DaFiz wrote
30 minutes only. First lesson just holding the guitar and pressing string hard enough at the correct angle to get a clean sound without neighbouring strings buzzing. 8)
+1. also you might want to find out what the kids listen to (this is notoriously difficult, as has been mentioned roughly a bajillion times, so maybe have a few you can recommend).
the method that's worked best for me has been to find and teach a simple song (i.e. four or fewer open and easy-to-finger chords) that the kids know the melody of, doesn't matter whether it's current or not, as long as they're comfortable with it. as they get better with that song, and can hold the chords, manage the changes with increasing speed, etc, introduce a new one, so their
interest is maintained. once they have a couple under their belt - say up to about 75%* of what you're expecting them to achieve - then start delving down into theoretical aspects. (these chords are made up of notes, notes go together to make up a scale, a scale is made up of notes, notes can also make up a chord, chords go one after another to make up a progression, the progression in this song is in this key, keys work like this, etc), and this stuff you can stretch over a number of lessons, while you're working on practical stuff. the key is to find a balance between how much time is spent on practical and how much on theory. and how much on fun - it's imperative!
i like jacques' suggestion on following a book's lesson plan - it gives structure to your lessons over an extended period, and a goal (or end point) for which to aim. if you're not going to use that as a guide, set some of your own, so you can have a way of showing your students how they've progressed - these days, it may be as simple as pointing a video camera at them every 4 to 6 weeks.
good luck!
dh
