What will my ESL young learners learn?

Stick puppets give you opportunities to practise all sorts of language! You can use them to practise other non-story language while pretending to be a character.

If you intend to use them to retell or roleplay parts of the story, your young learners can practise some of the following:

Character and prop vocabulary

witch (Meg), cat (Mog), owl, friends, mouse, cauldron

Sample storytelling phrases

Meg is sleeping.
“Wake up Meg!”
“It’s time to get dressed.”
“Let’s cook breakfast.”
“Where’s my cauldron?”
“Can I have an ‘egg’, please?”
“Let’s fly!”

Game and activity language

Where’s the…? It’s here. It’s there. Is it…? Yes, it is. No, it isn’t. What is it? It’s a.. It’s…

What’s first? What comes next? What’s after/before the…?

Can you find the…? I can see a…

Can I have..? Here you are. Thank you. You’re welcome. Colours, crayons, pens, pencils, glue, scissors. I’m finished.

What do teachers say about the resources?

Wow! I used this resource for one of my labs and it has been explosive. Children were super excited and of course, I was as well! Nothing to complain about! Great work!

I have recently started to use storytelling in my classes and ESL labs. Fiona’s resources are a real treasure. Lots of useful tips and ready-to-use material to bring the story to life and help kids use the language. Excellent, couldn’t ask for more.

The resources were great and saved me so much time, the teaching tips gave me ideas. We had a lot of fun with it : the kids loved the activities, learnt the animals and movements and understood the story. And I feel like there is so much more I could have done. Thank you !

I found this resources few weeks ago and now I’m always have a look first on this web. The range of activities are awesome!

I love the resources and the kids seemed to enjoy too. I had a hard time today with a mixed-age group (from 6 to 14!), but the abundance of differentiated activities Fiona offers made it much easier for me to make the time spent together meaningful.

Most importantly, my students really enjoyed the process of making their own mini book. It also served as an assessment, as I was able to see clearly which students were having issues with reading and matching – but it didn’t feel like an exam or test for the students at all. I only wish I’d found this at the beginning of the academic year.

Frequently asked questions

Can't I just make these resources myself for nothing?

Yes, of course! Maybe you have the time and enjoy creating things, but it has to be said that being a young learner teacher can involve a HUGE amount of extra work making materials. Give yourself a break!

How do I know these materials will work?

All my materials have been tried and tested in the classroom. As well as having almost 20 years of teaching experience, I am also a qualified trainer for the Trinity TYLEC (Teaching Young Learners Extension Certificate), so you can rely on the quality.

I'm teaching mixed aged groups. Will these materials work?

Yes! They work great for mixed aged groups and different abilities because they come with different templates AND different suggestions with how to use the resource. No time wasted on adapting different worksheets!

I need a ready to go lesson plan. Can I use this?

The provided activity suggestions for during and after the craft give you all the steps you need to create a fun and engaging lesson for your young learners. Add in your storytelling (videos on the Meg and Mog Story Resource Page), and a vocabulary game and you’re all set.

Wouldn't it be easier to just do a worksheet?

You can certainly find some free worksheets out there, but I can guarantee your young learners will be much more excited to create and play with these. Engaged and motivated children make for a happy lesson (and teacher!)

Once you’ve had a chance to use your materials, don’t forget to come back to leave a review. As a thank you, you’ll receive a 20% discount on any other resource : )