ADJECTIVES

Teacher Guidelines ▶ pages 1 – 2

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Instructional Pages ▶ pages 3 – 5
Activity Page ▶ pages 6 – 7
Practice Page ▶ page 8
GRADE Homework Page
Answer Key
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▶
page 9
page 10 – 11
 Classroom Procedure:

1. Read the Before and After short stories to open the lesson.
Ask students to tell you what the difference is between the two
stories. Ask which story is better, and/or more interesting, and
described better. Ask why.
LB.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1.F
2. Allow for responses and discussion. Ask students to pick out
LB.ELA-Literacy.L.1.5.D
the words in the second story that were not used in the first. LB.ELA-Literacy.L.2.1.E
List them for display.
3. Introduce the term: adjective. Pair students. On a sheet of
paper, ask each student to use adjectives to describe their
partner. Tell them to write things they see or how the person Class Sessions (45 minutes):
is (nice, etc.). At least 2 class sessions
4. Allow students to share their responses.
Teaching Materials/Worksheets:
5. Distribute the Adjectives content page. Read and review the Adjectives content page, Adjective list,
information, using additional examples if necessary. Allow Activity page, Practice page, Homework
students to share their responses to the final question on the page
content page.
Student Supplies:
6. Distribute the Adjective List. Tell students they may use it to miscellaneous items,
help them find adjectives for the activity and for their writing. sheet of paper, handouts
7. Distribute the Activity page. Pair students. Review the Prepare Ahead of Time:
instructions. Find about 10 to 20 separate items for
8. Give 1, 2, or 3 objects to each pair of students. Once completed, students to use during the activity. They will
allow the objects to be rotated to other pairs until each pair of use adjectives to describe each.
students has had a chance to describe all objects. Options for Lesson: Students work alone
9. When completed, allow the students to share the adjectives during the activity, passing each item from one
written for each of the objects. You may also list each item for student to the next, allowing about one minute
display, and then under the object write the adjectives students for each item to be described. Students can
work in pairs, 3s, or more for the activity. Take
will share.
students outdoors, and each student will use
10. Distribute the Practice page. Review and check for understanding adjectives to describe an assigned object in
with students. the area (playground, garden, etc.) Students
11. Distribute the Homework page. Students may use the adjective walk around the classroom picking out objects
list for help. Review and check the next day allowing students to describe using adjectives.
to share their answers, which will vary. *Lessons are aligned to meet the education objectives and goals of
most states. For more information on your state objectives, contact
12. In closing, ask each student to verbally share a short sentence your local Board of Education or Department of Education in your state.
without using adjectives, and then share the same sentence using
adjectives. (You may wish to have them write out each sentence.)
13. Remind students the importance of using “describing words” when
they are writing or describing something aloud to another person.

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 Teacher Notes
This is an introductory lesson about adjectives. Many students use adjectives but may not know the terminology.
Depending on the grade level, the lesson should be adjusted for understanding in your particular classroom.
Adapt the activity to the grade level.

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Adjectives
Opening Short Stories for the Lesson (For Teacher Use)
BEFORE
One day there was a boy and girl. They were friends. He had a dog. She had a cat. The cat and dog
talked. They were enemies. One day the boy and girl wanted their pets to become friends. They had a
party for them. The boy and girl invited other pets. There was a bird. There was a hamster. There was
even a snake. The pets spoke to the dog and cat. Later, the dog saw the cat. The cat saw the dog. They
were near a tree. The sky was dark. The dog said, “Let’s go to my doghouse. It is in the yard.” The cat
and dog then became friends.
AFTER
One quiet, sunny day there was a red-haired, 7-year-old boy and blonde-haired, 8-year-old girl. They were
best friends. He had a brown, long-haired dog. She had a black cat with brown eyes. The furry cat and big-
eared dog talked. They were terrible enemies. The next day. Which was cloudy, the friendly boy and kind
girl wanted their pets to become friends, too. They had a fantastic and wonderful party for them. The bright
boy and intelligent girl invited other neighborhood pets. There was a green and brown bird. There was a
white and grey hamster. There was even a 7-foot slimy snake. The interesting pets spoke to the surprised
dog and amazed cat. Later, the thoughtful dog saw the lonely cat. The lonely cat saw the thoughtful dog.
They were near a large, green and orange tree. The cloudy and grey sky was dark. The speaking dog said,
“Let’s go to my dry and comfortable doghouse. It is in the big yard.” They too then became best friends.

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Adjectives
Do you see the tree? Do you hear the sound? Did you taste
the fruit? Did you feel the water? Did you smell the flower?
The next question could be: What tree, sound, drink, rock or
odor? To answer the question, you need to use describing
words. Adjectives are describing words.
Here is each question written again using an adjective:

Did you see the green tree? Did you hear the loud sound? Did you taste the cold drink?

Did you feel the rough rock? Did you smell the strange odor?

Adjectives are used to describe nouns. Remember, nouns are persons, places, or things. There are
thousands and thousands of adjectives you can use to describe nouns. What color is your hair? The answer
is an adjective.

Using your five senses is one way to help you think about adjectives.
Here are some sentences without adjectives and then with adjectives:
The bird is in the tree. The tiny, brown bird is in the pine tree.
I wore a shirt and pants. I wore a green and red shirt and blue pants.
The class went on a trip. The 1st grade class went on a wonderful trip.

What are the nouns in the image to the left?

mountains, lake, water, clouds, sky
Next, describe each of the nouns:
tall mountains, beautiful lake, blue water, white
clouds, blue sky
Can you think of other adjectives to use?

