Author Archives: Tara Benwell

3 Christmas Tree Crafts for English Class

Posted by on Dec 09, 2015 0 Comments

If you’re a teacher or parent, Pinterest is probably your favorite site at this time of year. This year, I’ve used Pinterest to find inspiration for gifts, cards, parties, and treats. Pinterest is also great for crafts!

Are you looking for holiday crafts to use with your English learners? Here are three very simple Christmas tree crafts to try. Use one or all of these crafts to review English colors, shapes, sizes, and prepositions of place. Your students will also practice following instructions. Ask your students to describe their finished trees to you or their group members. (more…)

Bird, Bird, Worm: Pronunciation Game

Posted by on Aug 20, 2015 0 Comments

Are your YLs learning to distinguish between closely related sounds? In the Spotlight this week, we’re featuring our Phonics lesson on ir, er, ur, and or. Words with these letters can be difficult for learners to pronounce and write because they look different but sound the same.

One fun way to practice commonly confused sounds and spellings is to play an adaptation of Duck, Duck, Goose. We’ll call it Bird, Bird, Worm to start, but you can change the name of the game to whatever word pair you’re working on. (more…)

Guess the World’s Weather Game

Posted by on Jun 03, 2015 0 Comments

“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”
—Anthony J. D’Angelo

This week we are featuring Sprout English’s NEW Word Bank lesson on Weather and Seasons. After you teach your students weather-related vocabulary and expressions, you’ll need to find some fun ways to practice.

This past weekend in my city it was hot, humid, sunny, rainy, windy, mild, and cold (with a chance of frost!). Fortunately, not every weekend is so variable, though it is handy for reviewing the weather. To practice all types of weather, your class will probably need to take a trip around the world!

Here is a fun weather game to play with English language learners of any age. (more…)

Reviewing Numbers: The One & Only Fun Game

Posted by on May 20, 2015 0 Comments


My daughter recently complained about how boring French class is. When I asked what was boring about it, she said they were reviewing numbers—again. The boring part about reviewing numbers is that they can all already count to one million in French. Really?

The One & Only Fun Game

Unfortunately, though many kids don’t realize it, not all students learn languages at the same pace. Fortunately, when you bring fun into the class, students who don’t feel like they need the review will still be interested in participating and will undoubtedly benefit. (more…)

Vocabulary Baseball Game

Posted by on Apr 15, 2015 0 Comments


Are you looking for fun ways to review vocabulary? This vocabulary game can be played with all ages and levels. It may last a whole week or just 15 minutes. Keep score as your students work through nine innings. Unlike real baseball, no equipment (and no running) is necessary! (more…)

Shopping Week: Practicing Articles

Posted by on Mar 19, 2015 0 Comments

My preschool-aged nephew got a pop-up play tent for Christmas in the shape of a VW camper van. We play in the camper every time I’m visiting, and I think every primary classroom should have one!

My nephew’s favorite game is shopping at the toy store! He loves to collect items from his basement and load them into the back of his camper. Does he realize he’s practicing articles when I ask him what he bought? Of course not!

Here’s a fun activity to play with young learners in the classroom (even if you don’t have a camper tent). They’ll never know they’re practicing definite and indefinite articles. Be sure to try Sprout English’s NEW lesson on Articles first! We also have a handy Articles chart and bonus exercise on our blog. (more…)