Daily Routines Chain Game

Beginner (A1) 20 minutes
ESL daily routines game preview, beginner A1, matching, controlled practice, controlled practice

ESL Daily Routines Game - Vocabulary and Grammar: Matching, Controlled Practice - Group Work

In this engaging daily routines game, students practice the names of 12 common daily routines by matching pictures in an 'I..., Do you...?' chain. In groups, one student starts by placing one of their cards...

ESL Daily Routines Game - Vocabulary and Grammar: Matching, Controlled Practice - Group Work In this engaging daily routines game, students practice the names of 12 common daily routines by matching pictures in an 'I..., Do you...?' chain. In groups, one student starts by placing one of their cards face up on the desk. Each card has two halves. The left half is 'I...' plus a picture prompt, and the right half is 'Do you...?' plus a picture prompt. The student then says the pair of sentences shown on the card by reading the prompts and saying the daily routines in the pictures, e.g. 'I cook. Do you drink?' All the students then look for the matching 'I...' card that shows the correct picture. Whoever has that card places it next to the card on the desk, saying, 'Yes, I do. I...', and then reads the next question on their card, e.g. 'Yes, I do. I drink. Do you eat?' The process continues with the next card, and so on. Students continue in this way, placing cards so the pictures match, until all the cards have been matched correctly. The group that matches all the cards correctly first wins. Groups can play several rounds to reinforce the vocabulary and give different players a chance to start. This resource can also be used with our 'Daily Routines Flashcards and Worksheet' and 'Daily Routine Riddles' game.

Daily Routines: Flashcards & Worksheet

Beginner (A1) 30 minutes
ESL daily routines flashcards and worksheet preview, beginner A1, eliciting, drilling, matching, gap-fill

ESL Daily Routines Flashcards and Worksheet - Flashcards: Eliciting, Drilling - Vocabulary and Grammar Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill

In this useful daily routines resource, students learn the names of 12 common daily routines and practice them with flashcards and a worksheet. To begin...

ESL Daily Routines Flashcards and Worksheet - Flashcards: Eliciting, Drilling - Vocabulary and Grammar Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill In this useful daily routines resource, students learn the names of 12 common daily routines and practice them with flashcards and a worksheet. To begin, hold up each flashcard. Point to the picture and elicit the daily routine. Then model and drill pronunciation chorally and individually. Next, write the following frames on the board: 'What do you do in the morning/evening?' 'I...' and 'What time do you...?' 'I... at...' Show the flashcards again and ask different students questions using the sentence frames on the board. Elicit suitable responses as you move around the class. On the worksheet, students then match the daily routines to pictures. Finally, students complete sentences with the daily routine words. As an extension, play a quick review game using the flashcards, e.g. slap-the-card, sorting, what's missing? Or have students write six sentences about their own daily routine using the words. This resource can also be used with our 'Daily Routines Chain Game' and 'Daily Routine Riddles' game.

Daily Routine Riddles

Beginner (A1) 15 minutes
ESL daily routines game preview, beginner A1, describing, guessing, pair work

ESL Daily Routines Game - Listening, Speaking and Vocabulary: Describing, Guessing - Pair Work

In this daily routines game, students review the names of 12 common daily routines by listening to clues and guessing the answers. In pairs, students take turns picking up a card and reading the first clue to their...

ESL Daily Routines Game - Listening, Speaking and Vocabulary: Describing, Guessing - Pair Work In this daily routines game, students review the names of 12 common daily routines by listening to clues and guessing the answers. In pairs, students take turns picking up a card and reading the first clue to their partner, who tries to guess the daily routine, using the phrases, 'It is...' or 'You...' If their partner guesses the correct daily routine shown in bold on the card after the first clue, they score two points. If not, the student reads the second clue for one point. If the daily routine is not guessed correctly after the second clue, the student reveals the answer and removes the card from the game. The two students then swap roles and repeat the process with the next card. This continues until all the cards have been used. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins. This resource can also be used with our 'Daily Routines Flashcards and Worksheet' and 'Daily Routines Chain Game'.

Daily Routines Board Game

Elementary (A1-A2) 25 minutes
ESL daily routines board game preview showing vocabulary, gap-fill, impromptu speech and freer practice for Elementary A1-A2

ESL Daily Routines Board Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Impromptu Speech, Freer Practice - Group Work

In this free daily routines board game, students practice vocabulary related to daily routines and talk in response to topic-related prompts. Players take turns rolling the dice and moving their counters...

