General knowledge is not a tough subject and can be started early. Pre-school is where children learn about themselves and the environment. As brain development happens at a fast rate, teachers should introduce the concept by referring to various subjects to pique the children’s interest. Here are some guidelines to help teachers simplify the subject for the preschoolers.
Six ways to teach G.K at pre-school
- Teach with nature
Look out the window and ask children to spot the things they like to see. If they point at a building, you weave in history and tell them how humans used to live in caves, huts and then buildings. If they point at a tree, you can explain how life can’t exist without them. The same applies for pointing at the sky: the stories about the space and the moon are fascinating.
- Refer to favourite toys
Children love playing with balls of different shapes and sizes. This can be a good opportunity for you to tell them about balls used in sports such as Cricket, Football and Hockey. Play a bit with them to teach them the differences. These kinds of interactive lessons retain children’s interest.
- Use colours and light
While children keep colouring blank spaces of art books, talk to them about the rainbow.. You can show them how light breaks into those colours while it passes through a prism. Wait for them to be surprised and ask you what this means.Then explain the process to them. Remember they’re preschoolers. And you’re not teaching them physics!
- Use alphabets for G.K.
‘A’ can be for air, aeroplane and Africa, and not just apple. Similarly ‘B’ can hold true for ball, basketball, etc. Use context and introduce words that children can associate with easily. This is a far more efficient concept than waiting for children to grow up and know of more words.
- Teach with building blocks
Yes, children may build pre-decided figures with puzzles but what if you made a tree out of building blocks and asked children to spot a similar thing around them? This improves their perception-related skills and helps them make better connections too. .
- Introduce funny quizzes
Every week, you should playfully conduct quizzes about lessons they have learnt in this manner. Once they answer correctly, congratulate them and explain a bit about the object so that children remember the lessons.
With the help of witty association and context, you can help preschool kids learn about trivia and general knowledge much faster as they have seen the objects or interesting things related to them.
General knowledge is not just current affairs or cramming for complex IAS exams. It is about awareness of our surroundings. Preschoolers, more than any other age category, are curious about their surroundings. Schools, teachers, curriculum designers should keep this in mind while thinking about what to teach and how to teach them.
Read also: 6 Best General Knowledge Apps for Android in India
