This is a Counting at the Beach EFL ESL lesson plan for kids. It’s suitable for preschool children and will last about 1 hour. In this class we’re going to look at objects you can find at the beach and practice numbers from 1 to 10. We’ll do this using fun and easy to do games and songs for counting. There will be lots of speaking and lots of opportunities to practice counting. We’ll also make a poster for the classroom with lots of different things that you can see at the beach. So pack up your beach bag and let’s see what we can find. Let’s go and have some fun with numbers at the beach!
For this Counting at the Beach EFL ESL Lesson Plan, you will need:
- Beach flashcards – make your own or use something like this
- Coloring markers
- A large sheet of strong paper to make a poster (more than one if you have a big class)
- Paper, scissors and glue
Counting and Numbers songs and videos:
- How Many Fingers on One Hand? by Super Simple Songs
- Let’s Go to the Beach by Maple Leaf Learning
- Counting Vacation with The Count by Sesame Street
Introduction: Counting from 1 to 10
Start off with your usual Hello routine or, if you prefer, use one of my favorite Hello Songs. Then we’re going to start counting. Begin with looking at your hands and counting from numbers 1 to 10 using your fingers. Learn the Super Simple Songs counting song together and sing it while counting on your hands and doing the actions. Then, play a very quick game holding up your fingers and asking the children how many there are. Let them try and ask the question too and give everyone a turn to ask or answer.
Play a counting game: Get Down
Now we’re going to practice counting from 1 to 10 and play a fun game. Put the kids standing in a big circle and start counting around the circle. As you go around, each child says their number from 1 onward. If they say 10, they are eliminated and have to sit down. Start again at 1 with the next child and so on. The winner is the last one left standing. Kids love this game and it can get very competitive.
Let’s Go to the Beach!
It’s time to go to the beach and see what we can see there. You’ll need some flashcards like the ones linked above with different numbers of objects that you find at the beach. With your flashcards, look at the different objects that you find at the beach. Teach the word for each object using plenty of TPR. Learn and sing the Let’s go to the Beach song together but replace the sea animals with your beach equipment and get the kids to point to the right card when you sing it. Then, practice counting the number of each objects on each card.
Play a Game: What’s Missing?
Gather together the cards and take one out and hide it without the children seeing. Then, put the remaining cards on the table and ask them “What’s missing?”. When they answer, they have to say the number and the object. For example, “seven buckets” or “three deckchairs”. Take turns to hide the card and ask what’s missing. When you’ve finished this and you are sure that everybody knows the name of the objects and the numbers, you can put the kids in pairs and give them cards. Then they can ask each other questions: “how many buckets are there?”, “there are seven buckets”. Make sure they use full sentences and change partners a few times so they practice all the vocabulary you’ve been learning.
Watch a funny video and practice counting
We’re going to watch a video now of the Sesame Street Count and practice counting at the beach. Pause the video and talk about it as you watch it with the children. What can you see in the video? Where is he? Count the different objects with the Count. Can you count backwards from 10 to 0 like he does? Try doing this with your fingers. Once you’ve watched it all once, watch it again and sing along with the Count.
Let’s make some beach art for the class
Split the kids into small groups and give out paper, markers and scissors. Explain that you are going to make a poster together for the class. It will show all the different things you can find at the beach. Give each group an object to draw and cut out and tell them how many of each object you will need. Make sure you have a mixture of numbers from 1 to 10. Then let them draw and cut out the objects. While they are doing this, you or some more children can draw and color a beach background on your poster.
When the kids have finished drawing and cutting, get them to glue all their objects on to the poster. If you’ve got a big group, you will probably have to make more than one poster to fit everything on. When it’s finished, hang it up on the wall. Then practice asking how many and counting everything you can see.
Conclusion:
If you’ve got enough time, sing all the songs you’ve learned again. Then, finish the lesson with your Goodbye song or use one of my favorite goodbye songs. End by counting from 1 to 10 on your fingers.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Counting at the Beach EFL ESL Lesson Plan. This is part of a series of lesson plans teaching Beach vocabulary that I’ve written for GoogooEnglish. If you’re interested in seeing some of my other lesson plans, you can find them here. I’d love to hear if you’ve done this lesson plan with your class. To keep up to date with new lesson plans and ideas, you can follow the GoogooEnglish Facebook page or sign up for email below.