ESL Daily Routines Board Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Impromptu Speech, Freer Practice - Group Work In this free daily routines board game, students practice vocabulary related to daily routines and talk in response to topic-related prompts. Players take turns rolling the dice and moving their counters along the board. When a player lands on a square, another student picks up a card and reads out the sentence using the word 'blank' for the daily routine word in bold, e.g. 'I BLANK at 6:00 a.m. and turn off my alarm clock.' The player listens to the sentence, chooses a daily routine word from the game board, and says it aloud to complete the sentence, e.g. wake up. If the player says the correct word shown on the card in bold, they stay on the square. If not, they move their counter back two squares. If a player lands on a 'Talk about' square, they talk for 20 seconds in response to a prompt to remain on the square. If a player can't think of anything to say or stops talking before the 20 seconds are up, they go back two squares. The first player to reach the finish wins the game.

Daily Routine Dash

Elementary (A1-A2) 25 minutes
ESL daily routines games preview with matching, pelmanism, gap-fill and ordering for Elementary A1-A2

ESL Daily Routines Games - Vocabulary and Reading: Matching, Pelmanism, Gap-fill, Ordering - Pair Work

In these fun daily routines games, students complete sentences with vocabulary related to daily activities and then race to put the sentences in order to create a text about someone's daily routine...

ESL Daily Routines Games - Vocabulary and Reading: Matching, Pelmanism, Gap-fill, Ordering - Pair Work In these fun daily routines games, students complete sentences with vocabulary related to daily activities and then race to put the sentences in order to create a text about someone's daily routine. First, students play a pelmanism game where they match and complete sentences about a person's daily routine with related vocabulary. In pairs, students take turns turning over one vocabulary card and one gap-fill sentence card. If the daily routine word or phrase logically completes the gap-fill sentence, the student reads the sentence aloud, keeps the two cards, and has another turn. If not, the student turns the two cards back over. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins. Afterwards, ask the students to look at their matched cards and elicit the answers from the class. As you go through each answer, students write the daily routine word or phrase into the gap-fill sentence. Next, pairs race to put the sentence cards in order to form a text about someone's daily routine. The first pair to do this wins. Finally, go through the order of the text with the class and review the daily routines vocabulary.

Daily Routines Survey

Elementary (A1-A2) 20 minutes
ESL daily routines survey activity preview showing question forming, group survey and reporting for Elementary A1-A2

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice - Group Work

In this insightful daily routines activity, students conduct a survey where they ask and answer 'Do you...?' questions about daily routines. First, each student creates the daily routine 'Do you...?' question...

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled Practice - Group Work In this insightful daily routines activity, students conduct a survey where they ask and answer 'Do you...?' questions about daily routines. First, each student creates the daily routine 'Do you...?' question they need to ask from the prompt on their card, e.g. 'Do you usually wake up before 7:00 a.m.?' Students then go around their group, asking and answering the daily routine questions. Students note the number of people who answer yes or no to their question on the card. Finally, each student reports their findings to the class, e.g. 'Four people usually wake up before 7:00 a.m.'

Daily Routine Vocabulary

Pre-intermediate (A2) 30 minutes
ESL daily routines worksheet preview with binary choice, matching, error correction, gap-fill and writing for Pre-intermediate A2

ESL Daily Routines Worksheet - Vocabulary and Writing Exercises: Binary Choice, Matching, Error Correction, Gap-fill, Writing a Paragraph

Here is a useful daily routines worksheet to help students practice vocabulary related to daily routines. Students begin by discussing three questions about daily...

ESL Daily Routines Worksheet - Vocabulary and Writing Exercises: Binary Choice, Matching, Error Correction, Gap-fill, Writing a Paragraph Here is a useful daily routines worksheet to help students practice vocabulary related to daily routines. Students begin by discussing three questions about daily routines in pairs. Students then underline the correct verb in each sentence about daily routines. Next, students match each verb with words or phrases they are usually used with. After that, students find mistakes in routine-related sentences and correct them. Following that, students use words from a box to complete a text about a person's daily routine. Students then write a paragraph about their own daily routines using the vocabulary from the worksheet. Finally, students take turns presenting their daily routines to the other students, who listen and decide whose daily routine is the most similar to their own.

Find Someone Who Usually...

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL daily routines activity preview with gap-fill, questions, and class feedback for Pre-intermediate A2

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice

In this engaging daily routines speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about their daily routines and habits. First, students complete 'Find someone who...' prompts with daily routine...

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice In this engaging daily routines speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about their daily routines and habits. First, students complete 'Find someone who...' prompts with daily routine verbs in their correct form. Next, students go through the prompts and prepare the yes/no questions they need to ask in the activity, e.g. 'Do you usually get out of bed before 6:30 a.m.?' Students then go around the class asking each other the daily routine questions. When a classmate answers 'yes' to a question, the student writes down their name and asks a follow-up question to gain more information, noting down the answer in the last column. Afterwards, students give feedback to the class on what they found out.

