Routine Verbs for ESL/EFL learners

Link to the resources: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Routine-Verbs-for-Elementary-ELL-3088833
or here:  https://www.bilingualmarketplace.com/products/routine-verbs-resources-for-the-elementary-esl?variant=2206575099916

For this blog entry I checked several books from many publishing companies. The most common routine verbs were these, but I createad total of 185 flashcards.

Games make the lesson an engaging learning experience. Children will practice the verbs and you can listen how much they know. They might get creative as they make up their rules for the games. Teams will be formed and they will have to communicate in English.

Routine Verbs Flashcards games

Game : Spelling Verb Bingo

Place all the verb flashcards on the board. Have the children select only 6 and write them down on their paper. Call out a word and place a tick on the flashcard. Use the small cards for calling the verbs. Children cross the words as they have it on their spelling bingo grid.

Game : Slap Use the small flash cards to spread out on the floor or a table face up. One student can be the caller, give him /her the slap caller badge and the other players  will be the slappers, who will slap  the correct card. The one that does it first keeps the slapped card. Continue until all the cards have been called. The winner is the one with most cards.

For the game I made these slap caller necklace. I cut and glued them onto fun foam, punched a hole and thread yarn into the hoop. I use them to have the group respect the caller and be more organized at playing the game. You can play with any set of word and use the necklace but change the caller every time. You can even write on the back of the necklace the caller´s  name so you choose a different child every time.

Game: Mime. Show a flashcard and do the corresponding action as you say it. Have the student mime and repeat the action.

Teacher: wake up,wake up !

student: wake up,wake up !

Game : Questions. Place 6 flashcards on the board. Write a question word under each one: Who ?, Why ?, Where ?, When ?, What ?, How many ? . Divide the class into pairs and have them write questions with each question word. When all the questions are ready, have them exchange  the questions sheets with other pairs to answer them.

Game: Verbs in a bag. Place the routine flashcards in a bag. Sit the children in a circle if you have a small group. For large groups, it might be good to have several sets and do the activity in groups.

The first child of the circle gets a card from the bag and without showing it mimes the actions. The children have to guess and shout out the verb. Then make a sentence with the verb.

Children: play soccer !

Children: Henry is playing soccer./ Henry plays soccer/ Henry can play soccer.

Cutouts for Routine Verbs

Get realia or use the cutouts for some routine verbs. Put them in a small bag or box. Grab one and do the action.

Teacher: (Pretending to brush her hair) I brush my hair with my brush.

Give the brush to another student and have him or her do the same. 

Call several students to the front. Give a cutout or realia to each student and show the action flashcard and have the students do the action at your signal. Have the rest of the class find out who is doing the action.

Teacher: Ready! Go ! read a book.

Students: David !

Teacher: David reads a book.

Students: David reads a book.

Place all the cutouts on the desk or around the classroom. Mime and say an action, but without the corresponding realia or cutout.

Teacher: I eat lunch.

Students run to find the corresponding realia or cutout to hand it in to you.

Student: Here.(gives the fork to the teacher)

Teacher: I eat lunch with my fork.

Game: Play I want to.  Continue with all the cutouts in different places around the classroom.

Teacher: I want to brush my teeth.

The students run and the first one to get the toothbrush and hand it in to you wins a point.Continue with more.

Game: Match card to cutout.I made small cards to go with the cutouts. Make some examples on the board and have the students arrange all of them using masking tape on the board. Then have them write sentences using the visuals as reference.

Teacher: go to bed. I go to bed at 11 o´clock every night. 

Game : Print a camera for yourself in a bright construction paper. Have several more printed as well.

Students of all ages like the camera. Use the camera to have the children name each verb as you pass the picture, you can make the strip as long as you want.  

I also included the photo clip art, children either draw the verb, look them up in magazines and cut them or simply cut them from the small cards here. They can also write the verb or write complete sentences. 

They can make a photo album using their own pictures and write sentences under each photo.

Game Who is ? Have six children come to the front. Hand in a routine verb card to each one and the corresponding realia or cutout to act it out. They have to look at it and mime the action at your call.

Teacher: Ready ! Action !

Teacher: drink !

Students: Laura !

Teacher: study !

Students: Jorge !

Then do it backwards.

Teacher: Ready ! Action !

Teacher: Patricia !

Students: watch TV !

Teacher: Tomas !

Teacher:  Have dinner!

Game : Pocket charts. Have the students make pocket chart phrases. If you  have a pocket chart, place it in a visible location in your classroom. If not , children can make a similar one with poster board.

Write the list of the verbs or place the flashcard and have them make as many phrases as possible. They can either draw or cut out a matching illustration for their phrases. Make your own model. This is mine, I was planning on putting it on the pocket chart, but I couldn´t find it. Instead I grabbed a poster board and glued it like this. Children can make their own version, maybe a verb for each group and see what they come up with. Play it as a game by assigning a winner to the group that has the most phrases.

Routine Charts: make small groups and have the students fill out the chart template with the routine verbs. The chart is for groups of 4 students and 5 verbs. Give them the template. They have to ask each other questions in order to complete the chart and give a final tally.

Student 1: Oriana, Do you jump rope at school ?

Oriana: Yes, I do.

Small cards Games

Game  Small Cards. Lay all the cards face down on a table.  A student turns a card around, reads it and makes a complete sentence.

Student: clean. I clean the house with my mother every Saturday.    
 If it is right the student keeps the card.  If the sentence is wrong, the student puts the card back.

Then I made two versions of picture dictionary using the small cards, one is to glue the missing picture and the other is to glue the missing word. It can be done in groups.

Game BINGO! And I added a BINGO Grid. The grid is for 9 spaces. But you can give out only 3 spaces to each student. He/she can write the routine verb on each space or glue a routine verb from the small cards.

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