Let's play! (suggestions)

One word turns a command into an invitation. Let's is how English children start every game — and how yours will too.

From age 4Cambridge level: Pre-A1 Starters

Age: Ages 4–11
Level: Pre-A1
Skill: Grammar
Format: Teacher guide

The pattern

Saying it: Let's play!
Saying no: Let's not run.
Asking: Shall we play? (later)
Short answer: Yes! / Good idea!

Printable worksheet Presentation (PPT)

Sentences a child can say

Tap any sentence to hear it. Every one uses words from a topic pack you already have.

Mini exercise: choose the right word

Five sentences from this page, each with a word missing. A child taps the word that fits and, once it is right, hears the whole sentence.

Let's blank!
Let's blank a cat.
Let's blank!
Let's blank to ten.
Let's blank a book.

What you will actually hear

The mistakes that come up in every class, and what is behind each one, with a tag on those a first language makes typical.

Let's to play.Let's play.

Let's takes the bare verb — no to. The to sneaks in from 'I want to play'; different pattern, different rule.

Let's plays.Let's play.

No s ever follows let's — the verb stays in its simplest form no matter who is playing.

How to teach it

1
Make let's the lesson's hinge: every activity change starts with 'Let's…!' said with full enthusiasm. Within a month the class says it first.
2
Hand a child the choice card: they pick the next game and must announce it — 'Let's play bingo!' Power is the best pronunciation coach.
3
Pair it with actions the class already owns from imperatives: jump, sing, draw. Let's recycles every verb they know into social language.

Topic packs that pair with this

Same structure, words your class already knows — no new vocabulary needed.

Actions Toys & fun Sports Music School

Questions teachers ask

What's the difference between Let's play and Play?

Play! is an order aimed at you; Let's play! includes the speaker. Children feel the warmth difference immediately — it is the same as the difference between a whistle and a hand extended.

Do I explain that let's = let us?

Not before age eight. Let's is one word to a small child, and unpacking it adds nothing they can use. Save the apostrophe story for when they write.