Daily Life Discussion

Intermediate (B1) 30 minutes
ESL Daily Routines activity preview asking and answering questions, guided discussion, freer practice for intermediate B1

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Discussion, Freer Practice - Group Work

Here is a daily routines discussion activity that helps students practice vocabulary related to daily routines and discuss their habits and routines. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and asking the...

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Discussion, Freer Practice - Group Work Here is a daily routines discussion activity that helps students practice vocabulary related to daily routines and discuss their habits and routines. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and asking the other students in the group the daily routine discussion question on the card. Each student responds to the question in turn, and the students then discuss the daily routines topic. This process continues until all the daily routine question cards have been discussed. When the students have finished, review the questions on the cards and elicit answers from around the class.

Which Routine is Better?

Intermediate (B1) 35 minutes
ESL Daily Routines activity preview, discussion, asking and answering questions for intermediate B1

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Discussion, Freer Practice - Group Work

In this daily routines discussion activity, students use comparative structures to express and justify preferences about daily routines. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and asking...

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Discussion, Freer Practice - Group Work In this daily routines discussion activity, students use comparative structures to express and justify preferences about daily routines. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and asking the other students in the group a 'Which is better, ... or ...? Why?' question from the prompt on the card, e.g. 'Which is better, exercising in the morning or exercising in the evening? Why?' After each student has given their answer, including at least one reason, the group discusses the topic before moving on to the next card. If a student picks up a blank card with 'or' on it, they can ask any 'Which is better...?' question they like. Finally, get feedback from around the class on which routines the students think are better and why.

Eco-Friendly Daily Routines

Upper-intermediate (B2) 30 minutes
ESL Daily Routines worksheet preview matching, binary choice,
gap-fill, writing sentences for Upper-intermediate B2

ESL Daily Routines Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Binary Choice, Gap-fill - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work

Here is an informative daily routines worksheet to help students learn and practice verbs related to eco-friendly daily routines. Students begin by...

ESL Daily Routines Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Binary Choice, Gap-fill, Writing Sentences - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work Here is an informative daily routines worksheet to help students learn and practice verbs related to eco-friendly daily routines. Students begin by matching halves together to form sentences about eco-friendly routines. Students then match the verbs in bold from Exercise A with their correct definitions. Next, students underline the correct verb to complete each sentence. After that, students complete sentences about eco-friendly routines using verbs from a box. Students then move on to complete sentences about eco-friendly practices with their own ideas and compare them with a partner. Finally, in their pairs, students ask and answer conversation questions about environmental habits.

Routine Reset

Upper-intermediate (B2) 50 minutes
ESL Daily Routines activity preview planning and delivering a short talk, peer review, freer practice for Upper-intermediate B2

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Listening and Speaking: Planning and Delivering a Short Talk, Peer Review, Freer Practice - Pair Work

In this daily routines speaking activity, students give short talks about a routine change they have made, contrast the present perfect simple and continuous, and use sequencing and result language...

ESL Daily Routines Activity - Listening and Speaking: Planning and Delivering a Short Talk, Peer Review, Freer Practice - Pair Work In this daily routines speaking activity, students give short talks about a routine change they have made, contrast the present perfect simple and continuous, and use sequencing and result language. In pairs, students take turns giving short talks about a routine change they have made to their partner, who gives feedback. First, the speaker turns over a card, reads the routine change and guiding questions, and plans what to say for 30 seconds, while the listener writes the routine change on their worksheet and reviews a checklist. Next, the speaker gives a 60–90 second talk. The other student listens and ticks the criteria met on the checklist, and then gives feedback. The two students then swap roles and repeat with a new card. This continues until each student has given three talks. Finally, pairs give feedback to the class on their talks.

Using Daily Routines Vocabulary

Daily routines vocabulary covers the verbs and phrases used to describe habitual actions that people perform each day, from waking up and getting ready in the morning to eating meals, commuting, and winding down at night. Students who rely on a narrow set of verbs, using 'do' or 'make' for every action, produce descriptions that sound flat and repetitive, while those with a wider range can describe their day with the kind of natural specificity native speakers use without thinking.

This page covers daily routines vocabulary across A1, A1-A2, A2, B1, and B2 levels, with 12 activities ranging from flashcard drills and chain games to surveys, discussion tasks, and a speaking activity with peer review, including one free download.

The table below shows the key daily routines vocabulary, including the verb phrase to use, when each routine typically happens, and an example sentence for each.

