Action words for preschoolers

Tips on How to Teach Action Words to Kids

Home
Toddler
Play & Activities

By Mrunal - Updated: January 8, 2019

Before learning to converse, there’s a whole list of action words to teach your 19-month-old toddler. Easy to learn and fun to teach, it’s important for him to combine all of them to expand his vocabulary and know how to form phrases.

A toddler’s introduction to language begins by learning a few basic words and then expanding his vocabulary to form phrases and gradually conversing. The learning starts with basic sounds and words and moves on to names of people, places, and things. To make toddlers eager to learn a language, parents need to create enthusiasm. One of the best ways to do this is to teach action words. Toddlers find it easier to learn if they associate an action with a word.

How to Teach Action Words to Toddlers in a Few Simple Ways

Firm Introduction

Children must be introduced to the word action first. This can be done by showing them how an action is performed, i.e. by doing something. These actions could be simple things like eating, coloring, playing and sitting. Note some easy action words for kids and encourage your child to do them by performing them along with him.
Introduce Groups

It’s a good idea to introduce action words in groups. Compile action words in a group of words and read them aloud. Then, while calling out an item from the list of action words for toddlers, add a few non-action words and see if he can spot them.
Draw The Action

Learning a word becomes easier if you ask your child to draw a picture of that particular action word. It will also help in the development of motor skills aside from your toddler’s vocabulary list. This can also be played as a fun game where other kids have to guess what the action is.
Sing with Rhymes

A simple way to teach action words is by reciting rhymes that focus on actions. It makes them much easier to remember too. Some popular rhymes are:
- Row your boat
- Incy wincy spider
- One, two, buckle my shoe
- Rub-a-dub-dub
- Teddy bear, teddy bear
- Hop a little

Word Association

Another method of teaching your toddler action words as well as helping him remember different body parts is to associate the two things together. You can tell them the action that each body part does, for example, the eyes wink and blink, and the legs walk and run.
Keep Reminding

Make a board of all the action words for toddlers that you want your child to learn. Cut out pictures from magazines and discarded books, and put words beside each one for easy teaching.

Common Action Words

Here’s a list of the most common action words that can be used for teaching your toddler:

Jump, crawl, eat, drink, go, stop, run, walk, sleep, wash, kiss, open, close, push, pull, play, hug, tickle, dance, shake, sit, stand, throw, catch, and come.

Teaching and learning become easier if taught in a fun and playful way. The same should also be done with action words.

Previous article « Understanding Egocentrism in Young Children

Next article Is Eating Ghee After a C-section Delivery Recommended? »

Simple Action Words for Kids: Printable List of Key Verbs

DESCRIPTION

simple action words for kids
SOURCE

TopVectors / Stock / Getty Images Plus
PERMISSION

Used under Getty Images license

Teaching simple action words for preschool through elementary grades is useful because they lay the groundwork for other important lessons in the future. By the second grade, kids will be working with different parts of speech. Instilling the idea that "action words" are a class of words by themselves will make learning action verbs easier. Best of all, learning to read and write action words for kids can be exciting for little learners because they may already be familiar with many of the words.

Basic Action Words For Kids

Start with action words that describe behaviors that are already a part of young learners' lives. Use words for actions that they do themselves, as well as see others perform.

draw
jump
play
run
write

Action Words for Feelings

Some of the best action words for kindergarten and early elementary school are words about feelings and emotions, as well as how they react to such things.

cry
hug
kiss
smile
stomp

Daily Activity Action Words

Kids are developing daily habits and behaviors that will form the foundation of their regular routines. Teaching action words about these habits of daily living is a good way to cover terms that young learners have already experienced in context.

carry
eat
work
sleep
wash

Sensory Action Words

Some of the words in the list are related to fields that can be worked into various learning activities and lesson plans. For example, 1st and 2nd grade students could create small science projects as they learn about the five senses and action words that go with them.

listen
see
smell
taste
touch

Printable Action Verb List for Kids

The lists above include 20 action words for young learners, but there are certainly other words appropriate for preschool, kindergarten and early elementary students. Below, you'll find a more extensive printable list of verbs for kids. It's filled with alphabetical examples of simple action verbs for kids.

Simple action words pre k children

Click to View & Download

Many of the vocabulary words on the printable list above are actions that children of preschool age already read or hear about in their daily lives.

Simple Action Word Sentence Examples

It's a good idea to include simple sentences and/or questions in action word lessons and verb activities. This helps students clearly understand how the words will be used, which will help enhance the development of their language skills.

I cry when I feel sad.
I draw pictures of flowers.
We eat dinner at 6 p.m.
I see that it is raining.
I need to tell you something.
Can I touch the toy?
Do you want a cookie?
They will wash their hands.

After going over sample sentences in class, get students focused on recognizing and using action words in conversation. For example, during storytime, ask them to raise their hand when an action word comes up in the story. It's also a good idea to encourage young learners to come up with their own sentences that use action words.

Teaching Simple Action Words

Of course, there's more than one way to teach any subject, and different classes need to work at different paces. However, there are a few general guidelines that'll help you prepare your action word lesson plans for kindergarten, preschool and elementary grades.

Ask students to come to the front of the room. Have them actually perform the act of coloring, reading, talking, and so on. Then, ask the rest of the class what they are doing. This method is a way of introducing the concept of action words.
Have each student engage in an activity and then tell you what they are doing. Remind them they're using action words by telling you what they're doing.
Use flashcards if your plan is to stimulate reading and recognition. Start with pictorial flashcards and then move on to words. Allow students to match the action with the concept before asking them to try and memorize the abstract notion of language.
Have students draw pictures of different actions. Ask them to tell the rest of the class which actions they drew.
Students can also engage in miniature science projects to learn about the senses. For example, they could have a "sight" station (frog vs. tadpole) and a "touch" station (starfish vs. shell). If you're experimenting with the sense of taste, make sure none of the little ones are allergic!
As you move through the lesson, pair similar words together. For example, try discussing "walk," "jog," and "run" together, so students understand the similarities and differences among them.
Choose some of these free printable verb worksheets for all grade levels to enhance what students are learning in class. These make great in-class activities, and can also be used as homework exercises for early elementary learners.

Once your students are comfortable with the simple action words discussed above, you can start working even more action words into your lesson plans. Get inspiration from these action verb examples.

Instill the Joy of Grammar

Isn't it exciting? As a pre-K, kindergarten or early elementary school teacher, you have the power to instill the joy of grammar and language learning in every student you meet! When you're ready to explore sight words, refer to any of these fun sight word game ideas for preschool through early elementary grades. You can also have some fun building a giant list of three-letter words for pre-k students and beyond. Once your students are comfortable with action words for kids, start helping them decode the difference between action and non-action words.

Topic: “Words-objects. Action words. Acquaintance with the offer» | Outline of a speech therapy lesson (preparatory group) on the topic:

Topic: “Words-objects. Action words. Acquaintance with the sentence"

Purpose: To form the concepts of "words-objects", "words-actions", "sentence".
Tasks:

to learn to distinguish between words denoting living and inanimate objects; ask them the question “Who?”, “What?”
to teach to differentiate words-objects and words-actions;
introduce the graphic designation of the offer;
teach to answer the question in one word accurately;
develop grapho-motor skills;
develop attention, memory, thinking.

Equipment:

strips for sentence patterns for each child (2 corners, 2 dots, 4 stripes) and for working at the blackboard;
plot picture "Planting trees";
yellow magnet;
ball;
subject pictures with living and inanimate objects;
checkered notebooks, pencils, yellow pencil;
yellow circles from the math set.

Course of the lesson

1.Org. Moment
Children stand at their tables.
L.: raise your right hand, hide your left ear, stroke your left cheek, stamp your right foot, close your left eye.

2. Control "Object and Word"
L.: We are surrounded by various objects: a window, a curtain, a board, etc. Now you take turns showing and naming the objects around you.
- Conclusion: when we name an object, we pronounce the word.

3. Control “Count the words”
L.: Listen and count how many words I will say. How many words I say, so many strips you put in front of you (raise the same number of fingers).
- Machine. How many words did I say?
- Window, book. How many words did I say? What is the first (second) word?
- Board, clock, door. How many words did I say? What is the first (second, third) word?

4. Control "Alive-non-living"
L.: All objects are divided into living and non-living. Ask children to name living and non-living objects in the group (boy, girl, teacher, nanny, chair, table, toys).

L.: You can ask about every item. Listen as I ask, and you answer with one word.

What is it? (chair, wardrobe)
Who is this? (speech therapist, educator)
- Conclusion: about the living we ask “Who is this?”, About the inanimate “What is this?”

Dynamic pause.

1.Children go to the carpet and line up. One by one, they approach the speech therapist, take a picture and ask about the depicted object.
2. The game "Alive - run, inanimate - freeze."
Children run in a circle, and a speech therapist (educator) names objects: living children continue to run, inanimate children stop.

4. Action words

L.: All objects can do something.
Roll the ball. What does the ball do? Rolling.
Blow on the cotton. What is Vata doing? Flies.
The speech therapist is jumping. What am I doing? Jumping
- Conclusion: each object can perform an action, i.e. do something. When we name an action, we pronounce the word (Word-action)

5. Control "What is he doing?"
L.: I will ask about the effects of various objects. You answer with one word.
Aircraft. What is he doing? (flies)
Frog. What is he doing? (croaks, jumps)
Etc. with the words: ship, car, wind, bird, dog, cat, rain, sun, ball, telephone, singer, etc.
L.: How did I ask about the actions of objects? About the actions of objects, we ask “What does it do? What are they doing?

