Hi Parents and Teachers,

Have you noticed a pattern on Sprout English’s blog? Each week we focus on a certain theme. The theme may be topic-focused (e.g., Animals) or language-focused (e.g., Simple Present Tense). Sprout English’s theme this week is the Simple Future (using “going to”). We’re featuring a reading lesson from the Library as well as related activities and tips about teaching and reviewing “going to” with your kids or students.

Are you going to help your young learners set some back-to-school goals? September is a month for new beginnings. Your kids are going to make new friends, join new clubs, experiment with new styles, and hopefully even try new foods!

The best way to practice grammar is to use it in a natural scenario. Here is a simple worksheet that you can print out and use with your kids to spark a conversation about goal-setting. (more…)

“Oh! The Places You’ll Go!” — Dr. Seuss

This week’s theme on Sprout English is Travel! We’re featuring a fun Listen and Draw Activity about Hotels from the Project Depot. You’ll also find a free Travel Vocabulary worksheet and game. Kids love talking about places they’ve been, and traveling is a great way for students to use the language they’ve learned outside of the classroom. Encourage your students to share their travel memories in class with this printable Show and Share Passport. A travel memory doesn’t have to be a vacation to Disneyland. A trip to the zoo, the beach, or Grandma’s house can be a travel memory. Grab yourself a teacher’s stamp to make this even more fun for the kids!

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In the Spotlight this week, Sprout English is featuring “there is / there are,” an important structure for practicing subject-verb agreement as well as prepositions of place. We have a NEW ready-made lesson plan for introducing this structure as well as a handy practice worksheet for more advanced learners. Here is a pair activity to try with your students after you use the lesson plan. In addition to practicing the target language, this activity gives students a chance to draw, speak, ask questions, and write.

Print one copy of this worksheet for each student.

1. Choose a Room or Space
Have students choose one room of their house and write it on the blank line (page 1).

2. Draw a Picture (more…)

Sprout English’s theme of the week is clothing! Your students will love learning clothing vocabulary with these fun cards and games.

Does your school hold Spirit Days like Crazy Hair Day or Pajama Day? A monthly Spirit Day is a great way to give kids something to look forward to. My own kids love “er” day at their school. This is when students and teachers dress up as anything ending in “er.” If you’re looking for some new ideas for Spirit Days for the upcoming school year, check out these lists, and be sure to add your own ideas in the comments below. Here is a sample Spirit Day Letter that you can use to send home to parents. (more…)

For Parents

Kids need plenty of free time to explore their personal interests in the summer. Finding an English-speaking friend is probably the best summer homework your child can do. Are you worried about your child’s printing and spelling skills? Look for fun games and activities you can do with your child that won’t feel like work. Here are a few ideas to make printing practice fun.

1. Beach Sandman

This game is like Hangman, but instead of using pen and paper, use a stick and the beach!

a. Ask your child to think of an object in English. Your child may need to ask another adult or friend to help with the correct spelling.

b. Tell your child to count the amount of letters in the word. You child will then draw that number of spaces (small lines) in the sand in front of you using a stick. (This game works best in wet sand near the water’s edge.) (more…)

Have you tried Sprout English’s NEW Simple Present Be Verb lesson plan? This new lesson is adorable, fun, and very useful for introducing the Be Verb to young beginners. After you use this lesson, you’ll need some fun games and activities to reinforce the language structure. Here’s one idea to try:

Be Yourself Game

1. Start by placing a word on the board that describes a few of the people in your class. For example: a nationality (African), gender (male, a boy), or age (10 years old). Tell your students to raise their hands if this word or phrase applies to them. Introduce one word at a time. Move on to appearances, personalities, and moods that can be used with the Be verb (e.g., brunette, blond, tall, short, smart, friendly, hungry). (more…)

Independence Day is coming up on July 4, and Sprout English has a NEW Word Bank lesson for you to try. If you’re looking for another Independence Day idea, here is a fun listening and handwriting activity.

Many teachers no longer teach cursive in the classroom. Even if kids don’t learn cursive, they should still learn how to sign their own names. Introduce your students to the expression “Sign your John Hancock” with this short listening activity. (more…)

Whenever people ask my daughter about her trip to Myrtle Beach she always mentions the seafood buffet. It had crab legs and prawns and lobster. But like most buffets that cater to families, it also had chicken fingers and pizza! (Should I mention all-you-can-eat ice cream?)

Here is a fun activity to try with your students if you’re doing a food-themed unit. This activity is useful for practicing countable and uncountable nouns. You can also use it to review “some” and “any”.

Our Buffet

1. Introduce the word “buffet” to your students. Help them with the proper pronunciation of this word. (more…)

Are your young learners excited about the World Cup? Sprout English has a NEW Word Bank lesson plan on Football (a.k.a. Soccer) that is designed for young learners. After you’ve tried the lesson, why not share this related story with your students? This story teaches the idiom “on the ball”.

The Dog That Was On The Ball

Once upon a time, there was a dog named Pickles. The dog was out for a walk with its owner when it spotted an object in a garden. The object was wrapped in some newspaper. The dog’s owner picked up the object. It was a trophy. This was not just any trophy. It was the missing World Cup Trophy! Earlier that week, a thief had stolen the trophy from a museum in London. (more…)

Do your young learners love singing, clapping, and dancing to the music? Young kids are natural music lovers. Research suggests that our taste for a specific kind of music gets stronger with age. In other words, when we’re young, we’re tolerant of many types of music.

Listeners of any age appreciate the unexpected when it comes to music. This is why we pay attention when we hear an acoustic song that we are used to hearing with electronic instruments. We also take notice when a female sings a song originally recorded by a man. Mixing things up, especially when it comes to music, is the key to staying interested!

Here is a fun activity to try with your young learners. It includes a drum craft followed by a singing activity.

Make Some Drums

Choose one of the following recipes for making handmade drums with your students. (more…)