Teaching Health Vocabulary Made Easy: Sickness Flashcards for ESL Classrooms

 Find it at my TPT store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Holistic-English-Resources-By-Rosa-Amelia

These sickness flashcards make health vocabulary clear, visual, and meaningful for English language learners. These flashcards are perfect for interactive activities such as surveys, role-play, TPR, and question-and-answer practice (“What’s the matter?”).  Because the cards are versatile, reusable, and classroom-tested, teachers can use them across multiple lessons and grade levels—making them a practical, time-saving resource that keeps students engaged and confident.

Use the flashcards for Q&A.

Teacher: Look! He ‘s in bed. He has a fever. Do you have a fever now?

Students: No, I don’t. (students touching their forehead)

Act It Out (TPR)

Show a flashcard (e.g., He is coughing).
Students act it out: coughing and saying the sentence together.

Say & Point

Place several health items flashcards on the board. Fold the word part. Say a sentence: It’s a band-aid.

Students point or touch the correct card.

Doctor Role-Play

Use the cutouts of stethoscope, thermometer and medicine, provided in the resource.

Teacher: “What’s the matter?”  Student: “He has a fever.” Student mimes the sickness.

Match with Items

Match flashcards with pictures related to the sickness:  Fever → thermometer, Cough → syrup, etc. This builds meaningful connections.

Draw on the flashcard & Say. Place the flashcard of the boy or girl on the board, previously insert into a clear plastic sheet. Students draw any sickness and say: “He has a headache.”

Mini Health Talk

Use flashcards to ask: Does he have a stomachache?

Talk about injuries and body sides
The teacher shows two flashcards to help students identify the injury and say whether it is on the left or right, for example:
“She has a broken arm. It is her left arm.”
“He has a broken leg. It is his right leg.”

This activity builds left–right awareness for sickness.

Do this!

The teacher shows the sore throat flashcard and asks, “What’s the matter?”
Students look at the picture, identify the problem, and respond by holding up the medicine flashcard and saying, “Take the medicine.”

This activity helps students with speaking and comprehension in a visual way.

Class survey

The teacher starts by asking questions such as, “Have you had a toothache?” or “Have you had a stomachache?”
Students who answer yes come to the board and write their names under the correct column. The teacher places the matching sickness flashcard at the top of each column to guide students.

This activity encourages speaking and listening, builds health vocabulary, and helps students understand simple surveys and data collection in a meaningful, hands-on way.

Teachers — if you enjoy hands-on ESL activities, games, and classroom resources, follow me on Pinterest! Just here: https://www.pinterest.com/ei98srl
You’ll find pin-ready ideas you can use right away in your lessons.