Author Archives: Tanya Trusler

Valentine’s Day – Capitalization, Punctuation & Spelling

Posted by on Feb 11, 2014 2 Comments

Love is in the air! Valentine’s Day will be celebrated in many countries this Friday, February 14. Some schools participate in Valentine’s Day activities such as doing lessons about love/dating/marriage, wearing pink or red, or giving out valentine cards, roses, or chocolate. If you will be discussing Valentine’s Day with your young learners this week, make it educational and teach them the capitalization, punctuation, and spelling rules of this popular holiday!

Capitalization

In English, holidays always use capital letters for the holiday name and the word “Day”.

  • I’m looking forward to Valentine’s Day.

When it’s clear we’re referring to the holiday, we can drop the word “Day” if we want.

  • I got a ring for Valentine’s Day.
  • I got a ring for Valentine’s.

But be careful! We don’t use capital letters when referring to a card, gift, or person.

  • He gave me a valentine card yesterday.
  • I bought a valentine present for my girlfriend.
  • You will always be my valentine. (more…)

Valentine’s Day

Posted by on Feb 10, 2014 4 Comments

Many countries will celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14. In some schools, it’s common to participate in Valentine’s Day activities like giving out cards and candy in class. Try our Valentine’s Day vocabulary lesson this week for some fun activities to do before or on Valentine’s Day!

This eight-page Word Bank lesson includes a colorful picture dictionary with 18 nouns and verbs associated with Valentine’s Day. Activities such as a matchup, a word choice, a word search, a word scramble, and a spelling bee help make this lesson engaging and fun. Finish up with the discussion questions so that your students can try using the new vocabulary in context!

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Winter Olympics

Posted by on Feb 07, 2014 0 Comments

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games take place from Feb 7-23, and the Olympics will be a hot discussion topic during this time. Now is a great time to try our brand new Winter Olympics vocabulary lesson with your young learners!

This eight-page Word Bank lesson contains 10 words that students will hear throughout the games. There is a mix of sports terms like ski jumping and figure skating, and other terms such as Olympic podium and Olympic torch. The lesson starts off with a fun, colorful picture dictionary and is followed by a variety of activities that will help your young learners stay engaged while they review the new words. Activities include a matchup, a word choice, a word search, a word scramble, and a spelling bee. This lesson ends with discussion questions so that your students can try using the new vocabulary in context!

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Count & Non-Count Nouns

Posted by on Feb 04, 2014 7 Comments

One of our subscribers recently asked me to blog about count and non-count nouns, and with our lesson of the week on food, I figured it was the perfect time to do so! Lower-level students need to learn about the differences in nouns fairly early on so that they can use plural forms and articles correctly. Non-count nouns aren’t so difficult for students if you present them in a certain way. Try the method below, and count on a good result!

1. WHAT ARE COUNT NOUNS?

In English, most nouns are count nouns (also known as countable nouns). They have this name because they can be counted. You can say one apple, two apples, three apples, etc. (more…)

Food Allergies

Posted by on Feb 03, 2014 1 Comment

Food allergies are very common nowadays. Learning about them together helps to promote safety and understanding in your classroom!

This week, Sprout English’s featured lesson is Food Allergies from the Food section in the Discovery Center. This fun, six-page lesson includes discussion questions, a short reading full of interesting facts, comprehension questions, vocabulary exercises (including an opposites exercise and a crossword puzzle), and a word maze. There is even an optional black-and-white title page for your young learners to color. (more…)

I’m Going To…

Posted by on Jan 27, 2014 0 Comments

Our lesson of the week is I’m Going To… in the Simple Future Dialogues section of the Conversation Station. This one-page dialogue would be great as a warm-up, filler, or wrap-up to a lesson about the simple future or plans/entertainment. (more…)

Comparative Adjectives

Posted by on Jan 21, 2014 0 Comments

In English, adjectives are used for many reasons, such as describing nouns and telling others how we’re feeling. Comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns. There are a lot of fun ways to practice these types of adjectives with young learners, but first, a grammar review may be in order!

Download Comparative Adjectives Chart PDF

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Zookeeper

Posted by on Jan 20, 2014 0 Comments

Our lesson of the week is Zookeeper, in the People section of the Color Mart. This coloring activity would be a great warm-up, filler, or wrap-up to any lesson, especially if you’re doing jobs or animals as a theme. (more…)

Eye Idioms Poster

Posted by on Jan 15, 2014 0 Comments

“The story of life is quicker than the blink of an eye
  The story of love is hello, goodbye.”
  —Jimi Hendrix

Did you know that January is Eye Care Awareness Month? It’s the perfect time to teach eye idioms to your young learners! Students love learning idioms because they’re often funny, and they are so prevalent in English, especially in movies and on TV. But idioms can be challenging to remember, so visuals like this poster are very helpful! Our new designer Robyn has created a free poster of Eye Idioms for you to use in your classroom. Download the full-size PDF version by clicking on the image or link below.

Download the large-size printable Eye Idioms PDF (more…)