Make Your Sports Activity
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Words used in these worksheets (20)
badminton
baseball
basketball
bowling
cycling
football
golf
gymnastics
ice hockey
ice skating
karate
rugby
skateboarding
skiing
soccer
surfing
swimming
table tennis
tennis
volleyball
Need different words? Remove words or add more from the full Sports set. Your saved custom list is not changed.
More quick worksheets and games
I split sports into three groups: sports we play (soccer, tennis), activities we go do with -ing (go swimming, go skiing), and sports that use do or their own verb (do karate, do gymnastics). This list mixes all three, so it's worth pointing out which verb goes with which.
I use sports to introduce "Have you ever played...?" and "Have you ever gone...?" I ask the question over and over for a long while before I ask students to produce it. For young children it's a very natural question, while "Do you play tennis?" is surprisingly abstract.
Useful phrases for Sports
Pair the vocabulary with one sentence pattern at a time. Each level builds on the one before.
Starting out
First lessons, once students know the words- Do you like soccer? Yes. / No.
- Have you ever played tennis?
- I play baseball. I go swimming. I do karate.
Next step
Building on the basics- He plays basketball. She doesn't play golf.
- I'm going to go skiing this weekend.
- I like to swim. I want to try surfing.
Challenge
For older or more advanced students- How often do you go bowling?
- The girl that plays volleyball is my friend.
- I've played soccer for two years.
Teaching tips for Sports
Sort by play, go and do
Make three columns on the board and sort the cards together: play soccer, go swimming, do karate. Once students see the pattern, they rarely mix the verbs up.
Save "Do you play...?" for later
"Do you play tennis?" asks about a habit, which can be hard for young children to grasp. "Have you ever played...?" and "Do you like...?" are easier first questions.
Watch the names
Soccer is football in many places, and American football is something else. Table tennis is also called ping-pong. Use whichever names your students hear at home and at school.
Older students know more sports
Very young children may not know golf, rugby or badminton yet. Use Edit this list to keep the sports your students actually play and see.
Sports lesson ideas
Sports survey
Students ask classmates "Have you ever played...?" for five sports and tally the answers, then report back: "Eight people have played soccer."
Charades
A student mimes a sport and the class guesses: "Are you playing tennis?" "No, I'm playing badminton!"
Sports day planner
In groups, students plan a class sports day: which three sports, what equipment, and what each team is going to do.
A sports week
Flashcards and the play/go/do sort on day 1, word search on day 2, charades on day 3, then bingo or the board game with "Have you ever...?" to finish.
More Sports resources from MES
- Sports flashcards 3 sets: play, go and do
- Speaking First Curriculum: Unit 11 how sports fit into a full course
- Sports listening exercises audio and worksheets
- Sports online games vocabulary practice for students
All Sports images (57)
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