Verbs are the engines of sentences. They show what is happening, what has happened, or what will happen. Helping students understand action, linking, and helping verbs (and their tenses) gives them the tools to write with clarity and power.
This post is packed with engaging activities, videos, games, books, posters, and free resources you can use to bring verbs to life in your classroom.
It’s a verb. It’s a verb.
It’s an action word.
You can do it. You can do it.
It’s a verb.
Teaching Video with Organizer
This video is a great overview of verb tenses. It includes definitions and examples for the following verb tenses:
- present, present perfect, and present progressive
- past, past perfect, and past progressive
- future, future perfect, and future progressive
The lesson pairs with a provided graphic organizer. Students listen to the first part of the video to hear the definition of interjections. When instructed to do so, students pause the video and complete their organizers. Finally, students watch the remainder of the video to check their answers.
Download free posters, the video organizer, and classroom handouts here.
More Verb Activities
Activity #1 – Posters
Mini-posters are a great reference tool for students during writing lessons. These cover definitions and examples of different verb types and tenses.
(Included in the free handout bundle!)
Activity #2 – Schoolhouse Rocks
Nothing sticks quite like a jingle. Try Schoolhouse Rock’s “Verbs,” a fun way to introduce or reinforce action words. Students often memorize the tune, which helps them remember key concepts.
Activity #3 – Grammar Charades
Play charades where students act out verbs and classmates guess the action. Add complexity by requiring students to name the tense or form (e.g., “past progressive”).
Teaching Tip:
Use this as a warm-up before writing. It helps students visualize how verbs drive sentence meaning.
Verb Activity # 4 – Verb Sorting Challenge
Create cards with verbs in various tenses and forms. Students sort them into categories (e.g., “past perfect,” “helping verb,” “irregular verb”).
Teaching Tip:
Turn it into a timed relay race for small groups. The fastest accurate sort wins!
Verb Activity #5 – “Verb or Not?” Game
Give students a mix of words and phrases. They must decide whether each is a verb and justify their reasoning.
Teaching Tip:
Include tricky cases like gerunds and infinitives to stretch their thinking.
Verb Activity #6 – Sentence Surgery
Provide “broken” sentences missing verbs or with incorrect tense. Students “operate” by rewriting and correcting them.
Teaching Tip:
Use color-coded markers to highlight the subject, verb, and object for visual reinforcement.
Activity #7 – Online Activities that Help Students Learn about Verbs
Enjoy these games and activities to help students learn about verbs:
Here is a link to help you find lessons and practice pages:
Activity #8 – Using Picture Books to Teach Verbs
Children’s literature is full of lively language! These books make verbs easy to understand and fun to explore:
- Grammar Tales: A Verb for Herb by Maria Fleming
- Nouns and Verbs Have a Field Day by Robin Pulver
- To Root To Toot: What is a Verb? by Brian P. Cleary
- Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp by Brian P. Cleary
- Shake, Rattle and Roll: Doodlezoo: An Action-Packed Verb Book by Keith R. Potter
- Kites Sail High: A Book about Verbs by Ruth Heller
- If You Were a Verb by Nancy Loewen and Sara Jean Gray
(Tip: Many of these are available as read-alouds on YouTube.)
Activity #9 – Verb Anchor Chart
Anchor charts are a must-have for grammar lessons. This chart covers the perfect tenses with sample sentences so students can see patterns at a glance. Having examples visible makes it easier for them to use correct forms in their own writing.
If you missed the link to the handouts, here it is again.
See the product that inspired this post.
Ready to dive deeper?
To look at how Teaching Grammar with Animated Shorts can transform your grammar lessons, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store. You’ll find detailed lesson plans, interactive activities, and everything you need to bring grammar to life in your classroom!
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