What are you doing right now? Are you reading? Are you learning? At Mr. Greg – English Teacher, we call these “doing words”—or action verbs! Verbs are the engine of every sentence, and mastering them is the key to helping young learners express what they see and do in the world around them.
Our free printable action verb worksheets are designed to help kindergarteners and ESL students identify, read, and use common verbs in their daily lives.
Table of Contents
What are Action Verbs?
Action verbs tell us what the subject of a sentence is doing. For young learners, we focus on physical actions they can easily see, mimic, and understand.
Common Action Verbs List
To help your students build a strong foundation, we categorize verbs into relatable groups:
| Category | Examples |
| At School | Read, Write, Draw, Listen |
| On the Playground | Run, Jump, Play, Slide |
| At Home | Eat, Sleep, Cook, Wash |
| Movement | Walk, Swim, Dance, Climb |
Why Teach Verbs Early?
- Building Sentences: You can’t have a sentence without a verb! Learning verbs allows kids to move from simply naming objects to describing actions.
- Vocabulary Expansion: Verbs add “life” to a child’s vocabulary, allowing them to tell stories about their day rather than just listing things they saw.
- Subject-Verb Agreement: Learning basic verbs helps kids eventually understand that the word might change depending on who is doing the action (e.g., “I jump” vs. “He jumps”).
Inside the Mr. Greg Action Verb Pack
Our ESL verb worksheets focus on high-frequency words and visual recognition to ensure success for every learner:
- Verb Matching: Look at the fun illustration and draw a line to the matching “doing word.”
- “I Can…” Sentences: A great confidence builder where kids write or trace what they are capable of (e.g., “I can run” or “I can swim“).
- Action Word Detectives: A reading activity where kids find and circle the verbs hidden in a list of mixed nouns and adjectives.
- Verb Coloring: Students color the characters who are performing a specific action, helping with both fine motor skills and reading comprehension.
5 Active Ways to Teach Verbs
- Verb Charades: Write simple verbs on slips of paper. A student acts one out without speaking, and the class has to guess the “doing word.”
- Simon Says: This is the ultimate verb game! Use commands like, “Simon says… dance! Simon says… hop!”
- The “What are you doing?” Circle: Toss a soft ball to a student and ask, “What are you doing?” They must act out an action and say, “I am jumping!” before tossing it back.
- Action Scavenger Hunt: Ask kids to look through magazines or picture books to find people eating, running, or sleeping.
- Freeze Dance: Play music and have kids dance. When the music stops, shout a verb (like “Stretch!”) and they must freeze in that position until the music starts again.
Make Grammar Dynamic with Mr. Greg!
Mastering action verbs is a giant leap forward in a child’s language development. Our free worksheets are designed to be fun, effective, and easy to use in any classroom or home-learning setting.
Ready for more? Explore our worksheets to help kids build full sentences and for more reading fun!
