A selection of English ESL sports printables with finding specific information (scanning), reading comprehension

This is an easy reading comprehension activity about a famous goal scored in Mexico in 1986. Students read the text, match some words with the meanings, and answer the questions.

Maradona's Famous Hand Of God Goal

This is an easy reading comprehension activity. Students complete a text about Fifa World Cup trophy with the missing words, and answer the questions. Solutions included.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy

This ESL worksheet consists of two exercises. The first one is the text with eleven gaps which students must fill in with the words given below and then students choose T, F оr NS. Hope you find it useful.

Crazy Free Time Activities

This worksheet explores the achievements of the five greatest Olympic athletes of all time: Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi, and Larisa Latynina. Designed for EFL students, the worksheet aims to enhance reading comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills. Students will learn about Michael Phelps, who won 23 gold medals in swimming across five Olympics, showcasing his versatility and endurance. Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, set world records in the 100m and 200m sprints, winning multiple gold medals. Carl Lewis dominated track and field with nine gold medals in events like the long jump and sprints over four Olympics. Paavo Nurmi, the "Flying Finn," won nine golds in distance running, revolutionizing training methods with precise pacing and interval training. Larisa Latynina, a gymnast, earned 18 medals over three Olympics, setting high standards for future gymnasts.

The worksheet includes warm-up questions to activate students' prior knowledge and interest, reading comprehension questions to ensure understanding, and discussion topics to encourage deeper thinking about dedication, inspiration, and personal connections to these athletes. A creative activity invites students to draw and write about their favorite Olympic moment, fostering creativity and personal expression. This resource provides a comprehensive and engaging way for EFL teachers to introduce students to legendary Olympic athletes while developing essential language skills.

The 5 Greatest Olympic Athletes of All Time

This  worksheet is about hockey. It has two exercises, first, one text with gaps to complete and then, some definitions to match with the apropiate picture.

It is made for learn new vocabulary and practise objects descriptions.

Discover Ice Hockey 

This is a reading comprehension activity. The worksheet contains a picture and a short tale. Students must say if the statements given are true or false and then they must answer the questions.

Easy reading - Sunday trekking

This is a reading comprehension activity. The worksheet contains a short tale. Students have to say if the statements given are true or false, then they have to answer the questions.

A gold medalist - Easy Reading

This is an easy reading comprehension activity about a sporty girl. Students read the passage, revise vocabulary about sport and answer the questions. A2 level. Solution included.

Sport & Reading - I love ballroom dance

This worksheet contains an easy reading comprehension activity and a writing task. Students read the text, answer the questions, and write a few lines about themselves as requested. 

Sports & Verb Can - Meet Emma

This worksheet is designed for A2 level English learners aged 12-14 and focuses on the benefits of playing sports. It includes a simplified article, “How Sports Help Children Grow,” with language and content appropriate for younger learners. The lesson covers key vocabulary, comprehension questions, and encourages students to express their own opinions through structured activities.


The worksheet begins with warm-up questions to activate prior knowledge and engage students in a discussion about their favorite sports and experiences. A vocabulary matching exercise follows, which introduces key words from the text and helps students understand them in context. The comprehension section includes true/false statements and multiple-choice questions to check their understanding of the article. Open-ended comprehension questions encourage students to think more deeply about the benefits of sports.


Finally, discussion questions promote speaking practice, and a homework assignment asks students to write a short paragraph about their favorite sport and why they like it. This activity is designed to improve reading and writing skills while also building vocabulary and fostering confidence in expressing personal opinions in English. The content is designed to be relatable and engaging, promoting active participation in class discussions.

How Sports Help Children Grow

Reading comprehension/Listening comprehension. The topic is winter swimming/ice swimming. It is ideal for B1/B2 level students. Additional conversation questions are provided.

Winter Swimming RC/LC


This activity focuses on vocabulary and comprehension skills, using a short article about how sports can shape better and more ambitious children. It is designed for adult learners at a B1 (Intermediate) level. The activity includes a warm-up discussion, vocabulary matching, true/false statements, multiple-choice questions, and a final discussion to encourage speaking practice. The vocabulary matching exercise helps reinforce key words from the text and builds context for the following comprehension questions. The true/false and multiple-choice questions check students’ understanding of the text and engage them in critical thinking. The final discussion encourages learners to share their own experiences and opinions about sports and its influence on children’s development. This exercise is ideal for an intermediate-level class that wants to explore personal development themes, and it also provides an opportunity to practice both speaking and reading comprehension. It can be used as a standalone lesson or integrated into a larger unit on parenting, personal growth, or education. Suitable for small groups or individual lessons, the activity helps improve language skills while discussing a relatable and interesting topic.

How Sports Shape Better and More Ambitious Children

Finding specific information (scanning)

Sports

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

For personal or classroom use only. Uploading on other internet sharing platforms or any commercial use NOT PERMITTED. Share Alike.

Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License

Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives License

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License

how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

24 Sports, Finding specific information (scanning), Reading Comprehension English ESL worksheets pdf & doc