Sports Games for ESL | Vocabulary and Grammar Activities

 This Sports Vocabulary Games  for elementary ESL resource is included here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sports-for-ESL-Vocabulary-and-Grammar-Activities-14663481

Playing sports-themed games during the unit help learners practice sports vocabulary and grammar structures naturally. By moving, speaking, matching, and interacting with others, students develop stronger listening, speaking, reading, and thinking skills. Help your elementary ESL learners explore sports vocabulary and verbs through fun interactive games!

Do–Go–Play Sorting Activity
In this activity, students sort the sports cards into the correct column: do, go, or play. As they place each card on the mat, they practice using the correct verb for each sport, such as do karate, go swimming, or play soccer. This hands-on task helps learners understand verb–sport collocations while building vocabulary in an interactive way.

This version lets students cut and paste the sports cards into the correct do, go, and play columns. The black-and-white format is perfect for saving ink and gives students the chance to color the cards themselves before sorting. They can also write phrases for each category.

Sports Puzzle Match Game
In this activity, students complete circle puzzles by matching each sport with its equipment and place. As they connect the pieces, they review vocabulary such as ball, court, pool, bike, and paddle while strengthening problem-solving skills. This is perfect for centers, pair work, or independent practice.

I Can / I Can’t Writing Activity
In this activity, students use the sports cards to write sentences about what they can and can’t do on the format. They choose cards and complete the worksheet using connectors like and and but to make longer sentences. For example: I can play soccer and tennis or I can’t play basketball, but I can play tennis. This activity helps students practice sentence structure, express abilities, and connect language with the sports vocabulary they have learned.

Spelling Bingo Game
In this activity, students write any sports words they choose into the blank Bingo boxes. Then the teacher (or a student leader) uses the small sports cards from the resource to call out each word. Students listen carefully and cross out the words on their Bingo boards. The first student to cross out all their words and shout Bingo! wins. This game is a fun way to review vocabulary, practice spelling, and build listening skills.

I Like Sports Board Game
In this fun board game, students move around the path by rolling a die and landing on different sports spaces. Each time they land on a sport, they say a sentence such as I like tennis or I don’t like tennis. This game encourages speaking, builds confidence, and helps students practice sports vocabulary and simple grammar in an interactive, engaging way.

Sports Facilities Interactive Activity

In this hands-on activity, students use a sports facilities template along with standing player pieces and sport name cards that you will assemble beforehand. They choose a player, read the sport, and place the figure in the correct facility—such as putting the swimmer in the pool or the tennis player on the court. This interactive task helps students connect sports with their proper locations, strengthens vocabulary, and encourages speaking as they describe what they are doing (e.g., She is playing tennis on the court).

Which game will your students choose first? Comment below!

Don't miss the flashcards from this resource:   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/10/sports-flashcards-for-esl-vocabulary.html

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Airplane Prepositions Activities ESL/EFL

  This resource (Airplane Prepositions Activities for Elementary ESL / EFL Learners) is included in the Transportation unit for Elementary ESL at this link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Transportation-Unit-for-Elementary-ESL-4049752

Prepositions provide clarity and precision in language. They help learners describe spatial relationships, time, and direction accurately, which is essential for effective communication. Using the airplane theme helps engage students and give a concrete visual for abstract prepositions such as ‘next to’, ‘behind’, ‘between.

Lay out the prepositions of place ESL airplane flashcards and have students match them with written preposition words or sentences that describe the airplane’s location.

Show a transportation vocabulary ESL prepositions flashcard without revealing the word, and students must guess the correct preposition.

Cut the airplane themed grammar game ESL flashcards and give half the class preposition words and the other half flashcards. Students must find their matching partner.

Preposition Go Fish with the small cards. Print the picture cards in pairs (e.g., two cards of each). Students ask each other: “Do you have the airplane under the clouds?”
If yes, they take the card and make a pair. If not, the answer is “Go fish!”

Create Your Scene How to play: Give students airplane and cloud cutouts plus preposition cards. They place them on a blank paper or small mat and write or say the sentences.

Cutouts that come in b/w and colored version. Act It Out – Give students the airplane and clouds templates glued onto crafts sticks and have them place them in positions as they roll the dice.

