Introduction chapter one. Teaching grammar to young learners

2.2.Different grammar activities for young learners
Are you going to...? Activity - Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking - Elementary (A1-A2) - 35 minutes
Here is be going to activity to use in class with your students. In the activity, students ask and answer questions about their future plans. Give each student a copy of the worksheet. The students read each question in the first column on the worksheet and then write a follow-up question using be going to.
When everyone has finished writing their follow-up questions, divide the students into pairs. Students then take it in turns to ask their partner about their future plans using the questions on their worksheet. When a partner answers 'Yes, I am' to a question, the student puts a tick and asks his or her follow-up question. If a partner answers 'No, I'm not', the student puts a cross and moves on to the next question. When the students have finished interviewing each other, they tell the rest of the class about their partner's future plans.⁸

Comparative Cards

ESL Comparatives Game - Matching, Speaking and Writing Activity - Elementary (A1-A2) - 35 minutes

In this free comparatives card game, students link nouns together by making comparative sentences with than. Give each pair of students a set of noun cards. The students shuffle the cards and deal them out evenly. One student goes first and puts one of their noun cards face up on the table. The students then take it in turns to put down a noun card and make a comparative sentence with than, linking the two nouns together, e.g. 'A car is faster than a bus'. 'A bus is bigger than an elephant', etc. Students can put a card down either before or after the card or card chain on the table, similar to dominoes. Each time a student puts down a card they must use a different comparative adjective. If a student makes a grammar mistake or can't think of a way to link two noun cards together, they miss a turn. This continues back and forth with students linking nouns together with different comparative adjectives. The first student to get rid of all their cards wins the game. When the students have finished, pairs write out the comparative sentences they made. Students then read out their sentences to the class.

It's generally true!

ESL Zero Conditional Worksheet - Reading and Writing Activity - Pre-intermediate (A2) - 30 minutes

In this zero conditional exercises PDF, students practice how to form the zero conditional tense and use it to describe facts and things that are generally true. Give each student a copy of the two-page worksheet. Students begin by matching
sentence halves together to make zero conditional sentences. Next, students use vocabulary from a box in its correct form to complete zero conditional sentences.
After that, students answer whether zero conditional sentences are factually true or false. Students then move on to rewrite pairs of sentences to create a zero conditional sentence. In the last exercise, students use their own ideas to complete zero conditional sentences, saying how they feel or what they do in the given situations. Finally, review the students' sentences as a class and provide feedback.