In Japanese

GenkiEnglish.com Curriculum / Lesson Plans


The basic outline of Genki English is ...

Step 1.
Songs & Games to learn the English

Step 2.
Put the English to use in real projects!


Needless to say it takes quite a bit of time to get to step 2.
But keep it in the back of your mind as we start with ....

A few words about step 1 ...

  • The aim of Genki English is to get the kids able to say * anything they want to say * in English, in as short a period of time as possible. We do that using the themes below.
  • The themes were chosen by researching hundreds and hundreds of kids and finding out what they want to say. ( But the curriculum is also now used to teach many adults as they find the course much more fun than traditional textbooks.)
  • If you are teaching in a normal elementary or private English school then I would recommend using these lessons as the main base of your course.
  • If you have a set textbook that you can't change, then use the lessons below as a "spice" to liven up your classes.
  • The lessons are presented in a thought out way that allows for plenty of review and a balance between topics that are very easy and those that may present a bit of a challenge. However the curriculum is mostly non-linear in format, so please feel free to mix and match, and change the order as much as you like. All classes are different and it is very important to mold the curriculum to the children's interests and abilities, not the other way round.
  • The songs are the reason this programme has become so successful. They allow you to teach a theme very quickly (as you have a solid goal) and the students can then use the song to review everyday, even if you are not present. e.g. at home, on the lunchtime broadcasts, morning assembly or cleaning time.
  • Reviewing of the material is very important. Review the previous lessons at the beginning of each new lesson by using the previous song. Plus I always leave room for lessons that are purely for review.
  • Each lessons consists of one English question and several answers to the question. Questions, rather than statements, are what children most usually want to communicate. The quantity of material allows a full theme to be taught, with a bit of practice, in one 45 minute lesson.
  • Each lesson should be broken down into the following sections:
    • 1. Warm up/Review (3-5 minutes)
    • 2. Introduction of new English (15-20 minutes), including teaching of the song. Use this 3 step approach to keep kids interest and energy levels high.
      • a) introduce new vocab
      • b) teach song a cappella with the "Mini Lesson"
      • c) sing together with the music,
    • 3. Practice of new material (15-20 minutes)
    • (See the "planning a fun 45 minute lesson" page for more details)
  • And of course all the lessons are designed to be lots of fun!

So to start off, pick a couple of the lessons below, give them a read and try them in your class!


Easy, easy lessons


Title Target English
Genki Disco Warm Up stand up, sit down, clap, cheer etc.
Rock, Paper, Scissors The game of "Janken" in English, getting the kids used to English and having fun. In Japan a very effective first lesson. For other countries, go straight to "What's your name?"
What's your name? What's your name? My name is ...... Nice to meet up.
+ eye contact!
How are you?
 How are you? I'm .. hungry, tired, cold, sad, happy, great, good, OK.
I'm a superhero! I can.... I can jump, run, hide, cook, stretch, climb, swim, fly
Left and right Left, right, forward, back, stop, stand up, sit down, spin, jump
Numbers 1 to 12 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
How old are you? I'm ... (years old). 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
(including 1 to 12 makes the step to teaching the time easier)
Weather What's the weather like? / How's the weather? It's..... rainy, cloudy, windy, snowy, sunny, fine, hot, a beautiful day.
Good Morning review of good morning, good afternoon etc.


Once you have the hang of those, you can try the ....

Linking together lessons


Title Target English
Do you like food? Do you like.....? I like..... + kids favourite foods
Do you like animals? Same English as above with animals.
I like animals I like snails, kangaroos, bears, ducks, camels, spiders, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, penguins, dinosaurs, bees.
I like vegetables I like onions, peas, carrots, beans, mushrooms, potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes
Do you have any pets? "Do you have ....?", "I have a ...."
hamster, rabbit, turtle, goldfish, lion, lizard, horse, gorilla
Animal Voices I have a ... dog, cat, bird, mouse, chicken, sheep, cow, pig, elephant, monkey, snake, tiger + the sounds they make.
Baby Monkey Family Who's this?
This is my ... brother, sister, dad, mum (mom), grandma

Do you have any brothers or sisters?		 Do you have any brothers or sisters?
I have 1,2,3,4 brothers.
I have 1,2,3,4 sisters.
No
Under the sea "What can you see?", "I can see a ..."
whale, squid, seahorse, jellyfish, crab, dolphin, shark, starfish
 Head & Shoulders  head, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, ears, mouth nose
Make a Face Parts of the face: "Put on the ..." ; "Draw a ...."
nose, ears, mouth, eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, hair, tongue.
 Let's make a monster  neck, toes, fingers, etc.
Body Parts Doctor, doctor, my .... head, arm, leg, stomach, hand, foot, back, tooth .... hurts


