Can & Can’t Spring Verbs Activities for ESL | EFL Elementary

 This resource is part of Can as an Ability for Elementary ESL at this link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Can-as-an-Ability-Unit-for-Elementary-ESL-4299251

Make learning “can” and “can’t” fun and hands-on with this engaging resource for young learners! Students practice abilities through puzzles, games, and interactive worksheets that support vocabulary and sentence building. Perfect for centers or small groups, it helps build confidence in a playful way.

These flashcards are a great way to introduce and practice “can” and “can’t” with your students.

The teacher picks up any verb card, in this case, is the verb “fly”. She holds the card. Students will participate by pretending to fly kites. To make the activity more interactive and hands-on, several kite cutouts are provided. Continue with more cards.

The teacher asks the question: “Can you climb a tree?” to individual students, giving each child the opportunity to answer using “Yes, I can” or “No, I can’t.”

In this interactive dialogue-building activity, one student holds the flashcard and asks the question: “Can you swing?” while showing the image for support. The other student listens and responds using a complete sentence, such as “Yes, I can” or “No, I can’t.” Then, students switch roles so both have the opportunity to ask and answer.

These flashcards may include some new vocabulary for your students. Use them to introduce new words in context or to review familiar ones, helping learners connect meaning with clear visuals in a simple and engaging way.

These small cards are perfect for hands-on practice with “can” and “can’t.”

This is a speaking game, where students sit in a circle with the small verb cards placed on the floor. One student tosses a bean bag onto a card and then makes a sentence using the structure: “I can…” or “I can’t…”

Students use the small cards as visual support to write sentences with “can” and “can’t.” They choose a card and write sentences such as “I can water flowers” or “I can’t build a house.” This activity helps students practice sentence structure.

A student places the small cards in order on the desk. This activity helps develop sequencing skills.

The worksheets support comprehension, fine motor skills, and meaningful language use.

Students complete each word by writing the missing vowel. Then, trace the lines to match each picture with the correct verb. This activity helps reinforce vocabulary recognition.

Students look at each picture and complete the sentences using the correct verb. They write the missing word in the blank and match it with the correct image.

This “Can – Word Search” worksheet. This activity helps reinforce vocabulary, improve spelling.

Students first trace the lines to match each question expressing their abilities. Then, they write simple sentences to recap all the personal can and cant’. Perfect for developing reading and writing.

Students first color the pictures to become familiar with the actions. Then, they cut out the images and glue them in the correct boxes to match each word. This hands-on activity helps reinforce vocabulary and sentence comprehension in a fun and meaningful way.

After completing the worksheet, students can use the pictures to make simple sentences orally or in writing (e.g., “I can climb a tree.”).

 “I Have, Who Has?” Game.

Give each student one card. If you have more cards than students, some students can have two cards. Choose the student with the start card. This student reads their card aloud. The student who has the correct answer listens carefully and responds by reading their card. The game continues in a chain until all cards have been read. The last card should finish the loop.

Puzzle Activity

Students complete the puzzle by matching each sentence with the correct picture.

Memory Game with Puzzle Pieces

These puzzle pieces can also be used to play a fun memory game!
Place all the pieces face down on the table. Students take turns turning over two pieces and try to find a matching pair (sentence + picture). If the pieces match, the student keeps the pair. If not, they turn them back over and the next student takes a turn.

Another fun use for the puzzle pieces! Students can sort the pieces into can and can’t using the labeled bags, helping them practice sentence meaning in an interactive way. The can and can’t labels are included in the complete resource for easy setup and use. The link is the beginning of this post.

Students can play with the board game as they move around the board, they will describe the actions using sentences.

Students roll the dice and move their token. When they land on a picture, they must make a sentence using can (e.g., “I can fly a kite.”). For an extra challenge, classmates can decide if the sentence is correct or silly!

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