Colours ESL Worksheets, Games & Activities

ESL Colours Flashcards and Worksheet - Flashcards: Eliciting, Drilling, Sentence Frames, Substitution Drills - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, True or False, Spelling, Controlled Practice In this colours resource, students learn nine common colours and practice them with flashcards and a worksheet. To begin, hold up each flashcard. Point to the picture and elicit each colour word. Then model and drill pronunciation chorally and individually. Next, write the following frames on the board: 'What colour is it?' 'It's...' 'Is it (blue)?' 'Yes, it is. / No, it isn't.' Show the flashcards again and ask different students the questions from the board. Elicit suitable responses as you move around the class. Students then move on to the worksheet and match colour words to pictures. Next, students look at pictures and read the sentences, marking them true or false. Finally, students look at the pictures in Exercise B again and complete the colour words. As an extension, play a quick review game with the flashcards, e.g. what's missing?, slap-the-card, alphabetically sorting race, etc. This resource can also be used with our 'Colours Snap' game and 'Colours Survey' activity. show less

ESL Colours Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Sentence Completion, Reading Statements, Giving Short Answers, Controlled Practice In this colours survey activity, students review nine common colours by completing personal statements and then doing a class survey. First, students complete each colour-related sentence with true information using the colour words on the worksheet. Next, students try to find someone with the same colour and someone with a different colour for each sentence by going around the class, reading their sentences and listening to their classmates' replies. When a classmate has the same colour for a sentence, they reply, 'Me too.' The two students then write each other's names in the 'Same colour' column. If the colour is different, their classmate reads their sentence, e.g. 'My favourite colour is green.' The two students then write their classmate's name and colour in the 'Different colour' column. Finally, in pairs, students share one or two simple things they found out, e.g. 'Mia's phone is black' or 'Ben likes red flowers.' Then invite a few volunteers to read one sentence to the class. This resource can also be used with our 'Colours Flashcards and Worksheet' and 'Colours Snap' game. show less

ESL Colours Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Group or Pair Work In this engaging colours game, students find pictures that match with colours. The aim of the game is for students to find three pictures that match a colour vocabulary card. In groups, students take turns turning over three picture cards. If the three pictures are all the same colour, the student puts them next to the corresponding vocabulary card and says the colour (e.g. yellow). The student then keeps the picture cards and corresponding vocabulary card. If the pictures do not match, the student turns the cards back over. The student with the most cards at the end wins the game. As a variation, students score one point when they match three picture cards. Then, for an extra point, they describe each picture card using the colour, e.g. red car, red cap, red strawberry. The student with the most points at the end wins. show less

ESL Colours Board Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Impromptu Speech, Freer Practice - Group Work In this fun colours board game, students practice vocabulary related to colours and talk in response to topic-related prompts. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and reading the sentence to the student on their right using the word 'blank' for the missing colour-related word, e.g. 'Apples are usually BLANK or green.' The student on the right listens to the sentence, chooses a word from the game board and says it aloud to complete the sentence, e.g. red. If the student says the correct word shown on the card, they roll the dice and move their counter along the board. If the student gives an incorrect answer, they do not roll the dice. If a student lands on a 'Talk about...' square, they talk in response to the prompt to remain on the square. If a student can't think of anything to say, they go back one square. The card is then placed at the bottom of the pile, and it's the next student's turn to pick up a card. The first student to reach the finish wins the game. show less

ESL Colours Activity - Vocabulary: Unscrambling, Completing Gap-fill Clues, Describing, Guessing - Pair Work In this free colours crossword activity, students complete a crossword by describing and guessing primary and secondary colours. In two groups, students unscramble letters to form the names of primary and secondary colours. Next, students write clues for the colours shown in their crossword by thinking of two things that represent each colour. After that, students pair up with someone from the other group and take it in turns to ask their partner for a clue to one of the missing colours in their crossword. Their partner reads out the clue for that word and the other student tries to guess the colour. If the student guesses the word successfully, they write it in their crossword. If not, their partner continues to give more clues until the student is able to guess the word. When the students have finished, they compare worksheets to check their answers. show less

