EnglishGrade 5ages 10–11
🍳 going to
Talking about a plan in English needs three separate pieces working together — am, going to, and the verb — and Hebrew's single glued-together form makes it easy to drop one.
Try this lesson freeNo card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreWhat your child learns
- I am going to cook. am + going to + verb.
- I going cook is missing am and to.
- She is going to sit. He is going to run.
- Hebrew says I going to-cook — no am at all, and the to is glued onto the verb. In English both are separate words.
The mistake most kids make here
I going cook with no am and no to.
Try one question
A plan to cook. Which is right?
Plan to cook
- I going cook
- I am going to cook
- I am cook going
Answer
I am going to cook — That's it. I am going to cook — am, going to, then the verb.
How Maya teaches it
Your child tells Maya what they did in class. She teaches this topic at her desk, asks questions with tappable answers, and when the answer is wrong she explains why that answer was tempting instead of saying “try again”. She remembers what did not land and comes back to it.
Your child has it when they can: Say I am going to cook.
How to help at home
To talk about a plan, English uses am (or is, or are) plus going to plus a verb: 'I am going to cook.' All three pieces are needed, and none of them can be skipped.
In Hebrew, the idea of a plan is expressed with a single word structure, without a separate word for am and without a separate to — which is exactly why a child's English version often drops both.
Practice full sentences out loud: 'I am going to cook. She is going to sit. He is going to run.' Hearing the whole chain repeated helps all three pieces stick together.
A good sign they've got it: they say all three pieces together without a pause, the way they would say any other fixed phrase.
Questions parents ask
- Why does my child say 'I going cook' instead of 'I am going to cook'?
- Hebrew expresses a plan without a separate word for am and without a separate to, so a child's direct translation naturally leaves both English pieces out.
- What are the three pieces of a going to plan?
- Am (or is/are), then going to, then the plain verb: I am going to cook. All three have to be there together.
- Does the pattern change for she or he?
- Only the first piece changes: is instead of am — she is going to sit, he is going to run. Going to and the verb stay the same.
- How does Maya teach this?
- Maya presents a plan and asks the child to choose the complete correct phrase from options like 'I going cook' and 'I am going to cook,' so they notice all three pieces belong together.
No card needed. The first lesson is free.
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Sources: English Curriculum 2020 for elementary school – Israeli Ministry of Education