Lesson: Comparative/Superlative Adjectives
Grade Level: 5
Subject: ELA
Overview and Purpose / · To understand the function of three basic kinds of adjectives. Students will write using comparative and superlative adjectives.Standards Addressed / · Use grammatical conventions of written Standard American English, including
§ irregular comparative and superlative adjectives
Introduce and Explain / · Copy the poem “Adjectives” by Mary O’Neill and use it to discuss the three basic kinds of adjectives.
· During the discussion, try to elicit from students the fact that certain adjectives don’t have simple comparative and superlative forms, but instead must be preceded by more, less, and most.
Literature Connection
· Pecos Bill by Steven Kellogg
· The Bunyans by Audrey Wood
· I Love You the Purplest by Barbara Joose
Model / · Write a couple of examples on the board to help illustrate this concept.
· 1.) The tree is tall. (Tall is a positive adjective which modify nouns without comparison).
· 2.) This tree is taller than that one. (Taller is a comparative adjective because it compares one of two nouns).
· 3.) That tree is the tallest one. (Tallest is a superlative adjective because it compares one of three or more nouns).
Guided Practice / · Tell students that their task is to create comparative and superlative nouns and verbs. This should yield some ridiculous words (i.e. deskiest, climbier), the effect of which, in turn, will be a fun lesson, and the activity will also unobtrusively drive home the fact that only adjectives are comparative or superlative.
Independent Practice / · Have students practice independently with their list created in the guided practice to write accurate comparatives and superlatives sentences to bring back to focus. Also, make a quiet point of correcting students’ use of then for than.
Formative Assessment / · Collect sentences to assess if students are having any misconceptions or if small group instruction is needed for those who are still having difficulty.
DI / Alliterative Superlative Adjective
· In groups of three (or two or four, if necessary), students choose a noun together and then separately find superlative adjectives that start with the same letter as the noun.
· Example: Cave: coldest, clammiest, creepiest
Bat: biggest, blackest, buggiest
A Superlative Poem
· Students can also write poems that build their form from the basic kinds of adjectives.
Little,
The dog is little.
Littler,
The puppy is littler.
Littlest,
The flea is littlest.
Resources / · The Adjective Poem, attached
· Grammar Girl Podcast http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx
· http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/regcom.htm
· http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/grammar/adjectives/quiz328.html (Online quiz)
· http://rickwalton.com/curricul/acpig.htm (Neat ideas to help with unmotivated students)
Adjectives
Adjectives tell you the quality of a person, place, or thing.
As pretty girl, big city, fast horse, golden ring.
Some adjectives increase their strength
By going on to greater length:
As pretty when you’re positive she’s fair,
But prettier whenever you compare,
And see a second more exquisite face
Among the members of the human race.
But prettiest is where you reach
the top—
Superlative—and there you have to stop.