ESL Colours Worksheet - Vocabulary and Speaking Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill, Multiple Choice, Listing, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice - Pair Work Here is a useful colours worksheet to help students practice the names of common colours. First, students match each colour with a suitable picture. Students then match each description with its correct colour. Next, students complete sentences about colours with their own ideas and then compare their answers with a partner. After that, students complete facts with the correct colour from the choices shown. Following that, students write down one thing they have for each colour, e.g. a black phone. Finally, students tell a partner what they have to see if they own the same thing in the same colour, e.g. 'My phone is black. Is your phone black?' If their partner answers yes, the student ticks the object. Afterwards, students share which things they have in the same colour as their partner with the class. show less

ESL Colours Activity - Vocabulary, Speaking and Listening: Gap-fill, Describing, Drawing, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work This fun colours activity helps students review colours and phrases to describe the colour of an object. In two groups, students begin by completing the names of 11 colours with vowels. Students then add five objects to a bedroom picture on their worksheet and colour everything in using the 11 colours. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group and take turns dictating their picture and the colours of the objects to their partner, who listens, draws and colours as instructed. Finally, students compare their drawings to see if the original and the dictated copy are the same. show less

ESL Colours Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Identifying, Crossword, Sentence Completion - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions - Pair Work This comprehensive colours worksheet helps students practice the names of colours in English. To begin, students look at words in a box and match them with their appropriate colours. Next, students look at groups of words and decide which word is a different colour and doesn't belong and underline it. Students then write the colour of the other three words in the space. After that, in pairs, students discuss and write down what they think the best colour is for various objects. Students then move on to complete a crossword by reading clues and writing the correct colours. In the last exercise, students complete sentences with colours so that they are true for them. Students then guess their partner's answers. Afterwards, students ask their partner questions to find out if their guesses are right or wrong, e.g. 'What colour is your toothbrush?' show less

ESL Colours Quiz - Speaking: Unscrambling, Asking and Answering Multiple-Choice Questions, Guessing - Pair Work In this entertaining colours quiz, students form trivia questions about colours and then take part in a quiz where they ask and answer the questions with a partner. In groups, students put words in the correct order to make multiple-choice quiz questions about colours, creating one more question of their own at the end. After the questions have been checked, students pair up with someone from the other group. Students then take it in turns to ask the multiple-choice quiz questions to their partner, awarding one point for each correct answer. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Colour Games - Vocabulary: Pelmanism, Gap-fill, Guessing - Pair Work Here are creative two colour games to help students practice adjectives related to colour and the names of less common colours. First, in pairs, students play a pelmanism game where they take turns turning over a definition card and a colour vocabulary card. If the colour or adjective on the vocabulary card completes the definition, the student reads the definition aloud using the colour or adjective in the sentence. The student then keeps the two cards and has another turn. If the cards don't match, the student turns them back over. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins. Students then move on to play a game where they test their partner on the colour vocabulary. Students take it in turns to choose a pair of cards. Their partner picks up the chosen pair and reads the definition card using the word 'blank' for the missing colour or adjective. The other student then guesses the missing word. If the answer is correct, the student wins and keeps the cards. If not, the cards are removed from the game. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end wins. show less

ESL Colours Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Unscrambling, Matching, Categorising, Gap-fill - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions - Pair Work Here is a productive colours worksheet to help students practice or review verbs, nouns and adjectives related to colour. First, students unscramble the names of colours and match them with their definitions. Students then put verbs, adjectives and nouns related to colour into their correct categories. Next, students underline the correct colour-related noun in each sentence. After that, students complete sentences with the colour-related verbs provided. Next, students match sentence halves and complete the sentences with one of the colour-related adjectives shown. Students then move on to complete conversation questions with colour words. Lastly, students ask and answer the questions with a partner. show less