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Most adjectives come before the noun in a sentence, but sometimes the adjective can come
later in the sentence. For example, Mike is tall. The word tall is an adjective describing Mike.
Here is another one: The house I live in is beautiful. The adjective, beautiful, describes the
house. Adjectives can also be numbers, like in this sentence: There are seven children in the
classroom. I have five cats.

Remember, adjectives are describing words. They describe persons, places, and things called nouns.

What adjectives can you think of that can describe YOU?

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 Activity Name __________________________ Date _________

Write the name of the object or draw a picture, then write adjectives describing the object.
Object ADJECTIVES Object ADJECTIVES

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 Activity Name __________________________ Date _________

Here is a list of adjectives. Add some of your own adjectives in the space provided.
adorable creepy five huge nice shallow three
agreeable crooked flat icy nine shiny tiny
alive cuddly fluffy important noisy short two
angry curved four itchy obedient shy ugly
beautiful dead fresh jolly odd silly vast
better deafening full juicy one six warm
big deep gentle kind orange skinny weak
bitter delicious gifted large plain small wet
black delightful gigantic lazy powerful sparkling white
blue dirty gray light proud square wide
brave dry greasy little puny steep witty
broad eager great lively purple sticky worried
broken easy green long quiet straight wrong
bumpy eight grumpy loose rainy strong yellow
calm empty handsome loud red sweet yummy
careful faint happy low rich tall
chubby faithful heavy many rotten tart
clean famous helpful melted round teeny
clever fancy helpless miniature salty ten
clumsy fat high mushy scary tender
cold few hollow mysterious scrawny thankful
cool fierce hot nervous seven thoughtless

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 Practice Name __________________________ Date _________

CIRCLE the adjectives in each sentence.

1. The small, brown dog ran after the black cat inside the big house.
2. My uncle is friendly, and he always gives me chocolate candy.
3. The first grade teacher gave her well-behaved students a surprise treat.
4. If you see a red and white bicycle, please return it to my cousin John.
5. At the family picnic, the aroma of delicious hamburgers was in the air.
6. The beautiful green grass, the bright-colored leaves, and the blue water of the large lake is peaceful.
7. I think my mom and dad are nice, generous and the best.
8. The noisy children were awake the entire night until the next morning.
9. I had a creative art teacher who gave us a fun assignment to complete.
10. The noise at the baseball game was loud because the best team won.
Match the adjectives to the correct picture
11. _____ fast, cold, three, icy, excited, gloved
12. _____ wooden, caring, white, loving, young
13. _____ blue, challenging, long, green, one, heavy
14. _____ wet, happy, blonde, brown, windy
15. _____ huge, big, rough, six, brown, green, helpful

A B C D E

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 Homework Name __________________________ Date _________

Use the adjective list to fill in the blanks. Be creative.

1. The _______________ girl enjoyed playing with her _______________ doll.

2. I had some _______________ juice, _______________ cookies, and a dish of _______________

spaghetti for dinner last night.

3. The _______________ school was closed because of the _______________ weather, but the

______________ snow was mostly _______________ ice.

4. The _______________ flower had a(n) _______________ smell.

5. On the _______________ wall, there were _______________ paintings, a _______________ shelf, and

a(n) _______________ window.

6. The _______________ children enjoyed the _______________ trip to the _______________ town on

their _______________ vacation.

7. The _______________ girl began to cry when she found out her _______________ cat ran away from

the _______________ home.

8. Mike and Eva both had _______________ hair, _______________eyes, and _______________ fingers,

and were _______________ soccer players.

9. My _______________ neighbor is a _______________ person.

10. The _______________ baby was being held by her _______________ mother and _______________

father who were _______________.

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 Practice Answer Key
Name __________________________ Date _________

CIRCLE the adjectives in each sentence.

1. The small, brown dog ran after the black cat inside the big house.
2. My uncle is friendly, and he always gives me chocolate candy.
3. The first grade teacher gave her well-behaved students a surprise treat.
4. If you see a red and white bicycle, please return it to my cousin John.
5. At the family picnic, the aroma of delicious hamburgers was in the air.
6. The beautiful green grass, the bright-colored leaves, and the blue water of the large lake is peaceful.
7. I think my mom and dad are nice, generous and the best.
8. The noisy children were awake the entire night until the next morning.
9. I had a creative art teacher who gave us a fun assignment to complete.
10. The noise at the baseball game was loud because the best team won.
Match the adjectives to the correct picture
11. C fast, cold, three, icy, excited, gloved
12. E wooden, caring, white, loving, young
13. A blue, challenging, long, green, one, heavy
14. D wet, happy, blonde, brown, windy
15. B huge, big, rough, six, brown, green, helpful

A B C D E

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 Homework Answer Key
Name __________________________ Date _________

Use the adjective list to fill in the blanks. Be creative. _Answers will vary

1. The _______________ girl enjoyed playing with her _______________ doll.

2. I had some _______________ juice, _______________ cookies, and a dish of _______________

spaghetti for dinner last night.

3. The _______________ school was closed because of the _______________ weather, but the

______________ snow was mostly _______________ ice.

4. The _______________ flower had a(n) _______________ smell.

5. On the _______________ wall, there were _______________ paintings, a _______________ shelf, and

a(n) _______________ window.

6. The _______________ children enjoyed the _______________ trip to the _______________ town on

their _______________ vacation.

7. The _______________ girl began to cry when she found out her _______________ cat ran away from

the _______________ home.

8. Mike and Eva both had _______________ hair, _______________eyes, and _______________ fingers,

and were _______________ soccer players.

9. My _______________ neighbor is a _______________ person.

10. The _______________ baby was being held by her _______________ mother and _______________

father who were _______________.

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