Time to Skip the Verb Tense Worksheets!

This is the perfect resource to enhance your reading and writing instruction in the classroom. This activity has students reading and identifying the past, present, and future tenses of regular verbs. With a fun butterfly-themed format, students will match present-tense regular verbs with their past and future-tense counterparts.

Students will lay out the present tense butterfly cards on the table to play. Then they will use the remaining wing cards to identify the past and future tense forms that correspond to each present tense card.

Students will show their ability to identify and use past, present, and future tense forms of regular verbs with this activity.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your English Language Arts and writing lessons. 

In addition to individual student work time, use this activity to enhance learning through guided writing groups, whole class lessons, or remote learning assignments. 

Suppose you have a mixture of above and below-level learners and ELL/ESL students. In that case, we have a few suggestions for keeping students on track with these concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Complete the activities as a whole group, encouraging students to interact with the lesson and talk about their learning.

Provide students with a present, future, and past tense verbs anchor chart for reference.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

Have students extend their learning by identifying verbs around the classroom and listing them on paper. Then have them identify the past, present, and future tenses of those verbs.

Have students write sentences using the verbs presented in the activity.

Check out our blog to learn more ways to improve your students’ sentences.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to download the Color or Blackline PDF version of this resource.

But Wait! There’s More! If you need other resources to build skills with tenses, have a look at

• Creature Creator: Verb Tense Task Cards
• Tense: Verbs Worksheets
• Verb Tense Anchor Chart
• Perfect Tense Verb Worksheets

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter collaborator.

While you’re here, check out more activities and teaching resources that fill your lesson plans and students’ brains: