How to Teach Simple Past Irregular Verbs in a Fun Way

Learning irregular verbs in the simple past tense can be tricky for students. But with a bit of creativity, you can make mastering irregular verbs engaging and enjoyable. Here are some hands-on ideas to liven up your simple past irregular verbs lesson.

Get Physical with Total Physical Response

Total physical response (TPR) is a great way to energize your classroom and get students out of their seats. Have students act out each irregular verb as you call it out. For example, for "write" have them pretend to hold a pencil and write. For "drive" have them mime turning a steering wheel. This kinesthetic approach really cements the verbs into their memory.

Craft Irregular Verb Monsters

Let your students make silly irregular verb monsters. Have them draw a monster body and add irregular verb heads, arms, legs etc. So the monster's head could be "ate", its left arm "wrote", right leg "saw" and so on. Get creative with googly eyes and craft supplies! Displaying their monsters around the classroom immerses them in irregular verbs.

Play Irregular Verb Basketball

Head outside and have students take shots at the basketball hoop when you call out an irregular verb in the past tense. "Ran" - they shoot a basket. "Bought" - they shoot again. The more active they are, the more engaged their brains are! Offer fun prizes for most baskets.

Make Irregular Verb Comics

Unleash your students' artistic sides by having them create their own comic strips using irregular verbs. Provide comic templates and have them illustrate a short narrative using the simple past. Let them come up with crazy stories like "The day the hamster flew to the moon and swam with aliens".

Act Out Irregular Verb Charades

Get everyone on their feet and act out irregular verbs for their classmates to guess. Split into teams and take turns miming verbs like "drive", "sing", "buy". Add challenge by acting out full sentences with multiple verbs. The sillier the better!

Build Irregular Verb Word Walls

Work together to decorate your classroom with an interactive irregular verb word wall. Have students make illustrated flashcards for each verb to mount. Creating a visual learning aid together makes memorization meaningful. Add new verbs as you go along.

Play Irregular Verb Bingo

Use irregular verbs to play a round of bingo. Call out past tense verbs and have students search for them on their bingo cards. The first to get 5 across, down or diagonal wins! Prizes add excitement and you can replay multiple times.

Finding fresh, engaging ways to teach irregular verbs doesn't have to be difficult. With tools like Padlet, Wordwall, Kahoot, EdPuzzle, and JeopardyLabs, you can easily create activities that make mastering the simple past fun. And don't forget - if you need help designing lessons and worksheets that resonate with students, check out the AI educator assistant at to-teach. It's designed by teachers for teachers to take the stress out of planning.