Comparatives and Superlatives - AzarGrammar.com

1 Comparatives Comparison Cards 1 Comparison Cards 2 Match Magazine Search It s Bigger Than a Superlatives The Superlative Taste Test Survey Classmate Questionnaire The Compliment REVIEW Reading Questions Word Search Compare Them Who s the Worst (Best)? Comparatives COMPARISON CARDS 1 Materials:Worksheet 81 or 3 x 5 cardsDynamic:GroupsTime:10 minutesProcedure:1. Make as many copies of the worksheet as you have groups. Cut theworksheets up into cards to make sets for each group. Arrange theclass into groups of three or four and give each group a set One student in each group draws a card and makes a comparativesentence using the two nouns and adjective on the :My legs(short)Your legsStudent sentence:My legs are shorter than your other students in the group judge whether the sentence usedthe correct comparative form and decides if it is The students take turns in the group choosing cards and makingsentences until they finish all the cards or time is up.

2 The studentscan keep score in their groups to see who makes the most :Make some of your own cards, using names ofstudents in the COMPARISON CARDS 2 Materials:Small picturesDynamic:PairsTime:15 minutesProcedure:1. Arrange students in pairs, and give each pair two or more picturesto compare. (You may want to stick to one topic, such as famouspeople, or have several types of pictures.)2. Each pair writes comparisons of the two :A bear is shorter than a When everyone has finished, have the pairs show their picturesand read their sentences. You might ask the other studentswhether they agree or disagree. This is interesting when studentsuse a subjective adjective (such as beautiful) as their point :If you use famous people, you can write the names of thepeople under the picture for the students, or have them say simply the man in picture A, MATCHM aterials:Worksheet 82 Dynamic:PairsTime:15 minutesProcedure:1. Put students into pairs, and give each pair a copy of theworksheet.

3 Go over the words on the list and explain any withwhich the students are Call out an adjective or phrase from the list below. The studentschoose two of the words or expressions on the worksheet and writea comparison sentence. Continue until all the words on the paperhave been to use with the worksheet:cleanexpensivenoisyslowcoldgoo d petquickspicydangeroushardshorttalleasy to uselargeExample:Instructor says: spicy Students write: Mexican food is spicier than Italian food. 3. Go over the sentences by having the pairs write them on the boardor read them aloud. The other students decide if the sentences arelogical and MAGAZINE SEARCHM aterials:Magazines or catalogsDynamic:Small groupsTime:15 minutesProcedure:1. Put students into groups of three. Give each group severalmagazines or catalogs that can be cut up. (Or, for a previoushomework assignment, ask the students to bring in magazines orcatalogs.)2. In their magazines, the groups look for pictures to compare, thenwrite comparison sentences.

4 The number of sentences you assignwill depend on how long you want to devote to this The groups take turns showing their pictures and reading theirsentences IT S BIGGER THAN A BASEBALLM aterials:NoneDynamic:PairsTime:25 minutesProcedure:1. Use the following riddle as a model, or make up one of your own,using is bigger than a is as round as the is as orange as a is as hard as a is not as sweet as :A The students work in pairs and use the structure above to maketheir own riddles. Circulate and answer questions. Make sure thestudents riddles are not too ambiguous; that is, the answer shouldbe clear by the time students get to the end of the When they finish, do one of the following:a. Tape the riddles to the wall. The students circulate and writeanswers before discussing them as a The students exchange papers and discuss the answers withtheir The students read their riddles aloud for the rest of the class THE SUPERLATIVE TASTE TESTM aterials:Worksheet 83, three kinds of mintsDynamic:Pairs/Small groupsTime:20 minutesProcedure:1.

5 Place three dishes of mints on a table, enough for each student tohave one of each flavor. Put students in groups of two or each group a copy of the worksheet. One student from eachgroup will be the recorder. You may need to go over the worksheetvocabulary words before the students begin the taste Each student eats one mint from each dish, noting qualities suchas color, taste, and texture. Group members discuss these qualitieswith each other and decide which mint ranks best in each the group writes two sentences about each mint, using :Mint #1 is the smoothest #2 has the blandest the group decides which mint they liked the best Circulate to make sure that everyone is on task and is using thecorrect forms of the Call on each group to share results with the :Other types of food can be used. You can use three of thesame kind of food (such as three different brands of potato chips) orhave three very different food items, such as pickles, pretzels, andhard SURVEYM aterials:Worksheet 84 (two pages)Dynamic:Pairs/Small groupsTime:30 minutesProcedure:1.