Phys. minute.
Raise your shoulders,
Grasshoppers jump,
We are with our feet - top-top,
We are with our hands - clap-clap,
We are with our shoulders - chik-chik,
We are with our eyes - a moment-a moment.
6. Learning how to make sentences

L. What is it? (Show the ball, drop it on the floor) Tell me what happened to him? (ball dropped). How many words did we say about the ball? (Two). Say the first word. Name the second word. Say two words at once. (ball dropped). It was a two word sentence.
We will now lay out this proposal with a diagram. 1st word - corner, 2nd word - strip. The offer always closes like a padlock, period. ( ___ ___.) Find an action word. I will attach a magnet above it.

- Dasha, pick up the ball. What did Dasha do? (Dasha picked up the ball.) Let's count how many words we said? Say the first word, second word, third word.

Let's designate the sentences again with a scheme. (Laying out diagrams).
- Collect the corners and stripes in piles.

7. Generalization of the concept of a proposal.
L.: Look at the picture. Look, am I right or wrong?
Girl, plant a tree. (No) The words that I said are not friends with each other. I didn't get an offer.
- Tell me right about the girl. (Girl planting a tree)
Count how many words are in the sentence. Post the diagram. Find the action word and put a yellow circle on top.
Also about the boy. (Boy, dig, earth).

- Conclusion: if you make friends with words, you get a sentence. The sentence expresses a complete thought.
8. Work in a notebook.
Graphic designation: corner, stripe.

Summary of the lesson.
We learned what words-objects and words-actions are. They learned how to make sentences from these words and lay out a sentence scheme.

Action words | Speech Office of the Logopedics lesson (preparatory group) on the topic:

State Budgetary Educational Institution of a general developmental type

Kindergarten No. 1444 of the Moskva

Summary of the individual Preschool age
“Words of action”

prepared

teacher GBOU kindergarten №1444

Razbakova Natalya Aleksandrovna

MOSCOW 2012

Abstract

individual lessons for children of senior preschool age.

Topic: "Action words"

Objectives:

Educational - to give an understanding of action words.

Educational - development of learning skills, listening to the instructions of the teacher - speech therapist, self-control, self-organization, independence in performing actions.

Educational - to teach to work in a team, mutual assistance, mutual support.

Corrective - improve the grammatical structure, develop and clarify the vocabulary of actions, work on word formation.

Equipment: pictures with words, actions, cards with words, objects.

The course of the lesson.

Organizational moment. Greeting, getting to know the child.

Subject: action words.

1. Development of visual perception.

Speech therapist: Look at the pictures and name who is doing what?

Pictures: a girl sews, a grandmother knits, a girl embroiders, a mother prepares dinner, a grandmother fries fish, a grandmother bakes pies.

Cow, goat, horse, chicken, duck.

Cards with words - objects (write on cards).

The child answers according to these pictures.

Speech therapist: Dima is correct.

2. Development of auditory attention. Differentiation of verbs from other words.

Speech therapist: Clap your hands if you hear action words.

Words: run, fly, road, swim, sun, sleep.

The child claps his hands when he hears action words.

Speech therapist: Correct Dima.

3. Development and refinement of the dictionary of actions.

Speech therapist: Who gives the voice? I write these phrases on the board, and you in a notebook.

Pictures: cow, goat, horse, chicken, duck, goose.

Child:

Cow - mooing

Goat - bleating

Horse - neighing

Chicken - clucking

Duck - quacking

Speech therapist: right, well done.

4. Physical education minute. Text movements.

Stomp with your left foot!

Step to the left! Stay where you are.

Turn right to your friend,

Give your friend your right hand.

Turn left towards your friend.

Give a friend a left hand.

One step back and two forward!

Right, left turn!

5. Work on word formation.

The speech therapist gives the child cards with words - objects, and asks him to pick up the words from which they are formed. For example: creak - creak.

Words: murmur, buzz, croak, neigh, crackle.

Speech therapist: I write these words on the blackboard, you in a notebook.

Child:

Murmur - murmur

Buzz - hum

Croak - croak

Neigh - neigh.

Crack - crack

Speech therapist: right Dima.

Summary of the lesson: Dima! What did you like about the lesson? What new did you learn today?

You did well today. Goodbye!

References

Bogomolova A.I. Speech therapy manual for classes with children. - St. Petersburg: Bibliopolis, 1994.
Learn more

Action words for preschoolers

Tips on How to Teach Action Words to Kids

How to Teach Action Words to Toddlers in a Few Simple Ways

Firm Introduction

Introduce Groups

Draw The Action

Sing with Rhymes

Word Association

Keep Reminding