Lesson Plan

Let's Describe! (Adjectives Lesson)

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

1, 2

Overview

Students will learn what an adjective is and how to categorize adjectives using an interactive sorting game. Students will compete with each other by categorizing adjectives by color, shape, size, and kind. Students will have to read and sort the adjective word cards. The student with no adjective word cards first, wins! Furthermore, students will use magazine photographs to describe nouns and write sentences.

This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 1

ELA21.1.15

Identify and explain adjectives as descriptive words and phrases in all forms of texts, including poems.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.1.15

Vocabulary

  • Identify
  • Explain
  • Adjectives
  • Descriptive words
  • Descriptive phrases
  • Poems

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Adjectives are descriptive words or phrases that occur in all genres of text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify adjectives in all forms of texts, including poems.
  • Explain the meaning of adjectives as descriptive words and phrases in all forms of text, including poems.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Adjectives are a type of word that are used to describe nouns in all forms of text.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 2

ELA21.2.45

Demonstrate understanding of standard English language conventions when writing.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.2.45

Vocabulary

  • English Language conventions

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The English language has grammatical conventions that must be followed when writing.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Correctly use standard English language conventions in writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • To clearly communicate through writing, they must use standard English language conventions.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 2

ELA21.2.45a

Identify the role of a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb within a sentence and explain the type of the information it conveys.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.2.45a

Vocabulary

  • Noun
  • Verb
  • Adjective
  • Adverb
  • Conveys

Knowledge

  • There are different types of words within a sentence, and each word provides a particular type of information.
  • The role of a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb within a sentence.

Skills

  • Identify a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb in a sentence.
  • Explain the type of information nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs provide in a sentence.

Understanding

  • Each word in a sentence plays an important role in conveying meaning.
  • A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea and tells who or what the sentence is about.
  • A verb expresses an action or a state of being and tells what the noun is doing.
  • An adjective describes a noun or a pronoun and tells attributes of the noun.
  • An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or adverb, and provides more description about another word in the sentence.

Primary Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Identify adjectives
  • Categorize adjectives
  • Read and sort adjectives
  • Make visual representations of adjectives
  • Write sentences using adjectives

Procedures/Activities

Motivation/Introduction:

  1. Teacher will read Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? by Brian P. Cleary.
  2. The teacher will explain that adjectives can be divided into four groups: color, shape, size, and kind.
  3. The class will discuss adjectives in the story.
  4. Students will describe illustrations in the story using adjectives.

Teaching/Learning Activities:

  1. Students will play an interactive sorting game.
  2. The teacher will tell the students they are about to play a game called, “Let’s Describe!”
  3. The teacher will tape on the floor the five colored index cards entitled: Adjectives (top) with the four categories under the title labeled: Color, Shape, Size, Kind
  4. The teacher will explain that the objective of this game is that the adjective cards be placed under the correct categories.
  5. The teacher will select two students to play “Let’s Describe”.
  6. Each student will receive 20 cards.
  7. Students will compete with each other by putting adjective cards down on the floor by categorizing them by color, shape, size, and kind.
  8. Students will have to read and sort the cards, quickly. The student with all the adjective cards down first, wins!
  9. The teacher will gather the cards and select other students to play with.

Closure:

  1. On the interactive whiteboard, the teacher will display the following five sentences containing adjectives.
  • The pink pig is muddy.
  • John has a brown dog.
  • My blue shirt is hanging up.
  • The white snow fell down.
  • My yellow bee flew by.
  1. After discussing each sentence, a student will come to the board to underline the adjective in the sentence.
  2. Think, Pair, Share: The teacher will tell students to turn to his/her partner and create a sentence with an adjective.
  3. Students will be asked to write their sentences on the interactive board.
  4. Students will ask other students to underline the adjective in the sentence.
  5. Once the children understand that adjectives can be divided into categories, students will create their own picture chart of adjectives.
  6. The teacher will pass out magazines, paper, scissors, glue, and pencils.
  7. Students will cut out five pictures and glue them to a sheet of paper.
  8. Students will create and write a sentence about the pictures using an adjective.
  9. Students will underline adjectives in the sentences.
  10. As a closing activity, students can play any of the following online games:

Assessment Strategies

Formative Assessment:

  • Students will make drawings of adjectives describing nouns.
  • Assess individual charts constructed by students for student understanding
  • Assess students sentences with adjectives underlined

Informal Assessment:

  • Oral Assessment
  • Visual Assessment

Acceleration

  • Students may make additional adjectives (describing words) cards as an extension lesson.
  • Students may create a visual noun chart by cutting out pictures from magazines and newspapers.
  • School House Rock video "Unpack Your Adjectives."

Intervention

  • Demonstrate the procedure over again as needed.
  • Limit adjectives categories to two.
  • Students with learning disabilities will be provided a designated peer reader and helper, as well as provided assistance with proofing classwork.
  • ELL students will have reduced length in written assignments and be allowed more time to complete written assignments. These students are also allowed to work with a partner.
  • ESL students will be provided a model, as well as visual aids. Students work will be modified as well as given extra time to complete tasks.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

61 to 90 Minutes

Background and Preparation

Background/Preparation

  • Students need to understand nouns.
  • Teacher will make adjective word cards using index cards.
  • Five colored index cards will be labeled: Adjectives, Color, Shape, Size, Kind
  • Forty white cards: 10 color words, 10 shape words, 10 size words, and 10 words describing “kind”

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

  • 5 Colored Index Cards
  • 40 White Index Cards
  • Tape
  • Markers
  • Crayons
  • Pencils
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Magazines
  • Book: Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? by Brian P. Cleary

Technology Resources Needed

  • Computer with Internet access
  • Interactive White Board

Approved Date

2014-03-01
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