🌟 Why I Love Teaching in Series – Adventures, Language & Theater in My Classroom
As a freelance teacher, one of the most powerful tools I’ve discovered is working with lesson series – or as I like to call them, little learning adventures. Whether we’re exploring the stars, diving into a mystery, or making a wish lesson with horses, building a story over time gives my students more than just vocabulary. It gives them meaning, emotion, and ownership of their English journey.
🚀 The Great Space Mystery – Storytelling + Language = Magic
In this series, children meet Leopold, a spiky little alien who crashes on Earth and needs help finding something important. Each part of the story unfolds over multiple sessions:
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Leopold looking left and right (finding his way around town)
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A call for help at the police station
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The children become detectives - strange faces and hands, strange clues
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The mystery is solved through logic, games, songs and laughter - it all makes sense now
It’s not just a theme – it’s an interactive journey. Each part adds new vocabulary (emotions, space words, actions, etc.) and simple grammar structures like "It is gone!", "Can you help me?" or "She took it!"
🎭 Theater Workshop – Performing with Purpose
This is where English meets performance. Children invent a character, learn to say what they want, and act it out in small role plays or full group scenes.
You find more on this in this older blog entry: „The Light Went Out“ – Wenn Kinder das Theater erfinden
The children move, speak, act, and laugh. Even shy kids find their voice when they are allowed to become someone (or something!) else.
💫 Make a Wish Lessons – When Children Choose the Topic
Sometimes, the best lessons start with a simple question:
“What do YOU want to learn about?”
The Make a Wish series is based on exactly that. The children tell me their dream topics – and I turn them into playful, imaginative English lessons full of action, movement, and discovery.
Each topic usually is done in two sessions and is built around the vocabulary and grammar that naturally fit the topic.
Examples include:
🐴 Horses – “Is it slow or fast?” “My horse can jump!”
🌍 Plants – “I'm small like a mushroom!” “I'm small and red. I have thorns.”
🌞 Solar System – “Mars is small and red.” “I'm the hottest planet - Venus!”
These lessons mix movement, songs, games, experiments and creative tasks like drawing, acting, building or roleplay. They make English personal – because the children helped choose the topic.
🧩 Why it works: Structure + Surprise
Here’s why I love lesson series so much:
✅ Built-in repetition – vocabulary returns naturally
✅ Progression – each session builds on the last
✅ Confidence boost – kids know the story and can join in
✅ Freedom to play – with a secure structure, we can get creative
✅ End-of-series moments – performances, mysteries solved, rewards!
💡 Tip for Teachers: Don’t Overload – Layer It
Each session in the series focuses on just a few key words or structures you can choose from, layered with movement, visuals, songs, and story. No worksheet overload, just playful discovery.
If you're curious or want to try it yourself, feel free to check out my ready-made materials here on Eduki.
🌈 Final Thoughts
Teaching in themes and series is more than a method – it's a mindset. It allows the kids (and me!) to travel through ideas, characters, and worlds. And honestly, that's the kind of learning that sticks.
Let me know if you use any of the ideas – or if Leopold lands in your classroom too! 🛸
