Action Words: Past and Present Fun!

English Language Arts Grades Kindergarten 5:43 Video
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Lesson Description

Let's learn about action words and how they change to show when something happened!

Video Resource

Irregular Verbs: Present and Past Tense - Learn to Read for Kids!

Miacademy Learning Channel

Duration: 5:43
Watch on YouTube

Key Concepts

  • Verbs are action words.
  • Verbs can be in the present (happening now) or past (already happened).
  • Some verbs change in different ways when going from present to past.

Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to identify verbs as action words.
  • Students will be able to differentiate between the present and past tense of simple verbs.
  • Students will be able to provide examples of regular and irregular verbs.

Educator Instructions

  • Introduction (5 mins)
    Begin by asking students what they did yesterday and what they are doing today. Introduce the idea that words describe these actions. Show the YouTube video: Irregular Verbs: Present and Past Tense - Learn to Read for Kids!
  • Present Tense Discussion (5 mins)
    Ask students what activities they are doing *right now*. Write their actions on the board. Explain that these are present-tense verbs - actions happening now.
  • Past Tense Introduction (5 mins)
    Explain that past tense verbs tell us about actions that already happened. Give examples like 'Yesterday, I played.' and 'Last week, I visited my grandma.'
  • Irregular Verb Examples (10 mins)
    Focus on the irregular verbs presented in the video. Write pairs on the board: come/came, eat/ate, go/went. Act out the verbs to show the difference between doing it now and doing it yesterday. Have the children act out the verbs with you.
  • Verb Game (10 mins)
    Play a 'Yesterday I...' game. Start a sentence: 'Yesterday, I...' and have each student complete it with a past tense verb. Guide them with irregular verbs as needed.
  • Drawing Activity (10 mins)
    Have students draw two pictures: one showing them doing something today (present tense) and one showing them doing something yesterday (past tense). Have them label their drawing using the correct verbs. (Today I run. Yesterday I ran.)

Interactive Exercises

  • Action Word Charades
    Write down simple verbs (run, jump, eat, sleep). Have students act them out. Then, say 'Yesterday, I...' and have them act out the past tense version (ran, jumped, ate, slept).
  • Verb Matching Game
    Create cards with present tense verbs and their past tense forms. Have students match the pairs. (go/went, eat/ate, see/saw).

Discussion Questions

  • What are some things you like to do every day?
  • What did you do yesterday?
  • Can you think of any words that tell us what we are doing?

Skills Developed

  • Active listening
  • Verb identification
  • Understanding tense
  • Creative expression

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1:

Which word tells you what you are doing?

Correct Answer: Run

Question 2:

If you 'eat' today, what did you do yesterday?

Correct Answer: Ate

Question 3:

Which sentence is about something happening NOW?

Correct Answer: I sleep now.

Question 4:

The word 'went' means you...

Correct Answer: Already went

Question 5:

What is another word for an action?

Correct Answer: Verb

Question 6:

Which one of these is a verb?

Correct Answer: Jump

Question 7:

What did you do yesterday with your eyes?

Correct Answer: Saw

Question 8:

I grow today, so yesterday I...

Correct Answer: Grew

Question 9:

What is something you do everyday?

Correct Answer: All of the above

Question 10:

What action word does a dog do?

Correct Answer: Bark

Fill in the Blank Questions

Question 1:

I ________ with my feet.

Correct Answer: walk

Question 2:

Yesterday I ________ a cake.

Correct Answer: baked

Question 3:

Today, I ________ the ball. Yesterday, I hit the ball.

Correct Answer: hit

Question 4:

I ________ to school yesterday.

Correct Answer: went

Question 5:

I ________ with my mouth.

Correct Answer: talk

Question 6:

Now I see, yesterday I _______.

Correct Answer: saw

Question 7:

What is another word for Action _______.

Correct Answer: Verb

Question 8:

Now I come, yesterday I _______.

Correct Answer: came

Question 9:

I ________ with my hands.

Correct Answer: clap

Question 10:

Today I eat, yesterday I ________.

Correct Answer: ate

Educational Standards

K.5.R.2:Students will recognize parts of speech in sentences with prompting: concrete objects as persons, places, or things (i.e., nouns), words as actions (i.e., verbs), color and size adjectives, the pronoun I, spatial and time relationships such as up, down, before, and after. K.4.W.1:Students will use new vocabulary to produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities. K.1.L.1:Students will actively listen using agreed-upon discussion rules with prompting. K.3.W:Students will use drawing, labeling, and writing to tell a story, share information, or express an opinion with prompting.

Teaching Materials

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