Mini Diorama Placement. Provide students with the templates to cut and glue. Write the prepositions and then write a description of where the airplanes are in this interactive activity.

Worksheet 1: Read, Draw & Color. Students read the sentence and draw the airplane in the correct place around the cloud. Then they color the airplane and cloud to show comprehension of the preposition.

Worksheet 2: Fill in the Blanks. Students answer the question “Where is the airplane?” by filling in the missing preposition. Great for reinforcing vocabulary and sentence structure.

Worksheet 3: Color & Match. Students color the airplanes and match each picture to the correct sentence. This strengthens reading comprehension and preposition recognition.

Worksheet 4: Read, Color & Complete. Students read the simple sentence, color the airplane and clouds, and then fill in the correct preposition to complete the meaning.

 Matching Mat. Print the mat with labeled prepositions, and students place the airplane cutout in the correct spot on the mat.

Puzzle Game. Students match a sentence with the correct picture.

Airplane Prepositions Flap Book. Students glue the printable onto another paper and cut the flaps. They lift each flap to reveal a space where they write their own sentence using the preposition.
 

Help elementary ESL learners count vehicles 1-20 with flashcards, worksheets, and games in a transportation‐themed pack, included in this resource. Take a look!   https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/10/counting-vehicles-1-to-20-esl-number.html

 

Check out my Pinterest board for printable materials and creative activities!
From flashcards to worksheets, you'll find tons of useful resources to make your lessons fun and interactive.
Visit the board here: https://www.pinterest.com/ei98srl/esl-transportation/

Thanksgiving Furniture Vocabulary and Activities for Elementary ELLs

 This resource ( Thanksgiving Furniture Vocabulary & Prepositions Activities for Elementary ESL Learners) is part of the House Furniture for Elementary ESL, at my store:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/House-Furniture-unit-for-Elementary-ESL-3420723

The Thanksgiving Furniture resource is useful for teachers because it combines holiday fun with essential vocabulary practice, helping students review furniture words in a meaningful, seasonal context. It keeps learners engaged through hands-on Thanksgiving-themed activities while reinforcing language skills. Celebrate Thanksgiving with furniture vocabulary and fun prepositions activities for elementary ESL/ELL students. Flashcards, worksheets & games included.

Have the students identify and name common pieces of furniture found in various rooms of the Thanksgiving house. Point to a room in the flashcards and they call out any furniture. Then, place that flashcard with an arrow pointing to it and saying: There is a green bed.

Use basic sentences to describe the location of different pieces of furniture (e.g., "The bed is in the bedroom,"). The flashcards help to aid the vocabualry of each furniture piece. Example: There are two pictures in the living room. There is a purple rug and an orange sofa. I can see a purple lamp on a yellow table.

“Find the Closet!” Activity. Show the three closet flashcards (red, blue, and green). Say a color aloud — for example, “Show me the blue closet!” do the same with lamps, rugs, tables, etc.

In this hands-on activity, students place a turkey cutout on different furniture flashcards to practice vocabulary in an engaging, thematic way. It helps reinforce word recognition while adding a fun Thanksgiving twist to the lesson.

Small cards. Picture-to-Word Match: Have students match pictures of furniture items to the corresponding word cards.

Memory Game: Place all flashcards face down and have students take turns flipping two cards to find a match.

Flashcard Tower. Students using the cards, they try to build the tallest “tower” (stacked or overlapped). Adds competition and fine motor fun while reinforcing vocabulary.

Students can use the small cards to describe each image using prepositions, for example, “The owl is behind the window.” This activity helps them practice sentence structure and spatial vocabulary in a fun, visual way.

Students complete a worksheet by writing the name of each furniture item and coloring it as the teacher dictates. As a follow-up activity, they can write simple sentences for each item to practice spelling, vocabulary, and sentence formation.

Match the word to the picture (e.g., "couch," "bed," "table").

Fill-in-the-Blanks: Create sentences with blanks for furniture words, helping students practice using the vocabulary in context.

There is a read and color worksheet where students read short sentences and color the furniture items accordingly. This activity helps them practice reading comprehension and color vocabulary in a fun, interactive way.

