If you have ever taught action verbs and felt like your students could point to the right word but freeze when it is time to actually use it, this action verbs craft is for you. I created this activity because I wanted something hands on, visual, and flexible enough to work with ESL learners, early writers, and students who need repeated exposure to verbs in a meaningful way.
Instead of another worksheet that gets completed and forgotten, this craft gives students a concrete way to interact with action verbs. They are reading the words, choosing them, placing them, and often acting them out without even realizing they are practicing language.
If you’re introducing verbs for the first time, it helps to pair this craft with a clear reference students can revisit. I often link back to my action verbs list so students and teachers have a simple place to see common verbs grouped and explained. It reinforces the vocabulary they’re physically sorting during the craft and supports students who need extra repetition.
Why I Use an Action Verbs Craft When Teaching Verbs
Action verbs are not meant to be passive. They describe movement, behavior, and real life actions, so teaching them should involve movement and interaction too. This action verbs craft works so well because it combines language, fine motor skills, and student choice.
If you're looking for high frequency words, you can grab the full printable sight word list for kindergarten if you want the same monthly breakdown and checklists laid out in one simple, classroom-ready format.
I use this craft during grammar units, ESL vocabulary lessons, literacy centers, speech therapy sessions, and even as an assessment tool. It works in whole group lessons, small groups, or independently, which makes it incredibly versatile.
As students grow more confident with basic actions, they naturally start noticing verb changes, especially in past tense. That’s when an ESL list of irregular verbs becomes helpful, because many high-frequency action verbs don’t follow predictable patterns. This connection helps teachers bridge hands-on verb learning with more formal grammar instruction later on.
What Is Included in This Action Verbs Craft
Inside this blog post, you will find access to the full craft set, including:
A colored template for quick prep or display
A black and white template for students to color
An editable version so you can customize the action verbs
The editable option is especially helpful if you are working with ESL students, targeting specific verbs, or aligning the craft with IEP or speech goals. You can reduce the number of verbs, simplify the vocabulary, or focus on a specific theme like movement or daily routines.
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How to Create the Action Verbs Craft in the Classroom
Putting this craft together is simple and low prep.
Students start by coloring the superhero template using crayons or colored pencils. I usually encourage pencils because they keep the final result neat and classroom friendly.
Next, students cut out the verb cards. Before gluing anything down, I like to have students read each verb aloud or say a simple sentence. This step alone creates so much natural repetition without drill.
Once students choose their verbs, they glue them onto the superhero. At this point, the craft becomes a great discussion tool. Students love sharing which action verbs they picked and why.
For classrooms working on patterns and structure, I also like to reference a list of regular verbs PDF alongside this craft. It gives students a clearer contrast between verbs that change in expected ways and the action verbs they’re already using in sentences during the activity.
Activity 1: Superhero Action Verbs Sorting Craft
This is the heart of the lesson and honestly one of those crafts that looks cute and actually teaches something meaningful. In this activity, students sort and place action verb cards directly onto the superhero craft to show their understanding of what an action verb is.
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Instead of just circling words or filling in blanks, students are physically handling the verbs, reading them, and deciding where they belong. That hands-on decision making is what makes this action verbs craft stick.
Once students are ready to go deeper, especially in upper elementary or ESL settings, understanding tense becomes essential. Linking to irregular verbs 3 forms allows teachers to extend this action verbs craft into past, present, and future tense practice without overwhelming learners too early.
What You Need to Prepare
Prep is simple and very teacher-friendly.
You will need:
The superhero action verbs craft template
The action verb word cards
Scissors and glue
Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
The craft includes both a colored template and a black and white version, so you can choose what works best for your class. The black and white version is perfect if you want students to color it themselves, which adds extra fine motor practice.
If you want to reuse this activity, laminating the craft base and verb cards works well and turns it into a reusable literacy center.
Action verbs also pair beautifully with describing words, especially when students start expanding sentences. I often connect this lesson with the adjective chart easy craft so students can practice combining actions with details, like fast run or loud jump, using another hands-on visual activity.
How to Use the Action Verbs Craft
I like to introduce this activity after a quick review of what action verbs are. We usually say a few verbs out loud and act them out together first. Nothing fancy, just quick movements to get brains switched on.
