English · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Verbs: Action Words

Active learning works well for verbs because students remember action words best when they act them out, see them in motion, and connect them to real experiences. Physical movement and visual timelines help Year 1 students grasp not only what verbs are but also how they shift to show time.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9E1LA04

• 15–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 20 min · Pairs

Action Freeze: Verb Spotting

Call out a verb; students act it out then freeze. In pairs, they name the verb and create a sentence using it. Switch roles three times, then share one sentence with the class.

How does an action word change when something happened in the past or will happen later?

Facilitation Tip

During Action Freeze, use a timer and quick verbal cues so students practice spotting verbs under gentle pressure.

What to look for

Write the following sentences on the board: 'The dog barked loudly.' 'The children will play outside.' 'Birds sang in the trees.' Ask students to point to or circle the action word in each sentence. Then, ask them to say if the action happened now, in the past, or will happen later.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Small Groups

Verb Swap Relay: Small Groups

Divide into small groups with a base sentence like 'The dog _____.' First student adds a verb and runs to tag the next, who changes it to past tense. Continue for five rounds, discussing choices.

Can you find the action word in this sentence?

Facilitation Tip

In Verb Swap Relay, place a small bell or clap to signal when groups must pass the sentence to the next player, keeping energy high.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a picture of a person or animal doing an action (e.g., a child reading, a cat sleeping, a person running). Ask them to write one sentence describing the action, using an appropriate verb. Then, ask them to rewrite their sentence to show the action happened yesterday.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 30 min · Whole Class

Tense Timeline: Whole Class

Draw a class timeline on the board for past, present, future. Students take turns adding sticky notes with verbs in each tense, acting them out first. Review as a group.

Can you write a sentence using a different action word to describe what someone is doing?

Facilitation Tip

With the Tense Timeline, move the cards yourself first to model the sequence before asking students to take turns.

What to look for

Ask students: 'If I say 'I eat an apple', what is the action word? Now, how can I change that word to show I ate the apple yesterday? What if I want to say I will eat the apple tomorrow?' Guide them to identify 'eat', 'ate', and 'will eat'.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 15 min · Individual

Verb Hunt Draw: Individual

Students scan a picture book or classroom chart for action words, underline them, then draw and label their own scene with three verbs. Share drawings in a gallery walk.

How does an action word change when something happened in the past or will happen later?

What to look for

Write the following sentences on the board: 'The dog barked loudly.' 'The children will play outside.' 'Birds sang in the trees.' Ask students to point to or circle the action word in each sentence. Then, ask them to say if the action happened now, in the past, or will happen later.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach verbs by pairing spoken words with gestures, then connecting those gestures to written sentences. Avoid long definitions; instead, show examples and ask students to generate their own. Research shows that physical action plus oral repetition strengthens verb recognition more than worksheets alone.

By the end of these activities, students will confidently point to, say, and write verbs in sentences and change them for past, present, and future time. They will also distinguish verbs from other word types through sorting and acting. Supportive peer feedback ensures everyone progresses together.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Action Freeze: Verb Spotting, watch for students who only look for human actions.

  Bring out a toy car, a plush animal, or a picture of a storm and ask pairs to act out the verb while others guess. Discuss how verbs describe actions by objects and nature too.

• During Tense Timeline: Whole Class, watch for students who think verbs never change form.

  Hand each student a verb card and have them place it on the timeline, saying the word aloud. If a student uses the wrong tense, the next student corrects it while moving the card, making tense shifts visible and memorable.

• During Verb Swap Relay: Small Groups, watch for students who label any descriptive word as a verb.

  Give each group a set of word cards and a sorting mat labeled Action, Person, Place, Thing. Students sort cards while saying, 'Does this show what someone or something is doing?' to reinforce the verb definition.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play