Teaching the Simple Future: 3 Forms

Posted by on Jan 07, 2014 1 Comment

The simple future is a bit more complicated than the other simple tenses in English. There is more than one way of making a future verb. You can use the modal will + base verb, the modal expression be going to + base verb, or the present progressive form of be + -ing verb. What’s the difference between these forms? How can you teach them all to your students? In this post you’ll find information on the three future forms, a handy comparison chart that you can print out, fun activities using the future (for warm-ups or fillers), and links to practice exercises.  

COMPARISON CHART – 3 SIMPLE FUTURE FORMS (more…)

Starting the New Year Off on the Right Foot

Posted by on Jan 02, 2014 2 Comments

Dear ESL Parents,

Happy New Year! We hope you and your child(ren) enjoyed a nice break from school! Is your family ready to start the new year on the right foot? To get off on the right foot means to make a successful start. Here are some tips for making a successful start to 2014:

1. Set language-learning goals for the whole family. (more…)

New Year, New Year’s, or New Years?

Posted by on Dec 31, 2013 0 Comments

Often spelling and capitalization rules for holidays don’t get taught, and both teachers and students simply use what they’ve seen the most—not necessarily the correct form! Is it New Year, New Year’s, or New Years? When do we capitalize New Year and when do we use lowercase letters?

If you have classes today, it will be useful for your students to learn the correct spelling of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. If you and your students don’t go back to school until next week, this would still be an educational way to begin or wrap up talking about the holidays! (more…)

Alphabetizing Fun – Christmas Activities

Posted by on Dec 19, 2013 0 Comments

Beyond the ABCs

alphabet (noun): It’s time to learn the alphabet. You must know your ABCs by the end of this week.
alphabetical (adjective): The attendance list is in alphabetical order. Find your name and check it off.
alphabetize (verb): Please alphabetize the list of resources you used in your report.

Are your young students or children learning how to alphabetize words or lists? Knowing how to put words and lists in alphabetical order is very useful! After all, we don’t always have a handy “search” field available when we want to find something. Knowing how to alphabetize will help your kids:

  • find words in a print dictionary
  • find numbers in a phone book
  • find CDs in a store
  • find books in a library

Teaching Students How to Alphabetize

  1. Teach the alphabet.
  2. Review the alphabet.
  3. Show students how to group a list of words by first letter. (Here is a fun video on alphabetizing that you can show. Or, use the video to see a demonstration of how to teach a lesson on alphabetizing.)
  4. Show students how to sort the alphabetized groups by second letter (in alphabetical order), third letter (and more if necessary). Explain what to do when two or more words have the same second letter.
  5. Teach students to ignore articles (a, an, the) in titles when alphabetizing lists (such as book or movie titles).
  6. Talk about when it’s useful to put things in alphabetical order. (For example: attendance lists.) Talk about the difference between alphabetical order and numerical order.
  7. When you are sure your students know how to alphabetize, show them how to do it quickly on a computer (using “sort” or an online tool, such as Alphabetizer).

Alphabetizing Activities

Alphabetizing doesn’t have to be boring! It can be fun! Why not practice alphabetizing with a theme, such as Christmas? (Adjust these activities to whichever theme you are using.) Here are some activities you can try in December:

Alphabetize the Ornaments (more…)

Christmas Word Fun – Capitalization Rules & Prezzies Vs. Pressies

Posted by on Dec 17, 2013 1 Comment

No matter what country they live in, students are usually exposed to Christmas in one way or another, whether it’s through their own family traditions, a homestay family’s traditions, from watching movies, etc. They can all benefit from knowing the best way to spell and capitalize holiday terms. Help your students learn common holiday phrases, capitalization rules, and word choices about Christmas and the holidays with the following tips! (more…)

Minimal Pair Craft – Holiday Paper Chains

Posted by on Dec 12, 2013 0 Comments

Minimal Pair Holiday Paper Chain Craft

minimal pair: a pair of words that differ in sound by one phoneme (EX: cat/bat, sit/sip, hit/hat)

Are your students reviewing Three-Letter Words with Sprout English’s featured phonics pack? Have you introduced the concept of minimal pairs? Here is a fun holiday-themed craft that you can do to practice three-letter minimal pairs in December. Adjust the difficulty based on your students.

You will need
* lots of red, green, and white strips of paper about 5″ long by 1″ wide  (or use wrapping paper)
* felt markers (black or something that shows up well on colored paper)
* staplers or tape (a few shared around the classroom)

Minimal Pairs Activity
1. Review the concept of three-letter minimal pairs. Show lots of examples on the board, and get students to give you examples. Use Sprout English’s phonics pages for ideas. (more…)

6 Digital Ways for Children to Celebrate December Holidays

Posted by on Dec 11, 2013 1 Comment

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!” ~Hamilton Wright Mabie

The holiday season is here, and for many children, this is their favorite time of year. Their families gather together to celebrate (Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa) with special foods, symbolic decorations, music, and the practice of various customs. This is the time when children can share their traditions and discover how others celebrate worldwide. Below are a few suggestions on how you can integrate free web tools and apps to make this holiday season magical for children. (more…)

Expiry Date Vs. Expiration Date

Posted by on Dec 10, 2013 0 Comments

Last week we had a customer ask us which was correct, expiry date or expiration date. As a Canadian, both terms are familiar to me, so I decided to do some digging into these two phrases. Which is best to use?

American Vs. British:

As with many expressions and words in English, it depends on where you live. American English and British English have some differences, and this phrase is no exception. When referring to the date when a product or service expires (such as milk or a passport), the British say expiry date and Americans say expiration date. Canadians often end up using both terms equally, but I’d be interested in hearing if there are differences depending on where in Canada you live (I’m in Vancouver, BC, and I hear both).

(more…)

For ESL Parents – Supporting Your Child’s Language-Learning Journey

Posted by on Dec 05, 2013 2 Comments

“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” ~ Jane D. Hull

Dear ESL parents,

Is your child learning English? Are you an English learner yourself? The most important thing you can do to support your child’s language learning is to be involved. After all, parent involvement is the key to early literacy!

Think back to when your child learned his or her first language. You were your child’s first teacher! Parents teach their children their native language by talking to them, singing to them, reading to them, and keeping them close by during daily routines and interactions with others.

Parent involvement is crucial when it comes to learning additional languages as well. Here are five tips for supporting your children during their language-learning journeys.

1. Be a role model. Show that you care about learning English yourself. Read books, newspapers, and magazines in English. Tell your child, “I’m learning English too!” (more…)

Website Review – Kid Toc

Posted by on Dec 04, 2013 0 Comments

At Sprout English, we are interested in seeing the ELT community grow! We like sharing articles related to education and passing along relevant information. We recently came across a website with an interesting concept: Kid Toc, where kids teach kids English. (more…)