Pets at School – ESL Flashcards, Worksheets & Games

 This resource is included at this LINK: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pets-Unit-for-Elementary-ELL-Starters-10780015

Pets at School is a hands-on resource filled with flashcards, small cards, printable games, and worksheets that help students speak, describe, and build sentences with confidence. With cute visuals and low-prep activities, this resource is perfect for centers, whole-group lessons, and daily review—making learning engaging and meaningful for young English learners.

These flashcards make vocabulary learning clear, visual, and engaging for young English learners, useful for oral language activities.

Use as Action Flashcards. Students write simple actions for verbs related to each flashcard, it can be in simple present or present continuous.

Grid Description Activity.
The teacher places the Pets at School flashcards on a letter–number grid and calls out a combination (for example, B2). Students look at the board, find the correct picture, and describe it using a simple sentence such as, “The dog has a yellow pencil.” This activity builds vocabulary in a fun, interactive way.

Question & Answer Flashcards

The teacher shows a flashcard to the class and asks simple questions. Students answer orally.

• Teacher: What’s this?
  Students: It’s a cat.
• Teacher: What color is the cat?
  Students: Brown.
• Teacher: What does the cat have?
  Students: A calculator.
• Teacher: What color is the calculator?
  Students: It’s blue.

To finish, the teacher models a complete sentence and students repeat:
“The brown cat has a blue calculator.”

There are also school items flashcards that can be used on their own to review and reinforce vocabulary.

Small Cards Grammar Activity: Possessive ’s

Using the small cards as the teacher models the sentence and students repeat.

• Teacher: It’s the dog’s backpack.

Students repeat and then try with other combinations:
It’s the cat’s book. / It’s the dog’s pencil.

Practicing the possessive ’s helps students understand ownership in English.

Writing with Small Cards Activity

Each student receives one small card. Students look at the picture and write a short text describing it. This activity encourages students to observe carefully, practice writing, and use complete sentences based on visual support.

These worksheets give students structured practice to reinforce the vocabulary and sentences introduced with the flashcards.

Students read the simple sentences and color each school item using the correct color. This worksheet helps learners practice reading comprehension.

Students read the sentences and color each cat and school item according to the information given.

Students read the clues, match each picture to the correct number, and complete the sentences by writing the school item and its color.

Students read the prompts and complete the sentences by identifying the pet, counting the crayons, and writing the correct color words. Also, practice: There is/There are.

Students read each question and answer using Yes, it does or No, it doesn’t, based on the picture.

Sorting Cards Activity
Students sort the picture cards into the correct pockets by matching each pet to its school item. As they place the cards, students say the word or a simple sentence, such as “The dog has a pencil.”

How to Prepare the File Folder Sorting Activity

1.   Start with a standard file folder and open it flat on the table.

2.   Print the pocket (envelope) templates and cut them out in advance.

3.   Apply glue only along the left, right, and bottom edges of each pocket.

4.   Glue the pockets onto the file folder, making sure the top remains open so cards can be inserted easily.

5.   Let the folder dry completely before use.

 

This resource is also sold individually, here:    https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pets-at-School-ESL-Flashcards-Worksheets-Games-15172735

There is a Pets Unit BUNDLE for Kindergarten and Elementary ELLs. here:   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pets-Unit-BUNDLE-for-Kindergarten-and-Elementary-ESL-6951779

Find more ideas and resources for the pet unit at my Pinterest Board:

https://www.pinterest.com/ei98srl/esl-animals-unit/esl-pets/

I use CReative Fabrica for my covers, here is my affliate link: 

https://www.creativefabrica.com/product/seamless-dog-paws-digital-papers-pattern/ref/2670802/?sharedfrom=pdp

Cat Family for Elementary ELL

 This resource for ESOL teachers is included at this LINK: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pets-Unit-for-Elementary-ELL-Starters-10780015

This resource helps students learn family vocabulary in a fun and meaningful way. The cute cat characters motivate children to participate, and the variety of activities—flashcards, worksheets, matching cards, and writing tasks—keeps lessons active and engaging. Teachers love it because it’s easy to use, flexible across levels, and perfect for centers, whole class lessons, and small-group work.

Introduce the Cat Family. Students take turns picking a cat family member flashcard and describing them using simple sentences. (e.g., This is the father. He is big and gray.) If students already know the clothes vocabulary, expand on that: He is wearing a purple tie, a white shirt, blue pants and purple shoes.

Use the speech bubble for the students to introduce their character.