6 Divide the class into pairs or groups of three or four. Give eachgroup 11 copies of a different section of the Have the students go over the words on their list and decide ifthey would use mostor -estto form the superlative. Do NOT allow 254255them to use dictionaries. Even if they are unfamiliar with some ofthe words , they should be able to apply rules they know forforming the Send them out to ask 10 native speakers about which form theythink is correct, either in class time or as a homework activity. If itis done during class hours, set a time limit. If it is not possible tointerview native speakers, the students should interview peoplewho are fluent or use English in their The students tabulate their results and compare them to theirgroup s answers. Each group then makes a short presentation tothe class and says what they think the best choice is and why. Aneffective way to do this is to put the worksheet with the words foreach group on an overhead projector.

7 The class will be able tofollow the oral reports more CLASSMATE QUESTIONNAIREM aterials:Worksheet 85 Dynamic:PairsTime:25 minutesProcedure:1. Put students into pairs. Give each pair a copy of the Have students answer the questions in complete sentences. Somestudents will be able to answer without talking to their classmates,but others will require asking their classmates :To take less time, have students answer the questions in pairs withouttalking to their classmates. They can begin the sentences with We think .. or We guess .. Then have the pairs read their answers. (Haveall pairs give their answers for question 1 before going on to the nextquestion.) Determine who has written the correct answer. You may wantto do this as a competition and assign points for every correct THE COMPLIMENT GAMEM aterials:3 x5 cards with an adjective written onone side, paperDynamic:Whole classTime:20 minutesProcedure:1. Review the rules for Superlatives , if necessary.

8 Give each student acard and a piece of paper. Tell the students to write, on the reverseof their cards, the superlative form of the adjective on the adjectives (for a lower-level class, you will of coursechoose easier adjectives):attractivedelightfulmodernte rrificbeautifulfunnyniceuniquebrighthapp ypleasantwonderfulcomfortableinteresting prettycutelargesmall2. The students are to imagine that they are rich aristocrats at a are to act very formally and give compliments to everyone theymeet. They are to go up to other guests and show them the wordon their card. Each guest approached (Student B) thencompliments the guest who approached him or her (Student A),using the correct superlative form of the word he or she is :Student A s card: beautifulStudent B s compliment: You are wearing the mostbeautiful dress in the Student B s compliment uses the correct form of the superlative,Student A signs Student B s paper. If Student B s compliment doesnot use the superlative correctly, Student A does not sign StudentB s paper.

9 At the end of the alloted time, the student with the mostsignatures (that is, the student who used the superlative correctlythe most) READING QUESTIONSM aterials:Reading handout or book used in reading classDynamic:Pairs/Small groupsTime:30 minutesProcedure:1. Arrange students in pairs or groups of Have each group make up 10 questions based on a short story ornovel they are using in their reading class. The questions can eliciteither the comparative or superlative form. If the students are indifferent reading classes or if you do not have access to theirreading material, give them something short to read forhomework. Keep it short and relatively simple, as the focus of thisactivity is to use the comparative and superlative, not toconcentrate on reading comprehension. Then discuss the readingbefore the students make up their Have the groups exchange question papers with each other andanswer the questions they The groups then return the questions papers (now with answers)to the groups who made them up to be :You may want to set a time limit for making WORD SEARCHM aterials:Worksheet 86A or 86 BDynamic:Pairs/Small groupsTime:10 minutesProcedure:1.

10 Put students into pairs or groups of three. Give each group onecopy of the Students work together to find all the comparative and superlativeforms. The forms may be up, down, forward, backward, or may prefer not to include the word list on the You may set a time limit, or tell the students that the first groupto find all the forms :A good way to go over where the hidden forms are isto use an overhead after the COMPARE THEMM aterials:NoneDynamic:PairsTime:15 minutesProcedure:1. Put students into pairs. Assign each pair a different topic :Two fast-food restaurantsTwo famous peopleTwo carsTwo animalsTwo grocery storesTwo brands of soda2. On the board, make a list of adjectives. Students choose from thelist to write 10 comparisons of their two items, using eithercomparative or superlative may want to choose from the following list of adjectives:badfunnynewquiettastybeautifu lgoodnicerichuglybrighthandsomenoisyseri ouswisebusymessyoldshortwonderfulemptyne atprettytallyoungSUGGESTION:In a higher-level class, the pairs can write aparagraph instead of individual WHO S THE WORST (BEST)?