1st grade action verbs worksheets

First graders find the action verb in sentences they read themselves. The reliable test stays physical: the action word is the one you could act out.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.K.1.b.

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The kind of sentences you'll get

Underline the action verb in each sentence.

  1. Leo rests on his mat.

    Answer: rests

  2. A bug crawls on the wet log.
  3. Sam pets the soft pup on its back.

Every print pulls a fresh set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling never gets the same sheet.

What's on each sheet

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

After your child underlines, ask them to act the word out or mime it. If they can't act it, it probably isn't the action word, which is exactly the discovery you want. Watch for naming words being picked because they come first in the sentence.

Watch for: Words like is, are, and was are verbs, but they don't show action. Our action-verb sheets focus on the doing words. The action word changes with time: jump, jumped, and jumping are all forms of the same verb.

Common questions about action verbs

How is this different from the kindergarten version?
The reading is theirs now. First graders decode the sentence themselves and then hunt the action. The sentences are longer and hold more words that could tempt a guesser, so the act-it-out test earns its keep.
What comes after finding action verbs?
Verbs that don't show action, like is and was, arrive in 2nd grade as linking verbs. A first grader who can spot the doing word reliably has the anchor that makes those trickier verbs teachable later.

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Aligned to Common Core L.K.1.b. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 137, updated August 2026.

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