We are excited to present our NEW lower-level, simple present lesson on the verb “to be”! We’ve come up with a brand new template for this lesson, and we’d love your feedback! Please let us know what you think (what was useful, what was missing, etc.) in the Comments section below or through the Contact page on our website.

Introducing yourself in English is one of the first things students should learn. Our Simple Present – Be lesson in the Basic Grammar Structures section of the Grammar School gives students plenty of chances to practice this! (more…)

Simple present lessons are great for low-level students. In our featured lesson this week, Wendy introduces herself using simple present verbs, and she talks about her family and her favorite hobby, tennis.

All of the readings in our Library section can be done on paper or online, so teachers can choose how to present the reading and comprehension questions. Have your students do it on paper in class, or assign it for online homework and do the follow-up activities in class the next day. This lesson, Wendy, also includes a grammar exercise, spelling lesson, and twenty questions discussion activity.

Other simple present resources: (more…)

Turn Off the TV, in the Simple Past Dialogues 2 category of the Conversation Station, is Sprout English’s lesson of the week.

This one-page dialogue is the perfect way to review the simple present, present progressive, and simple past. All three tenses are used naturally in this conversation between a father and his daughter. The topic of a parent wanting a child to stop watching TV and go study is something kids can definitely relate to! (more…)

The simple present tense is one of the first things English language learners learn. Later on, grammar textbooks introduce the present progressive (also known as the present continuous), and students learn how to describe actions that are happening at that time. The problem is that most textbooks don’t compare these two present tenses together, so young learners don’t often realize which one to use in different situations.

When I was teaching TOEIC test prep classes to beginner and intermediate students, I would compare and contrast the two tenses side by side, and my students would tell me that this method really helped them understand the differences. Try the method outlined below with your young learners as an introduction to the present progressive or as a review of these two essential tenses.   (more…)

Our Lesson of the Week is Are You…? (in the Are section of the Grammar School). This lesson is a great introduction (or review) of the BE verb as it is used in the two most basic tenses in English: the simple present and the present progressive. (more…)

Our Lesson of the Week, I’m from Canada in the Present Simple Dialogues 1 section of the Conversation Station, is a great follow-up from last week’s practice on the simple present. Students can improve their speaking, reading, listening, and grammar skills with this short exercise. (more…)

Have you played the In My Suitcase memory game with your students? This is the game where you sit in a circle and the first student says,

“We are going on a trip, and in our suitcase I will bring…”

After the first student names one thing, the next student repeats the sentence, names his/her classmate’s item, and adds an additional item to the suitcase. For example:

“We are going on a trip, and in our suitcase we will bring a map, and a cell phone.”

As the game continues, the packing list gets bigger and harder to remember.

The suitcase game is excellent for practising nouns, but you can play a similar game to practice using the simple present tense to describe daily routines. Write the following starter sentences (time markers) on the board: (more…)

How do you usually teach the simple present tense to your students? Many textbooks break it down into parts. For example, a textbook will present just one use of the simple present, such as repeated actions. But in my experience, students grasp onto this verb tense more easily when an overview of all four uses is given right off the bat. After I introduce this tense using the method outlined below, I let students practice one part at a time. So they get the big picture, and then they practice one area in more detail before moving onto the next area. If your students are very low level, you could choose to present these uses one at a time. Alternatively, you can use the outline below as a review after students have learned all of the different uses of the simple present tense in English.

Let’s review the basic rules and go over the four uses. Be sure to check out the practice and fun activities suggested at the end of the post! (more…)

This week’s featured lesson is TV Boy from the Present Simple Stories section in the Library. This four-page lesson includes a short reading that uses simple present verbs. There are comprehension questions to ensure that students understand the reading and a word scramble to practice new vocabulary. Because the reading focuses on likes and dislikes, there is a grammar review section that gives many examples of the “like” + infinitive verb construction. Students can practice this structure with the included speaking and writing exercises. (more…)

Our Lesson of the Week is Where Do They Live? from the Where section in the Grammar School. This lesson features both world maps and city maps so that students can practice talking about where they live. This is a great lesson to do during the first few weeks of school when kids are getting to know each other. Our head writer, Tara Benwell, also wrote a blog post called Things to Do with a Map that is full of great activities that you could do before, after, or during the lesson. Our Library section has additional colorful maps available for subscribers in the Lists, Tests, Charts, and Maps category. For higher-level students, you could adapt the “directions” exercise in this lesson to include going from A to B with a review of prepositions of place. There is a prepositions chart on the second page of Grammar Chart A in the Lists, Tests, Charts, and Maps category. This week’s lesson could also lead to an interesting discussion about different cultures! (more…)