“Pick up” games

Here are 10 fun and kid-friendly ESL games designed to help young learners understand and use the expression “pick up” in its different meanings (like picking something up, learning, collecting, or answering a phone). Each game is simple, visual, and movement-based to keep kids engaged!

 
🎈 1. Pick It Up Scavenger Hunt
Objective: Use "pick up" with objects.
How to Play: Hide classroom items (like toys or flashcards). Call out, “Pick up the red car!” Kids search and say, “I picked up the red car!” when they find it.
Target: Vocabulary & action phrases.
 
📞 2. Ring Ring! Who Will Pick Up?
Objective: Practice “pick up the phone.”
How to Play: Use a toy phone. One student calls, another "picks up" and answers using a fun greeting. Switch roles.
Target: Listening & speaking in context.
 
🎤 3. Repeat & Pick Up
Objective: Teach "pick up" as “learn.”
How to Play: Say new words or phrases. Students echo back. Then ask, “What did you pick up?” They answer, “I picked up a new word: banana!”
Target: Listening & vocabulary retention.
 
🧼 4. Pick Up Trash Game
Objective: Use “pick up” in clean-up context.
How to Play: Scatter paper balls (pretend trash). Kids race to “pick up the trash.” Each time they say, “I picked up trash!” Fun and helpful!
Target: Verbs, environment vocabulary.
 
🧠 5. Memory Pick-Up
Objective: Use “pick up” with learning memory.
How to Play: Show a set of pictures (like animals). Hide them. Ask, “What did you pick up?” Kids say, “I picked up dog, cat, and elephant!”
Target: Memory & sentence building.
 
🧺 6. Pick Up & Sort
Objective: Practice categorizing.
How to Play: Kids “pick up” items and sort them into baskets (colors, shapes, food vs. animals, etc.). As they place each item, they say, “I picked up a ___.”
Target: Categorizing + full sentences.
 
🏃 7. Pick Up Relay
Objective: Physical fun with verbs!
How to Play: Place objects at one end of the room. Kids run, pick up one, run back, and say what they picked up: “I picked up a book!”
Target: Movement + speaking practice.
 
🧳 8. Pick Up for a Trip
Objective: Use “pick up” in context of collecting things.
How to Play: Pretend you’re packing for a trip. Students “pick up” items (clothes, toys, food) and say, “I picked up a shirt for the trip!”
Target: Travel vocabulary + context use.
 
👂 9. Pick Up the Sound
Objective: Practice “pick up” as hearing or noticing.
How to Play: Play different animal or object sounds. Ask, “What sound did you pick up?” Students guess: “I picked up a cat sound!”
Target: Listening comprehension.
 
🎲 10. Roll & Pick Up
Objective: Combine chance with language use.
How to Play: Roll a dice to land on a picture board (e.g., toy, fruit, book). The student must find and “pick up” that item and say a sentence: “I picked up a banana.”
Target: Object recognition, sentence practice.
 
All of these games are:

💬 Simple in language
🧒 Perfect for ages 5–10
🎨 Easy to adapt with visuals or props
💡 Designed to reinforce both meaning and usage of "pick up"
Would you like printable templates or visual flashcards to go with these?

For more games, please visit my instagram page :

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5Xjw25I-3l/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==