Daily RoutineVerb PhraseTime of DayExample Sentence
waking up wake up / get up morning 'I usually wake up at 6:30 a.m. and get up straight away.'
washing have a shower / have a bath morning / evening 'She has a shower every morning before breakfast.'
getting dressed get dressed morning 'He gets dressed quickly and eats breakfast at the same time.'
eating meals have breakfast / have lunch / have dinner morning / midday / evening 'We usually have dinner together at 7:00 p.m.'
going to work or school go to work / go to school morning 'I go to work by train and arrive at 9:00 a.m.'
doing exercise go to the gym / go for a run morning / evening 'She goes for a run three mornings a week.'
relaxing watch TV / read a book evening 'He watches TV for an hour before going to bed.'
going to bed go to bed / fall asleep night 'I usually go to bed at 11:00 p.m. and fall asleep quickly.'

When to Use Daily Routines Vocabulary

Making Small Talk With New People: When students meet someone new in a social or professional setting and conversation stalls, daily routines vocabulary gives them a reliable topic to draw on, as in 'Do you usually work from home, or do you go into the office?'

Describing Work Habits in Writing: When students write a cover letter or professional bio that asks them to describe their working style, daily routines vocabulary lets them go beyond vague claims and be specific, as in 'I typically start my day by reviewing my emails and setting three priorities before I begin any project work.'

Comparing Routines Across Cultures: When students discuss lifestyle differences with international peers or in a cross-cultural writing task, daily routines vocabulary provides the verbs and time expressions needed to describe what is normal in their own culture and contrast it with another, as in 'In many Spanish-speaking countries, people tend to eat their main meal at midday rather than in the evening.'

3-Step Framework for Teaching Daily Routines Vocabulary

1. Introduce Vocabulary With Sentence Frames: Before students can talk about their own routines, they need the core verbs and a structure to hang them on. Use flashcards to elicit and drill the target vocabulary, then anchor the language immediately by writing two frames on the board: 'What do you do in the morning/evening?' and 'What time do you...?' These frames give students a ready-made scaffold so the vocabulary moves from recognition into production from the very first lesson.

2. Get Students Using the Vocabulary in a Real Survey: Once the vocabulary is in place, push students to use it communicatively with a survey task. Each student forms a 'Do you...?' question from a prompt card, such as 'Do you usually wake up before 7:00 a.m.?', then goes around the group asking and collecting answers. The reporting stage at the end, where students stand up and tell the class what they found out, such as 'Four people usually wake up before 7:00 a.m.', locks in both the vocabulary and the question structure at the same time.

3. Push Into Opinion and Discussion With Comparatives: Close the sequence by asking students to evaluate rather than just describe. A card-based discussion format prompts groups to debate preferences using a 'Which is better, ... or ...? Why?' structure, such as 'Which is better, exercising in the morning or exercising in the evening? Why?' Students who pick up a blank card with 'or' on it can invent their own comparison question, which pushes the most confident students further while keeping everyone engaged.

Common Mistakes with Daily Routines Vocabulary

Misplacing frequency adverbs: Students often place frequency adverbs like 'usually', 'always', and 'never' after the main verb rather than before it, which sounds unnatural and can make the sentence harder to follow. Wrong: 'I wake up usually at 7 a.m. and eat always breakfast at home.' Correct: 'I usually wake up at 7 a.m. and always eat breakfast at home.'

Using 'do' instead of 'have' with shower and bath: Students often use 'do' with 'shower' and 'bath' through direct transfer from their first language, when English consistently pairs these nouns with 'have.' Wrong: 'I do a shower every morning before I go to work.' Correct: 'I have a shower every morning before I go to work.'

Common Questions About Teaching Daily Routines Vocabulary

What is a fun daily routines board game for ESL students?

The free board game Daily Routines Board Game has two types of squares. On a regular square, the player must name the correct daily routine from a gapped sentence or move back two squares. On a 'Talk about' square, the player has 20 seconds to respond to a prompt or lose their place on the board.

What is a useful worksheet for teaching daily routines vocabulary?

The worksheet Daily Routine Vocabulary takes students from recognition to production in one sequence. They underline the correct verb in routine sentences, match verbs to the words and phrases they collocate with, correct errors in routine sentences, complete a gap-fill text, then write and present a paragraph about their own daily routine.

What is a good daily routines speaking activity?

The activity Find Someone Who Usually... gets the whole class on their feet asking daily routine questions. When a classmate answers 'yes', the student writes their name and asks a follow-up question to find out more, so every exchange moves from a yes/no answer into a short real conversation.

Become a Teach This Member

Get unlimited access to the full library, plus new resources added every week.

Unlimited Resource Access

Download from 3000+ worksheets, activities, and games.

Save 5+ Hours Weekly

Cut lesson prep time with ready-to-use resources, plus teacher notes and answer keys.

Trusted Professional Quality

Classroom-tested, editable resources created by experienced ESL professionals.

Fresh Content Weekly

Get 5 new resources added to the library each week.

Join Now Just $29.99 quarterly