The 2016 Summer Olympic Games take place from August 5–21 in Rio, Brazil. Now is a great time to try our brand new Summer Olympics vocabulary lesson with your young learners! (more…)
sports
Baseball: Simple Present Story
The 2016 Major League Baseball season runs from April 3 to October 2 in the US. Kids can read about a young baseball player in this week’s Spotlight lesson: Baseball – Simple Present Reading. (more…)
End-of-Year ESL Activity: Obstacle Courses
My daughter, who isn’t really into sports, recently told me that she only likes gym class when they get to play sports that their teacher invents, such as “benchball”. She was surprised to hear that basketball was created by a gym teacher, and that it used to be played with peach baskets. My son loves anything to do with sports, but right now he’s obsessed with a running race challenge he invented at school. “You get to make up a new name for yourself every day, and every day is a new season. You have to win five races in a row before you’re crowned the champion!”
The idea of inventing anything (and making up the rules) is something kids get really excited about. This is why so many kids love obstacle courses! The end of the school year is a great time to have play days with obstacle courses. You can celebrate all of the obstacles that your students have overcome! Obstacle courses are useful for language learners because they can review vocabulary related to sports equipment and actions. They can also practice giving, writing, and listening to instructions.
Whether you are a teacher or a parent, here is an Obstacle Course Activity to try with your young English learners :
Warm-Up Questions
First, teach the word “obstacle course” and consider how it relates to language learning:
How is learning a language like going through an obstacle course?
- It’s mentally challenging.
- You have to figure out how it works.
- You can’t move too quickly.
Next, talk about some of the specific obstacles language learners face:
What are the difficult parts (obstacles) in learning a language?
- remembering new words (more…)
Skateboarding
Today is skateboarder Tony Hawk’s birthday, so it’s a great day/week to try our Skateboarding lesson! Students will enjoy learning about this popular sport and Tony Hawk’s contributions to it.
This six-page Discovery Center lesson includes discussion questions, a short reading full of interesting facts, comprehension questions, vocabulary review (including an odd-one-out exercise and a crossword), and a word maze. There is even an optional black-and-white title page for your young learners to color. (more…)
Sports Crossword
There are many ways to review vocabulary, and using an activity such as a crossword puzzle is always a hit with students! Our Spotlight lesson this week is our Sports Crossword.
If you log in to Sprout English and type “sports” in the search bar, you’ll find over 50 lessons, flashcards, and activities about sports to do with your young learners. Try a lesson on Sports from our Word Bank, and follow it up with our Sports Crossword, Sports Jumble, Sports Word Search, or 3 Sports Mazes for fun-filled vocabulary review! (more…)
Practicing Superlatives During the Olympics
Who’s the Best?
The Winter Olympics is coming up in Sochi, Russia (Feb 7–23). Are you prepared to be inspired? My own kids always end up competing more when the Olympics is on. They want to jump the highest, sing the loudest, skate the fastest, and stay up the latest. There are usually several different venues at our house. (Paper snowboarding, anyone?) Does this happen in your classroom? Don’t be surprised if the Olympics inspires your students to aim a little higher! (Who sharpened their pencil the longest?)
Reviewing Superlatives
With the Olympics only a few weeks away, it’s the perfect time of year to practice superlatives with your students. It is also a fantastic time to try this week’s Spotlight lesson plan, Achievements and Records. In this lesson, students practice using the simple past tense in conjunction with superlative adjectives. After you’ve tried this lesson plan (or if you’ve recently introduced superlative adjectives with Tanya’s handy chart), try this fun review activity, and consider holding a “superlative-inspired” Student Olympics at your school.
First, brainstorm all of the Winter Olympic sports. Here is the full list in case your students miss any: (more…)
Baseball
Baseball, in the Sports section of the Color Mart, is our Lesson of the Week.
Last week, there was an article about how to use Sprout English’s site on our blog. The article mentioned that it’s important to give your students a break between challenging skills lessons such as grammar, reading, listening, etc. Giving your young learners a chance to color does just that! (more…)
Active Games for Young Language Learners
One of the best things I’ve seen implemented at my children’s elementary school is called DPA. This stands for “daily physical activity”, and it takes place in the classroom or hallway at a set time each day. During the brain break, students and teachers move away from their desks and dance to a song that some of the older kids have choreographed. Not only does DPA amuse the students and give them something to look forward to, it boosts the energy of the teachers and unites the school.
Besides dancing, there are tons of games for keeping young kids active during the school day. Here are some ideas and adaptations to try with your young English learners:
Drip, Drip, Drop – This is a variation of Duck, Duck, Goose, and is played outdoors on a warm day. The teacher brings out a big bucket of water and a sponge. The students sit in a circle. The teacher gets the sponge quite wet, so that it drips a bit. One student is chosen to stand up and walk on the outside of the circle. She says “Drip, Drip, Drip…” as she drips a bit of water on each classmate’s head. Instead of tapping one person’s head and shouting “Goose!” she shouts “Drop!” and squeezes the sponge out on her victim. The victim with the wet hair chases the sponge holder around the circle, trying to reach the empty spot in the circle first. Try some other variations, such as (more…)
Team Sports
This week’s featured lesson is Team Sports from the Sports & Leisure section in the Word Bank. This lesson will help your students expand their vocabulary and improve their spelling through a popular theme. Eight pages of activities ensure your students have plenty of opportunities for practice, and you have the flexibility of doing it all in class or assigning some pages for homework or review the next day. Your students won’t get bored with this wide variety of activities, including a picture dictionary, a matchup exercise, a word choice exercise, a word search puzzle, a word scramble activity, and a spelling bee. Best of all, your students will be able to put these words to use in the “Question Time” section, where they can practice their speaking and writing skills. Go team! (more…)
