How to Respond to Simple Instructions Politely for Pre-School Level 1

Class: Pre-School Level 1
Term: First Term
Week: 7
Age: 2 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Social Habits
Curriculum Theme: Social Habits
Previous Lesson: Learning to recognise familiar faces at home and school.
Topic: Simple Instructions
Subject Matter: Simple Instructions; Examples of Simple instructions at home and school; How to Respond to Instructions. Weekly focus: How to Respond to Simple Instructions Politely.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Identify simple instructions given by an adult.
• Recall polite phrases to use when responding to instructions.

Affective Domain

• Show willingness to listen to instructions.
• Express politeness when responding to adults.

Psychomotor Domain

• Demonstrate a simple action in response to an instruction (e.g., “sit down,” “stand up”).
• Repeat short polite phrases like “Yes, ma” or “Yes, sir.”

Social Domain

• Participate in guided role-play of responding to instructions.
• Interact politely with the teacher and peers during activities.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 1
• Relevant Early Childhood Care and Education resources

Instructional Materials

• Picture cards showing simple actions (e.g., sitting, standing, giving, taking)
• Puppet or doll for demonstration
• Charts displaying polite phrases (e.g., “Yes, ma,” “Yes, sir,” “Okay, ma”)
• Video clips on following instructions and polite responses

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson is important for 2-year-olds as it helps them develop fundamental social skills for interacting with adults and peers. Learning to respond politely to simple instructions fosters respect, good manners, and helps children understand classroom and home routines, contributing to their overall personal and social development.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can recognise familiar adults like their teacher and parents. They can also understand and respond to very basic requests like “look” or “listen” in a general sense.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

How to Respond to Simple Instructions Politely

Simple instructions are short, clear things an adult asks us to do. Examples of simple instructions:

• “Sit down.”
• “Stand up.”
• “Come here.”
• “Give me the book.”
• “Touch your nose.”

When an adult gives us an instruction, we should:

1. Listen carefully with our ears.
2. Look at the adult with our eyes.
3. Respond politely by saying:
   • “Yes, ma.” (for a lady)
   • “Yes, sir.” (for a gentleman)
   • “Okay, ma.”
   • “Okay, sir.”
4. Then, try to do what they asked.

Responding politely shows good manners and respect.

Key Words

• Simple – easy to understand.
• Instructions – what someone tells you to do.
• Polite – showing good manners and respect.
• Respond – to answer or do something because someone asked.

Listen and Respond Rhyme

Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Lyrics:

Teacher says, “Sit down, please!”
“Yes, ma!” we say with ease.
Teacher says, “Stand up tall!”
“Yes, sir!” we answer all.
Listen, listen, every day,
Politely respond, come what may!

Actions:

• “Sit down, please!” – Teacher mimes sitting, pupils sit.
• “Yes, ma!” – Pupils nod their heads.
• “Stand up tall!” – Teacher mimes standing, pupils stand.
• “Yes, sir!” – Pupils nod their heads.
• “Listen, listen” – Cup hands behind ears.
• “Politely respond” – Put hand to mouth as if speaking.

Watch and Practise Polite Responses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_3sL4I237U

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Play-based Learning, Demonstration, Guided Practice, Songs and Rhymes, Picture Talk, Role-play, Imitation, Repetition, Practical Activity.

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Engagement/Recall

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets pupils warmly and asks them if they know what it means to listen. “When Mummy or Daddy tells you something, what do you do?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond by saying “listen” or pointing to their ears. They may share simple experiences.

Learning Point: Pupils are introduced to the idea of listening to adults.

Step 2: Presentation of Simple Instructions

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows picture cards of simple instructions one by one (e.g., “Sit down,” “Stand up,” “Come here”). The teacher demonstrates the action for each. “This is ‘Sit down’.” (Teacher sits). “This is ‘Stand up’.” (Teacher stands).

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils watch the teacher and the picture cards. They may imitate the actions as the teacher demonstrates.

Learning Point: Pupils identify and understand common simple instructions.

Step 3: Introducing Polite Responses

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains that when an adult gives an instruction, we respond politely. “When I say ‘Sit down,’ you can say ‘Yes, ma’ or ‘Yes, sir’ and then sit down.” The teacher models this using a puppet or by demonstrating with a pupil. “Teacher says ‘Come here.’ Puppet says ‘Yes, ma!’ and comes.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils watch the demonstration. They listen and try to repeat “Yes, ma” or “Yes, sir” after the teacher.

Learning Point: Pupils learn the importance of polite responses and begin to say the phrases.

Step 4: Guided Practice with Instructions and Responses

Time: 6 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice/Repetition

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher gives a simple instruction (e.g., “Stand up, please”). After pupils stand, the teacher prompts, “What do we say?” and guides them to say “Yes, ma” or “Yes, sir.” This is repeated with 2-3 other instructions like “Touch your head,” “Clap your hands.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the instruction, attempt to say “Yes, ma/sir,” and then perform the action. They repeat the phrases after the teacher.

Learning Point: Pupils practise combining the polite response with the action.

Step 5: Rhyme and Video Reinforcement

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Reinforcement/Engagement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher leads pupils in singing the “Listen and Respond Rhyme” with actions. Then, the teacher plays the video “Following Instructions Song for Kids” to further reinforce listening and responding. “Let’s watch a fun video about listening!”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils sing along with the rhyme and perform actions. They watch the video, listening to the song and observing the actions.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce learning through song and visual media.

Step 6: Role-play and Application

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Application/Role-play

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher gives instructions to individual pupils or small groups, encouraging them to respond politely. “Chike, give me the red block.” (Teacher waits for “Yes, sir” and action). “Aisha, touch your toes.” (Teacher waits for “Yes, ma” and action).

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils take turns responding to instructions politely and performing the requested actions.

Learning Point: Pupils apply the learned skill in a simple interactive setting.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 4–5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher checks pupils’ understanding through short questions and practical tasks.

1. “What do you say when I ask you to sit down?” (Teacher gives instruction, waits for response).
2. “Show me how you stand up politely.”
3. “If I ask you to come here, what do you say first?”
4. “What did we learn to say when an adult tells us to do something?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond orally and demonstrate the required skill where appropriate.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 1 minute

Teaching Skill: Summarisation/Closure

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises pupils for their good listening and polite responses. “You all did so well today learning to listen and say ‘Yes, ma’ and ‘Yes, sir’!” The teacher reminds them to always be polite.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils clap for themselves and repeat “Yes, ma/sir” one last time.

Learning Point: Pupils feel encouraged and remember the main lesson point.

Lesson Keywords

• Instructions – things someone tells you to do.
• Polite – showing good manners.
• Respond – to answer or do something when asked.
• Yes, ma – a polite way to answer a lady.
• Yes, sir – a polite way to answer a gentleman.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils who struggle, use larger picture cards and demonstrate instructions one-on-one. Provide hand-over-hand guidance for actions if needed. Focus on repeating just “Yes, ma” or “Yes, sir” without the action initially.
• Extension: Encourage pupils who grasp the concept quickly to give simple instructions to a peer or a doll, and then prompt the peer/doll to respond politely. Introduce an additional polite phrase like “Thank you, ma/sir” after completing an instruction.