first? Or maybe they’d like to show some photos of their family members and pets as they talk about the people who matter most to them? Visuals can often get some of the quieter, shier students to open up as well!
3. Integrate Play and Movement
Play is a natural way for young learners to engage. Incorporate games, songs, or simple movement activities that relate to the exchange topic. For example, if the theme is about daily life, students might act out parts of their day or sing a song about their routine to share with their international peers.
They may also like to act out certain moments from the readings or improvise small skits. Everyone, show me how Strega Nona or Zomo the rabbit like to dance! Or, talk to your partner in the voice of your favorite character from the stories we’ve read! Plenty of impromptu “get up and move around” moments will lead to a memorable experience and keep kids focused.
4. Simplify Language and Provide Sentence Starters
Provide students with sentence starters or simple templates to guide their communication. I like doing this in my high school classes for language learners and especially teaching boys who often can clam up during discussions, or give me very little in their writing. For younger learners, this support helps them express themselves confidently, even if they’re still developing their language skills. Think about some of these prompts:
- “My favorite food is ____.”
- “At school, we like to ____.”
- “I live in ____, and it’s very ____.”
5. Foster Emotional Connections
Young children thrive on connections–especially emotional ones. Think back on when you might have participated in an exchange or a pen pal program, and how much it excited you to get a message from your partner. You can inspire the same excitement in your virtual exchange: help them see their exchange partners as real friends by encouraging personal touches. They can share their favorite toys, pets, or family traditions. You can also organize a class project where each student contributes to a collective video or piece of artwork to share with the partner class.
6. Create a Routine
Establish a predictable routine for virtual exchange activities. For instance, dedicate a specific day of the week to working on exchange projects. Routines provide a sense of stability and help students anticipate and look forward to the activities.
Admittedly, this can be hard for teachers with complicated schedules, or a time of the year with interruptions and special programming but trust me–it’s worth the squeeze! Kids will look forward to the predictability, and they may even remind you of when it’s time to work on their videos.
Level Up Village’s virtual exchanges can open up a world of possibilities for younger learners. It sounds like it would be more challenging than working with older students, but in many ways, it could be more rewarding! By tailoring your approach to their needs and interests, you’ll create a memorable and enriching experience that sets the foundation for global citizenship. Plus, harnessing their unabashed excitement and willingness to share can undoubtedly lead the experience to newfound heights.