A touch higher level

Title Target English
Baby Monkey's Winter Clothes Put on, take off your hat, scarf, coat, boots
 
Baby Monkey's Summer Clothes		  Don't forget your ... plus hat, t-shirt, shoes, shorts, bucket, spade, fishing rod, shades, sunscreen
 Treasure Adventure  Phonics "ure" sound + there's a pirate, hat, parrot, map, ship, island, shark + presentations 
How many ... do you have? How many .... do you have?
How much? How much is that...? I'll take it! Thank you, goodbye
Numbers 13 to 20 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
 Shapes!  Triangle, circle, diamond, oval, rectangle, heart, square, star
 Christmas shapes I can see a triangle, circle, diamond, oval, rectangle, heart, square, star
Fruit Market What's this? What's that? Apple, orange, pineapple, banana, lemon, cherry, strawberry, watermelon, peach, grape, pear, kiwi fruit,
Can you speak....? Can you speak English, French, Chinese etc.
Learn to speak GermanCome on, Come on! kick, pass, shoot, save, catch, throw, head, score.
Learn to speak German Can you kick? Can I play?
Can you ... kick, pass, shoot, save, catch, throw, head, score?
I can do it! Confidence building! Can you do it? I can do it!
I can play the .... + musical instruments
Where are you from? Where are you from? I'm from...... America, Australia, Britain ( and constituent countries), China, Canada, Korea, New Zealand, Japan + any other countries that are relevant to the children's lives.
Where do you live? "Where do you live?", "I live near the...."
forest, river, bridge, farm, hospital, station, castle, supermarket.
How do you say ? How do you say ... in English? Review theme
Mr Octopus review
 I am a robot  Phonics "o" sound + "on" & "off"



More things kids like to ask

Title Target English
What time is it, Mr Wolf? What time is it? it's 1...12 o'clock.
What time is it? 2 It's 1:05, 2:10, 3:15 etc,
What sports do you play? What sports do you play?
I play.... tennis, soccer, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, rugby, baseball
When is your birthday? January, February, march etc. When is your birthday?
How did you get here? I came here by... aeroplane, car, train, rocket, helicopter, boat, bus, mountain bike
 Pirates & Colours  red, blue, black, white, grey, brown, pink, green
What's your favourite colour? red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, pink, orange, purple, gold, silver, bronze

What's your favourite flavour?		 I like ... ice cream flavours.
 
What's your favourite subject?		  I like math, art, science, P.E., music, English, social studies
What's your favourite ... ? What's your favourite ... ? movie, sport, cartoon, video game, pet, food, comic book, TV show.



Describing and ordering

Title Target English
Where are you going? Where are you going? I'm going to .... + mountain, pool, sea, beach, school, shops, park, home + other words that are relevant to the children
Eat! Drink! Dance! Basic commands used in the following songs.
What are you doing? What are you doing? + I'm... eating, drinking, reading, sleeping, singing, dancing, cooking, fishing
What do you want to do? I want to .... + verbs above
What do you want to be? I want to be a .... + jobs
  What do you want to be for Halloween?  I want to be a ... + Halloween outfits!
What do you do? What do you do? I'm a ... pilot, chef, farmer, teacher, doctor, student, fire fighter, police officer, carpenter, singer, dentist
I, you, he, she, we are happy pronouns + verb to be
Excuse me, are you...? Making questions from the words in the how are you song?
I have a question! Is it... big, small, a fruit, an animal, heavy, light, red, green
More questions Is it good, bad, slow, fast, expensive, cheap, scary, cute?
It's not bad, it's good! It's (not) hot, cold, new, cold, good, bad, high, low, fast, slow
I'm thirsty! I'm thirsty. Would you like a drink? Yes, please!
I'd like an orange juice, a glass of milk, a cola, a lemonade, a cup of tea, a hot chocolate, a milkshake.

What would you like for breakfast?		 I'd like some bacon, ham, eggs, bread, cereal, pancakes, fish, salad.
Bigger Please bigger, smaller, slower, faster, cheaper, "Is this OK?"
Where's the....? Where's the... toilet, phone, TV, teachers' room, computer, piano, CD player?
Over there!
 Days of the week  Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, today
When, When, When? When? This year, last year, next year, next month etc., Next week etc., today, yesterday, tomorrow.


More lessons


Title Target English
Creepy Crawlies What's that? What's this? It's a ... cockroach, beetle, caterpillar, butterfly, ant, worm, dragonfly, mosquito
 Where is the spider?  Under, on, behind, in front of, in, next to , near
Where is Mr Monkey? Where is ...? He's near, next to, in front of, behind, under, on, in
Where is Baby Monkey? Is he in the ... kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, dining room, garage, attic, garden.
 Look at me!  Look at me, him, her etc.
What do you think of ... ? What do you think of ...? I think it's/he's/she's good, great, cool, excellent.
Ordering Food I'd like some... apples, bananas, cheese, doughnuts, eggs, fish, grapes, hot dogs, ice cream, jelly, ketchup, lettuce, mayonnaise. Try the "Do you like food?" theme before this one!


Holidays & Special Events


Title Target English
Easter Egg Hunt "Look, in the ...."
trees, grass, pond, flowers, bath, bed, fridge

Happy Halloween		 Happy Halloween! "I'm scared", "Look, there's a ..."
wizard, witch, ghost, mummy, bat, broom, wand, vampire
Who is in the haunted house? Who is in the .... + kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, dining room, garage, attic, garden.
 Skeleton Soup  Give me .... + body parts + foot/feet etc.
Apple Bobbing Apple Bobbing rules for Halloween.
Trick or Treat Trick or Treat + Scarecrow Soup, Skeleton Steak, Monster Mash, Pirate Pancakes, Black Cat Cookies, Pumpkin Pie, Spider Spaghetti, Ice Cream Eyes!
 Thanksgiving  I thankful for my .... friends, school, toys, food, family, clothes, teacher
 Gingerbread Man A play in English! 
 Decorate the Christmas tree  How about some + angels, candles, elves, turkey, holly, bells, snow, mistletoe
 Let's build a house  windows, door, walls, roof, garden etc.
 Let's build a gingerbread house  windows, door, walls, roof, garden etc.
 Let's build a snowman  Body parts body, head, nose, neck, eyes, arms, buttons, mouth
Genki Christmas snowman, Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas tree, Christmas stocking, candy cane, presents, Christmas card.
 What colour is Christmas?  red, white, green, gold, blue, purple, orange, silver

What would you like for Xmas?		 "What would you like for Christmas?" "I'd like a ..."
robot, doll, bag, video game, bear, phone, rainbow, bone
 
Where are the Christmas presents?		  Next to, under, on etc.
 Happy New Year! Happy New year! 


Printable Versions

Owners Club Members can also print out all the lesson plans in one go from the links below:
There are versions in different languages if you are team teaching with a teacher who isn't confident in English.

( NEW: Here's a Super Easy Version of the Lesson Plans with detailed step by step instructions for the first 34 themes. Use this if you don't yet have confidence teaching Genki English! )


English (normal)
English (easy)
Spanish - en espanol


Mandarin Chinese
(follows the order of the
easy English book)
Thai
Japanese
         

Italian 		  
German
(up to "I like animals") 		    



+ Exclusive Download Themes

If you are a member of the VIP Owners Club, you can also access these exclusive "beta test" lessons:

"I can do it!" and "Try again!"
Phonics "i" Song: Is it it...?

And we'll have more to come as we develop more lessons.

Then once the kids have mastered the English using the lessons above...

Step 2. GenkiEnglish.com Real Projects
For students who have completed most of the songs & game themes

Once children have studied the songs and games they will have a very solid base and be able to communicate most of what they would like to be able to say in English, the topics were, after all, chosen by talking to hundreds of kids and finding out what they wanted to ask people from other countries. From this point they actually use this English to learn about the World and gain "International Understanding". This section of the curriculum is still under development, but two projects that are available and which work very successfully are:
These projects make full use of the technologies around today to allow the kids to directly communicate with their peers in other countries. It really instills a desire to communicate and learn more about the World!

Try them out and let me know how you get on!

What about reading / writing?


The curriculum above is mainly about getting the kids * speaking *.
In nearly every country in the world, this is the biggest challenge that needs addressing.

The good news is that once the kids speak well, by doing all the lessons above, it's really easy to start reading using Genki Phonics to quickly learn to read. Then they can start to ace all the school tests!

But.... there's no point starting reading or writing till the kids can actually talk in English.
I'm sure you've all seen what happens when things are done the opposite way round!

If you are forced to do reading earlier than have a look at the "5 minute phonics" page.

For Adult / High School Learners see the Genki English Hip Hop themes.


How was it?



Was that cool? Or are you full of questions? Don't worry, there's a lot to take in!

Have a read through this page again, check out the lesson plan overview videos, and simply email me if you have any unanswered questions.
It sometimes takes me a little time but I do reply to every single email I get sent
and I really appreciate all the questions as it helps me learn where I need to explain things more clearly!

In any case, enjoy, your students are going to love Genki English!
So pick up your Teacher's Set and get started today!




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