There are three worksheets featuring different rooms of a house. Students listen and color the furniture as the teacher gives instructions, then label each item and write a short description text to practice vocabulary and writing skills.

Cut and Paste worksheet: Provide cut-out pictures and words for students to match and glue onto a worksheet, creating a physical activity that can aid memory.

Cut and paste each piece of furniture in the correct room of the house as labeled.

Word association matching activity where students practice vocabulary by pairing Thanksgiving-themed furniture picture cards with their corresponding word cards.

Write sentences with prepositions using the word and picture cards useful for the practice of sentence structure, and prepositions in context.

There is counting 1 to 20 turkeys in the oven included in this resource, here: 

https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/09/counting-120-turkeys-in-oven-numbers.html

Find more ideas and resources at my Pinterest Board.

https://www.pinterest.com/ei98srl/esl-house-unit/teaching-house-unit/

Sports Worksheets for ESL | Vocabulary and Grammar Activities

 This resource ( sports vocabulary worksheets ESL elementary)  is included to download here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sports-for-ESL-Vocabulary-and-Grammar-Activities-14663481

The worksheets give students the opportunity to practice, reinforce, and apply the vocabulary and grammar they learn through games and flashcards. Download the worksheets  – print and go, suitable for elementary ELLs.

Connect visuals with written language, helping them remember spelling and meaning. In this worksheet, students look at each picture and write the correct name of the sport.

In this worksheet, students draw lines to match each picture to the correct sport word. This activity helps learners recognize and remember sports vocabulary, develop reading comprehension, and make visual-to-word connections.

In this worksheet, students draw a picture of themselves doing their favorite sport and write a short text to describe it. They can use sentences such as I like playing soccer or I play tennis every weekend. This creative activity helps students personalize their learning, practice writing with correct grammar, and connect English to their real-life interests in a fun and meaningful way.

These worksheets for sports vocabulary help students practice listening comprehension while reviewing sports vocabulary. The teacher gives simple instructions such as Color the net blue! or Color the ball red! and students follow along.

In this worksheet, students read the color of each ball, color it accordingly, and then write the name of the sport it belongs to.

In these sports verbs worksheets, students read and answer questions related to sports using complete sentences. This activity helps learners practice forming short and full answers.

In this worksheet, students draw lines to match each sport with the correct equipment — for example, tennis → racket. This activity helps reinforce vocabulary connections between sports and the objects used to play them. 

Follow-up Activity Idea: After completing the worksheet, students can write or say full sentences using their matches: You need a racket to play tennis.

I Like + Sport Worksheet.  In this worksheet, students practice the grammar structure I like + sport by reading, writing, and personalizing sentences. They can match pictures to sentences, complete sentence starters like I like…, or write about their favorite sports. This activity helps learners express preferences, build complete sentences, and use sports vocabulary in a meaningful context. It’s perfect for speaking or writing practice after introducing the I like + sports pattern.

This worksheet students  searchfor the words, learners improve spelling recognition, visual memory, and word awareness. It’s a great activity for early finishers, independent practice, or warm-ups, keeping students engaged while still focused on English vocabulary.

In this worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle using clues or pictures of different sports equipment. This helps learners review vocabulary, practice spelling, and develop reading comprehension as they connect each clue with the correct word.

In this worksheet, students read different sports and sort them into the correct column: go, do, or play. For example, go swimming, do karate, play soccer. This activity helps learners understand verb–noun collocations used with sports, build grammar accuracy, and reinforce vocabulary.

In this worksheet, students look at pictures of different sports facilities and write their names, such as tennis court, soccer field, or swimming pool. This activity helps reinforce place vocabulary related to sports.

Follow-up Activity:
Students can research and write the names of famous sports facilities in their notebooks—like Wimbledon for tennis or Camp Nou for soccer—to connect what they learned with real-world examples. This extension encourages curiosity, writing practice, and cultural awareness.

More practice with the small cards is available, here:    https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/2025/10/sports-small-cards-for-esl-vocabulary.html

Find creative ideas and engaging resources for teaching young learners, visit my blog for preschool teachers here: EFL Preschool Teachers Blog. You'll find practical activities, tips, and resources designed to make learning fun and effective for little ones!