Using adjectives 3

Using adjectives 3

Online interactive
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about using adjectives in a sentence.
Adjectives are describing words. 
cat
Some adjectives to describe this cat are:
angry,  white,   fluffy, and  green-eyed.

Question Change answer

Adjectives can describe how something looks, for example its colour, size or shape. They can also describe how something feels when you touch it (its texture).
Sort these adjectives into the boxes. Decide whether each adjective describes colour, size or shape, or feel.
brown-and-white
silky
bright
smooth
enormous
small
skinny
rough
slippery
round
furry
tiny
dull
stripy
wrinkly
Colour
Size or shape
Feel

Question 1Change answer

How many adjectives can you think of to describe this dog?
 
Think about its face, colour, size or shape, and what its coat is like. What would the coat feel like if you stroked it?  
 
Write your adjectives in the boxes below. Fill as many boxes as you can.
English bulldog
          
          

Question 2Change answer

Here are the adjectives you chose. Now use some of them to complete the sentences at the bottom of the page. Write one adjective in each empty box.
          
          
Now read your sentences aloud. Change the adjectives around until your sentences sound right.
Harry the bulldog
Harry, the , ,   bulldog, was waiting for his dinner.
He was very  and .

Question 2Change answer

Copy your sentences into the box below. Then write another sentence to tell your reader what happens next.
Harry the bulldog
Harry, the , ,   bulldog, was waiting for his dinner.
He was very  and .

Question 2Change answer

Share your writing with a partner.
Ask your partner to answer the questions below.
Which adjectives in this writing do the best job of describing the bulldog? 
Can you think of another adjective to describe the dog?  
 
 
Task administration: 
This task is completed online. It is NOT automarked.
 
This resource is one of three with a similar format: Using Adjectives, Using Adjectives 2 and Using Adjectives 3. These resources provide information on students’ ability to write a string of adjectives in the correct order. All three resources have a shared task at the end, where students comment on their partner’s work.
 
Teachers could work through one resource with the class or a group of children, before students move on to complete the other resources individually or in pairs.
 
Copyright: 
Images purchased from Dreamstime
Level:
2
Curriculum info: 
English, Creating meaning, Writing
Key Competencies: 
Thinking, Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
adjectives, description, vocabulary
Description of task: 
This resource provides information on students’ ability to write a string of adjectives in the correct order.
Curriculum Links: 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Writing:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:

  • use vocabulary that clearly conveys ideas
  • use sentences that are mostly correct grammatically

as described in the Literacy Learning Progressions for Writing at: http://www.literacyprogressions.tki.org.nz/The-Structure-of-the-Progressions.

Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Writing meaningful text: text features, sets 3
Writing meaningful text: vocabulary knowledge, sets 2-3
within the Writing Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
This resource was trialled by approximately 30 Year 7 and 8 students.
 
The table below shows the difficulty level of each task, based on the results of this trial.
 
Task Student responses
1 Sorting adjectives into categories
Sorted all the adjectives correctly – medium
Sorted most of the adjectives correctly – easy
Sorted over half of the adjectives correctly – very easy
2 Brainstorming adjectives to describe a dog in a photograph
Ten appropriate adjectives – easy
3/4 Using adjectives to complete sentences
Placed adjectives in appropriate order in sentences - easy  
Used commas appropriately in lists of adjectives - difficult
5
Giving feedback on partner’s work
Identified an effective adjective – very easy
Suggested an additional adjective – easy
Teaching and learning: 
Adjectives fall into different groups or categories, depending on the aspect of the noun that they describe (for example, colour, shape, or size). If two or more adjectives describe a noun, they are usually placed in a particular order, depending on which category they belong to. Here are some of the more common categories, in a suggested order:
 
opinion size age shape colour material/texture purpose noun
horrible enormous old fat brown furry guard dog
 
The table belows shows some of the student responses from the trial, along with suggestions for next steps for teaching and learning.
 
Task Student response and next steps
1
Sorting adjectives into categories
This task asks students to sort adjectives into different categories: those that describe size or shape (e.g., ‘round’), those that describe colour (e.g., ‘bright’),  and those that describe texture/feel (e.g., ‘rough’).
 
Most students in the trial found this task easy. They were able to sort the majority of the adjectives into appropriate categories. Some students, however, had difficulty deciding on a category for the adjective ‘dull’. 
 
Next steps
To help students generate adjectives in different categories, bring in or choose an object to focus on, for example, a colourful scarf or an interesting vase or mug. Choose a category of adjective, for example ‘colour’, and brainstorm as many adjectives as you can in that category. Then move on to another category, for example ‘material’.  Repeat with other objects. Notice that some adjectives can fit in multiple categories. If you want to focus on adjectives to describe sound or smell, you could describe a video clip with interesting sound, or an item of food with a strong smell or perfume.
 
2
Brainstorming adjectives to describe a dog in a photograph
Most students were able to write ten appropriate adjectives.
Some students wrote descriptive phrases rather than adjectives: ‘big head’ or ‘small ears’ or ‘scrunched up face’.
 
Next steps
Work on identifying the nouns and adjectives. One idea is to choose an interesting, clear photograph of something like a car or an animal. How many nouns could you identify on the photograph (e.g., head, ears, tail, legs; wheels, bonnet, windows, seats). Then, for each noun, brainstorm as many adjectives as you can to describe it:
 
Ears Tail Legs
short
pointy
triangular
furry
white
curly 
soft
hairy
fluffy
long
knobbly
thin
smooth

 
3/4
Using adjectives to complete sentences 
Task 3 asks students to complete two sentences by placing adjectives in the correct order. Task 4 asks students to compose a sentence of their own.
Nearly all students in the trial were able to place adjectives in an order that sounded correct, and to add a further sentence.

For example:
Harry the short fuzzy brown bulldog was waiting for his dinner he was very hungry and sad. When Harry got his dinner he was no longer sad he was a happy bulldog.

Harry the old fat grumpy bulldog, was waiting for his dinner. he was very bored and impatient when his owner walk out the room the dog jumped on the stove and ate the food.

Few students used commas appropriately in their lists of adjectives.

Next steps
Discuss and practise using commas in lists of adjectives.
 
We use a comma between two adjectives that are coordinate (each has equal weight in describing the noun).
 
To test whether the adjectives are coordinate:
  • Test 1: Try swapping them around. If the sentence still sounds right, the adjectives are coordinate and you need a comma between them.
  • Test 2: Try putting ‘and’ between them. If the sentence sounds right, the sentences are coordinate and you need a comma between them.

 
For example
Sentence 1: ‘He is a kind handsome boy’.

  • Test 1 (swapping around): ‘He is a handsome kind boy’.  This sounds right, so the adjectives are coordinate and need a comma between them.
  • Test 2 (adding ‘and’): ‘He is a kind and handsome boy’. This sounds right, so the adjectives are coordinate and need a comma between them when the 'and' is taken out.
 
Sentence 2: ‘I’d like a large blueberry muffin’.
  • Test 1: ‘I’d like a blueberry large muffin.’ This doesn’t sound right. The adjectives are not coordinate, and a comma is not needed.
  • Test 2: ‘I’d like a large and blueberry muffin.’  This doesn’t sound right, so the adjectives are not coordinate and don’t need a comma.
5
Giving feedback on partner’s work
In this shared task, a partner gives feedback on the adjectives used to describe the shoes, and suggests an additional adjective.

Most students were able to provide appropriate feedback and to suggest an appropriate addition.