Students then:
Color the superhero craft
Cut out the action verb cards
Read each verb out loud or quietly
Decide if the word is an action verb they can show or do
Glue the verb cards onto the superhero's body
There is no single "right" placement, which takes the pressure off. The focus is on identifying and recognizing action verbs, not perfect positioning.
As students work, I walk around and ask simple questions like:
What does this verb mean?
Can you do this action?
Can you use this verb in a sentence?
Those questions naturally turn this craft into a language activity instead of just an art project.
Finally, verbs don’t work alone, and students quickly need to know who is doing the action. That’s why I naturally link this craft with personal pronoun worksheets to help students move from single verbs to complete sentences like He is running or They are playing, making this activity part of a full language progression.
Why This Works So Well for ESL and Early Learners
This action verbs craft works especially well for ESL students because it combines visual, physical, and language input all at once.
Students are:
Seeing the word
Touching and moving the word
Saying or thinking about the word
Connecting the word to an action
That multi-sensory approach helps verbs stick much faster than worksheets alone.
For younger students, even just reading and placing the verb cards is enough. For older or more advanced students, you can easily extend the activity by having them say or write a sentence using one or more verbs they chose.
Easy Differentiation Ideas
To simplify the activity:
Give fewer verb cards
Pre-read the verbs together
Allow students to match verbs you say out loud
To challenge students:
Ask them to explain why each word is an action verb
Have them choose verbs and use them in oral sentences
Add a sentence strip like "I can ___" or "I ___ every day"
This makes the same craft usable across multiple grade levels and ability groups.
How This Craft Fits Into a Full Lesson
I usually use this action verbs craft as the main activity after a short warm up and before movement games or sentence building. It creates a nice flow:
introduce action verbs
sort and apply them with the craft
extend learning through speaking, acting, or writing
It's one of those activities that looks great on the wall, but more importantly, students actually remember the verbs they worked with.
Activity 2: Verb labeling pictures warm up
Before starting the action verbs craft, I always like to warm students up with a visual activity so the vocabulary feels familiar. The verbs labeling pictures activity works perfectly here because students label what they see first.
This helps ESL learners connect the word to the action before they ever touch the craft. When they later choose verb cards for the superhero, those same words already feel known instead of new.
Activity 3: Action verb charades game
After students finish their action verbs craft, I like to keep the energy up with movement. Action verbs should not be taught sitting silently at desks if we can avoid it.
Using the action verb cards, students take turns picking a card and acting out the verb while the class guesses. This activity gets repeated verb exposure naturally and encourages students to say the verbs out loud multiple times.
It is especially effective for shy speakers and ESL students who benefit from movement supported language practice.
Activity 4: Who is doing what sentence building
Once students are comfortable identifying action verbs, the next step is sentence building. This is where many students struggle, especially with pronouns and verb agreement.
I like pairing this craft with who is doing what action verbs because it helps students move from single words into complete sentences. After completing the craft, students can practice sentences like He is running or They are jumping, using the same verbs they already worked with.
This makes grammar practice feel connected instead of random.
How I Use This Action Verbs Craft With ESL Learners
For ESL students, I usually start with fewer verbs and focus on high frequency actions like run, jump, clean, eat, and play. We read each verb together, act it out, and then place it on the craft.
For beginners, the black and white version allows for slower pacing and extra fine motor practice. For more advanced students, the editable version lets me introduce more complex verbs while keeping the structure familiar.
Why This Action Verbs Craft Works So Well
This action verbs craft works because it is not just about identifying verbs. It encourages students to talk, move, choose, and explain. The superhero theme adds excitement, but the real value comes from how naturally language practice happens.
Students are far more likely to remember verbs they used in a craft, acted out in charades, and applied in sentences than verbs they only circled on a worksheet.
Final Thoughts on Teaching With an Action Verbs Craft
If you are building an action verbs unit, this craft fits perfectly into your lessons. It works beautifully with labeling activities, verb cards, and sentence building tasks, and it adapts easily for ESL, early learners, and mixed ability classrooms.
If you want a hands on way to teach action verbs that actually sticks, this action verbs craft is one you will use again and again.
Don't forget to grab your printable craft below. Click on the sign up button and then reload the page, click on the image and it'll direct you to the download automatically:
