The benefits of using VIPKID props during your classes cannot be overstated. Not only do props allow the student to engage in the lessons in new ways, they help bring your class to life and better illustrate what you’re teaching.
However, props should not be used for the sake of just using them – the best results come from working them into your lesson planning and having specific props for each concept.
Luckily, there are lots of great props on the market and most of them are very affordable. In fact, many teachers are able to find props around their house to use in their VIPKid classroom and others can be bought easily enough online.
While teaching with VIPKid, you will see that using props is an integral part of their teaching platform and your props can really make teaching their lessons more engaging for both you and the students!
As a current VIPKid teacher, the following props are tried and tested for being effective and engaging with students. They should be a part of your basket of props to use in all classes since their functions are multi-faceted and versatile!
9 Awesome VIPKid Props
Puppets
Puppets are an excellent way to make a quiet student feel involved and comfortable in your classroom. You can use your puppets in so many ways, it really makes it one of the most versatile VIPKid props to have in your classroom.
A puppet can also become your classroom “mascot”, a recognizable character that always makes an appearance (this is also great for branding yourself!). Students will love to come back to your class because of your sidekick puppet that helps with the learning.
Some other possible ways to use puppets are:
- Teach body parts
- Learn actions and movements
- Model asking/answering a question
- Redirect a students behavior and attention
Hand Pointers
These hand pointers make a great addition to anyone’s prop basket because they can be used for anything. If you are a traveling teacher, or you keep things simple in your classroom, you will want to find a set of versatile props. Using these handpointeres allows you to teach concepts like “this” and “that” and “near / far”. In addition, hand pointers are good for teaching instructional things that the student needs to do on a slide like:
- Drag & drop
- Circling items
- Drawing a line
Dino (one of the best VIPKid props!)
Dino will become your best friend in the classroom! Everyone loves a surprise visit from Dino and he will help bring your lessons to life. Not only is he VIPKid’s official mascot, but he is also a great way to engage with your students, both younger and older!
Dino can help younger students feel comfortable in the classroom and acts as a prop to teach body parts, actions, and question/answer responses. You will love having Dino in your classroom and you will want to add more of these collectibles as time goes on like Panda Dino and Dog Dino.
Magnetic Letters
A set of magnetic letters can be invaluable when learning about phonics. There are many parts of the VIPKid lessons that focus on blends, onsets and segmenting words into parts (ie: p + ig). Having magnetic letters can really help you show those parts as separate sounds and then how they come together to form a word.
Many teachers also use magnetic letters as a VIPKid prop to spell a child’s name, or city that they live in. Just make sure that you also have a magnetic whiteboard or magnetic area to be able to use them!
Whiteboard
A whiteboard and an online teacher go together like peanut butter and jelly. You won’t find many classrooms without a whiteboard, including mine. The uses are endless and it is one of the most versatile props for online teachers and can be used in almost any lesson.
Here are some awesome ways to use your whiteboard prop in the classroom:
- Teaching new words / sounds
- Modeling instructions
- Spelling difficult words
- Grammar rules
- Games like “guess a word”
Microphone
A microphone is a great prop to have in the classroom because it allows you to cut down on the amount of pointing to your mouth and cupping your ear that you need to do for TPR (unless you love that type of TPR!). It also makes listening and repeating so much more fun! The VIPKid lessons have lots of opportunities to sing and be silly so having a microphone to use with your student is a wonderful way for bringing laughter to your classroom.
Emoji Props
Being able to use these emoji props is so much fun! There are lots of times when we want to convey expressions, feelings and emotions with our students and these props do such a great job. Of course, we can always use our faces but some of these facial expressions do a much better job than most of us could ever do!
Ice Cream prop
This ice cream prop has more uses than you would think. It doubles as a prop and a reward system – if you want to use this for a reward, you would simply give one scoop of ice cream to the student each time! It can also be a great extension activity since you need to incorporate extension into your lessons if you are moving too quickly or if your student is achieving the objectives quickly.
For younger students, this prop is great for colors, counting, and talking about food and what they like to eat! It can also work well for discussions about “needs” and “wants”! Besides, every student likes ice cream!
Clock
A clock is a great prop to have as a display in your classroom. Not only does it serve as a physical prop that you can use while teaching about time, daily activities or events, but it also serves as a decorative item to spruce up your teaching space!
Try using this clock to ask your students questions like:
- “What time is it now?”
- “What time do you eat breakfast?”
- “What time are you going to eat dinner?”
These VIPKid props will help you have more fun in the classroom and become a better teacher. Try them out, and you might find even more creative ways to use them across the VIPKid curriculum.
Tim is originally from Bermuda and has worked in Canada, China and Malaysia as an elementary school teacher. Now he spends most of his time teaching online and running his website, Online Teacher Dude, which helps others do the same.
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