Instead of one-word answers, students learn to communicate using complete thoughts to introduce family members.

Help students talk about family members and possessions clearly (e.g., This is Jane’s grandmother).

Give students the small cards and a whiteboard with colored markers to write the names of the family members. They work for other center activities.

Pets animals Worksheets incorporate reading, writing, speaking, and listening, making them effective for different learning styles.

Students write the correct family member word under each cat picture.

This is a reading comprehension worksheet where students will write the name of each cat. Then, they color the family members and on their notebooks write simple sentences (e.g., The mother cat is pink.).

More worksheets to expand the lesson plan: match picture to word, Sentence Writing, 

Help students listen, read, and comprehend simple instructions in English by coloring within a path ending on a yarn. Teachers can give extra listening practice by asking questions: Who has the orange yarn?

Students: The baby sister cat.

A puzzle for labeling the Cats – Give several students the word part and have them match to the correct family member that other students are holding.

Speaking like this:

Cat Family Finger Puppets help students create simple dialogues and stories.

Students use the puppets to act out a conversation between family members. (Hello, I am the father cat!)
Students introduce each puppet in simple sentences. (This is the baby brother cat.)

Take a look!

The pet small cards help students practice vocabulary actively and repeatedly, giving teachers flexible tools for group games, partner speaking, matching tasks, and quick recall activities that build confidence and language fluency.  Go to this blog post:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2024/01/pets-unit-small-cards-for-elementary-ell.html

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Halloween cat and hat Prepositions for Elementary ELL

 This resource is included at this LINK:   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pets-Unit-for-Elementary-ELL-Starters-10780015

Help your elementary English language learners master prepositions of place with this engaging Halloween-themed resource featuring a playful black cat and witch hat! Young learners practice important position words such as in, on, under, behind, in front of, and next to while enjoying fun seasonal activities. Halloween themes naturally motivate students and make grammar practice more meaningful and memorable.

Give your students Preposition practice to help them become more fluent using the Halloween theme. Find all for writing your lesson plan  for elementary english learners.

Halloween Preposition Flashcards

Use the flashcards to introduce and practice prepositions of place. Students can describe each picture using complete sentences. Print the flashcards to visually establish the relationship between the cat and the hat in various positions helping students connect the vocabulary.

Halloween Small Cards

The small cards are perfect for: Memory games,Matching activities,Vocabulary review,Partner work,Literacy centers

 Cut the word and have the students match to the picture on the other part.

Halloween Worksheets

The worksheets provide additional practice

The worksheets have this visual connection to enhance memory retention.

 Halloween Matching mat 

Students match picture cards to the correct preposition, providing hands-on practice that strengthens understanding of spatial relationships and positional language. 

 Students can work independently, reinforcing their understanding of prepositions using this mat where they match the picture to the preposition.

Halloween Sentence Puzzle Activities

Students build complete sentences using word cards and picture prompts. This activity helps learners practice Word order.

The puzzle is based on constructing grammatically correct sentences.

Add writing to this puzzle activity.

Halloween Board Game

Turn grammar practice into a speaking activity!  This interactive game encourages communication and repeated exposure to preposition vocabulary.

Students will use preposition vocabulary to advance on the game board path. Players roll a die and move their marker piece to the corresponding space. Some spaces have a picture of a cat and a hat in a different prepositional relationship. The player must say the correct preposition or a sentence to stay on that space. If they get it wrong, they move back one space.

The dice makes preposition learning a hands-on experience

 Assemble the Prepositions Dice

Print the dice template on cardstock. Cut along the solid lines and fold along the dotted lines. Apply glue or tape to the tabs and carefully assemble the cube. Allow it to dry before use. 

It helps to keep focus on sentence structures by having students use prepositions in complete sentences like "The cat is under the hat", enhancing their speaking skills. 

This kind of games makes prepositions easier to understand.

This resource is available individually here:   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Halloween-cat-and-hat-Prepositions-for-Elementary-ELL-14557704

The pets flashcards turn abstract vocabulary into visuals and interactions that help young ESL learners feel confident using English words for animals — in speaking, reading, and writing activities.All in the pets unit pack. Go to the blog post: https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2024/01/pets-unit-flashcards-for-elementary-ell.html

My other blog is full of ready-to-use activities designed for preschool English language learners, saving you time in planning. I focus on making learning enjoyable, integrating games, hands-on activities, and creative materials that will captivate your students. Go visit here: https://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/