A selection of English ESL lockdown printables

A fun activity to do with students, when the schools reopen. (Could maybe also be played in a live video setting).



Have the students read all the statements on the left. If a statement is true (for them) they fill in the letter of the statement (a) for 'made a cake' in the bingo grid (they can choose where exactly). 

The empty boxes they can fill with the other letters of the alphabet.

The teacher draws a letter and reads out the sentence (or not for the last letters of the alphabet). Have students mark each box that has been called out. Once they have four in a row, they have bingo.



More communicative and less competitive: have students put up their hands when you call a statement that is true for them. Have them talk about it before you continue with the actual bingo.

Lockdown-Bingo

This poem, by a Franciscan priest, has gone viral. It looks at the positives of the coronavirus quarantine. They have to listen to the priest reading the poem and fill in the missing words. (If this is logistically difficult, just use the poem on page 2 and miss out the gap fill.) Then they match up the vocabulary and answer the questions. The youtube link is provided, plus a full key, including a transcript of the whole poem. 



'Lockdown', a poem. 

Reading and speaking. This worksheet helps students to develop reading comprehension. It includes vocabulary focus, gap-filling assignment based on the short text (adapted article from the Economist), and comprehension check (True/False statements). The students learn about some of the habits office workers developed during the lockdown. Students develop vocabulary with the help of collocation-focused interactive assignment.   Learners practice speaking while discussing their habits and new routines developed during the lockdown.

Lockdown and Office Routine

A super mingle students can do online via social media. 

There are thirty categories from Australian animals to board games, each requiring students to name at least two, maybe three or a maximum of four items. 

Students can either complete the list by themselves or get the answers from their friends or study buddies online. 

Answer Quest: Lockdown Special

All students are going back to school in the UK next week. In fact, Scottish students are already back. Looking at the guidelines to headteachers, it looks as if these will be the Do's and Don'ts for students. They have to match up image and rule. Then there is an opportunity for them to express their opinions. Key for the grid is included. I hope this will be useful.

Back to school after lockdown

A gap fill exercise about lockdown suitable for adults and older students. Students select the correct verb from the box and change it to the past simple. There is a video which talks about lockdown and covers the basics about the past simple for the exercise using the same verbs. 

Lockdown- past simple gap fill

A reading comprehension about a zoom breakfast that two friends shared. They put the verbs into the past simple tense, then answer the questions and complete the true or false activity. 

Our zoom lockdown English breakfast

A fun passage about the famous coronavirus weight gain! They replace some key words, then answer the questions. They are asked to plan a day of healthy eating for themselves. There is a full key included. 

Coronavirus belly: getting fat during lockdown

This is a 16 pictures worksheet about activities during lockdown. Can be used to practise the past simple tence and possessive pronouns (that students can add). Can be used as a class poster or simply a handout.

Hope it's useful

What did you do during lockdown?

This is a simplified version of a true story that I saw in the news. Students will enjoy this funny story and it's helpful to incorporate into a topic about the current lockdown situation.

I recommend showing students the youtube video for this story before starting this worksheet

News: Penguins visit gallery during lockdown

The tasks can be used for independent studies or distance-learning classes. The worksheet is based on the adapted article from the Economist describing the new hobby that appeared during the lockdown, baking. The tasks are aimed at improving reading comprehension. Students read the article about baking as the new popular hobby and fill in the gaps with the missing sentences. Worksheet includes vocabulary (and interactive vocabulary assignment) as well comprehension questions. Finally, students research attitudes to baking in their country and prepare to speak about it and share a simple recipe.   

Baking Your Way through the Lockdown

This is a 'for and against' worksheet, to get them thinking at this difficult time, that maybe there are one or two positives. They read the excerpts then consider the questions Some research topics are suggested. 

Coronavirus lockdown: the pros and the cons. 

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

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how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

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how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

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Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

41 Lockdown English ESL worksheets pdf & doc