Quick Worksheets
Eat, run, jump, sing and sleep. Action verbs are the words that bring sentences to life, and they're easy to teach because students can act every one of them out. Pick a worksheet below and it is ready to print in one click, using the 20 words shown.
Each one opens in a new tab, ready to print.
cook
count
cry
dance
drink
eat
fly
jump
laugh
listen
play
read
run
sing
sleep
study
swim
talk
walk
write
Need different words? Remove words or add more from the full Verbs set. Your saved custom list is not changed.
I teach the first verb sets only in the present continuous: "What's he doing?" "He's jumping." That's how we describe pictures, and it's what we're showing children on the cards.
Young children have a strong sense of what's happening now, but present and future can feel vague to them. So I introduce tenses in this order: present continuous, then past, then future, then present simple.
Pair the vocabulary with one sentence pattern at a time. Each level builds on the one before.
Verbs are made for movement. Call out an action and students do it, then switch roles. It's the fastest way for the words to stick.
"He's running" describes exactly what students see on the card. Starting with the present continuous makes sense to children before any grammar explanation.
The same 20 verbs work with can, like to, the past tense and going to. Keep the list and change the sentence pattern as students progress.
This list keeps to single-word verbs, which work best in word searches and crosswords. Longer actions, like ride a bike, can be added with Edit this list.
Play a version of Simon Says with the verbs: "Teacher says jump!" Students only move when they hear "Teacher says."
Students do different actions to music. When the music stops, everyone freezes, and classmates describe what each person is doing.
Students ask each other "Can you swim?" and "Can you cook?" and report back: "Ken can swim, but he can't cook."
Flashcards and actions on day 1, word search on day 2, Freeze! on day 3, then bingo or the board game with "What's he doing?" to finish.
Click a picture to add it to your worksheet list or take it out. Up to 30 words. Words in your list are shown first.
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Planning a full unit? The Custom List Maker lets you mix words from any category, save your list, and make 19 different worksheets and games from it all week long.