Make Your Nature Activity
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Words used in these worksheets (20)
beach
cave
cloud
flower
forest
grass
island
lake
moon
mountain
ocean
rainbow
river
rock
sky
stars
sun
tree
volcano
waterfall
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More quick worksheets and games
This is a standard vocabulary-building set, meaning there's no specific target language attached to it when I teach it. But it's an important set for "there is" and "there are" later on.
It's also a nice way to show the difference between "a" and "the": a tree, but the sun. At first I just practice "What's this?" or "What's that?" and accept "A rainbow." or "It's a rainbow."
Useful phrases for Nature
Pair the vocabulary with one sentence pattern at a time. Each level builds on the one before.
Starting out
First lessons, once students know the words- What's that? It's a rainbow.
- Is it a lake or a river?
- Look! The moon!
Next step
Building on the basics- There's a tree by the river.
- There are clouds in the sky.
- You can see flowers on the mountain.
Challenge
For older or more advanced students- Rainbow and waterfall are each made from two words.
- Which is bigger, a lake or an ocean?
- The sun is a star.
Teaching tips for Nature
Notice "a" and "the"
A tree, a flower, but the sun, the moon, the sky. There's only one sun, so we say "the." Nature is one of the clearest places to see the difference.
Use a big picture
A landscape picture or poster lets students find and name many words at once, and later describe the whole scene with "there is" and "there are."
Look for compound words
Rainbow and waterfall are made of two words. Older students enjoy finding the parts and making up new ones.
Take it outside
If you can, take the lesson outdoors. Students point to the sky, a tree or a rock and name it. Real things stick better than pictures.
Nature lesson ideas
Nature walk
Give students a checklist of nature words and go for a short walk or look out the window. How many can they find?
Draw a landscape
Read a short description: "There's a mountain. There's a river under the mountain. There's a sun in the sky." Students draw it, then compare pictures.
Big, bigger, biggest
Sort the cards by size: rock, tree, mountain; river, lake, ocean. It's a natural lead-in to comparatives.
A nature week
Flashcards and the vocabulary sheet on day 1, word search on day 2, draw a landscape on day 3, then bingo or the board game to finish.
More Nature resources from MES
- Nature flashcards 60+ nature and habitat cards
- Speaking First Curriculum: Unit 3 how nature fits into a full course
- Speaking First Curriculum: Unit 6 Nature 2 with prepositions
- Nature online games vocabulary practice for students
All Nature images (51)
Click a picture to add it to your worksheet list or take it out. Up to 30 words. Words in your list are shown first.
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Build once. Make everything.
Planning a full unit? The Custom List Maker lets you mix words from any category, save your list, and make 19 different worksheets and games from it all week long.