Which adjective goes first? Did that sound right? These are just some of the questions that arise when ordering adjectives in English. Although it can be tricky, there are some fun and engaging activities we can provide our students with that will help them master the order of adjectives.
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Begin with a Read Aloud or a Video
Starting off grammar lessons with a picture book is so unexpected that it is sure to get students engaged right from the start.
For this lesson, the book Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives by Ruth Heller is a fun way to refresh students’ minds about what an adjective is and the different forms of adjectives.
If a book is fun, then a video is a blast!
Check out this video from The Bazillions titled Wide Open World of Adjectives. It’s absolutely perfect for this lesson because they refer to nouns and then add a pair of adjectives at the front of the noun. It’s a great way to introduce how sometimes we add multiple adjectives to describe a noun.
Whole Group Lesson
One of the most efficient ways to teach new grammar skills and rules is to project them on your board or to showcase posters.
You can then have students copy the notes into their notebooks.
While writing the rules themselves has been proven to help students retain information, time constraints do not always allow for it. To help eliminate this obstacle, print out the posters in mini versions or use print and fold grammar booklets that students can use and keep in their interactive journals for future reference.
Order of Adjectives:
- Number – Ex. dozen, pair, five
- Opinion – Ex. pretty, boring, fun
- Size – Ex. small, large, thin
- Age – Ex. old, new, 5 year-old
- Shape – Ex. round, rectangular
- Color – Ex. red, blue, orange
- Origin – Ex. American, Mexican
- Material – Ex. leather, cotton
Provide Order of Adjectives Activities for Practice
Assessing Students for Mastery
- Ask students to create 5 sentences that include at least 3 adjectives from different categories. Tell them to make sure that the adjectives are written in the correct order within the sentence.
- Providing students with a grammar quick check assessment is an efficient and effective way to see if students have mastered the standard. They work great for standard based grading as well.
Hopefully, some of these ideas help you find engaging activities that will help students master ordering adjectives.