English for FunSchool things in English for kids
Tap a picture to hear the word. Useful for preschool and the first year of school.
Tap to hear
Good to know
- Scissors is always plural: "the scissors", "a pair of scissors".
- Pen and pencil are easy to mix up; a pencil is the one you can rub out.
- Backpack is common in American English; British English also says schoolbag or rucksack.
Play at home
- Pack the school bag together and name each thing.
- Play "teacher" and let your child ask you: "Where is the ruler?"
- Draw with crayons and ask "What colour is your crayon?"
Practise with Word Island
Word Island practises school words, together with toy and music words, on Toy Box and School, which opens with full access. Each pack is a set of short games where the child hears, picks and builds the word, says it out loud, and then meets all the pictures again.
Free printable
A one-page A4 chart for "School things in English for kids". Print it for the fridge, the classroom wall or pointing practice. Free to share.
Questions
When should children learn classroom words?
Just before or when they start preschool or school is a natural time, because they will hear and use them every day.
Is "rubber" or "eraser" in the game?
No. The school words are book, pen, pencil, crayon, ruler, scissors, backpack, notebook, paintbrush, paper, globe, camera and map.
More topics
Animal names in English for kids
30 animals from the farm, the zoo and the sea.
Food and fruit words in English for kids
30 words for fruit, vegetables, drinks and treats.
Numbers 1 to 20 in English
Hear and say every number from one to twenty, with tips for the tricky ones.
The English alphabet: letter names A to Z
Hear the name of every letter from A to Z, with a picture word for each.