How to teach adjectives in class is a question asked by many teachers. Here are some activities you can consider. I have also included some links you can check out for more activities to teach adjectives in school.

Some important points to note:

It is more important to make the students describe things they love to talk about than make them memorize a definition of adjectives.

It is important to make the students work in groups and pairs with tasks that require them to use adjectives to talk about their preferences.

If we teach students to use the grammar item naturally in their own context they will be able to score better in the examination too.

Think of what you want your students to do at the end of the class period, after you have finished teaching adjectives.

Then plan backwards and arrive at the various steps you need to cover to help the students achieve the goal.

If you have 40 minutes per class plan your activities in such a way that students

- get exposure to the new item (you use the grammar item naturally and they listen and understand)

- get involved in practice activities with your help

- use that item in their own context creatively and meaningfully.

Carry four books of different sizes to class .

Pick up one book and talk about it.

Show a book. (carry four books with you. Talk about one first.)

Write these sentences on the blackboard.

This is a book.

This is a ......... book. (Ask: what are the words you can use to describe this book?)

Get the words from the students and write on the blackboard below the blank.

This is a/an ......... book.

big
thin
red
old
colourful
attractive
interesting
boring

Ask them to give you as many words as possible.

There is no need to give definitions. But if you feel compelled to give definitions use the following:

Read out all the words and say, 'These words are adjectives. They describe the book. They tell us something more about how the book is. Book is a noun. Adjectives describe nouns. Adjectives are describing words'.

Ask the students to describe their class. You start the sentence

Our class is.....

Let the students give as many words as possible. Try to get the words from different parts of the class from as many students as possible.

Take the three books and make sentences about them.

Book 1 is a small book.

Book 2 is a big book.

Book 3 is bigger than Book 2.

Book 4 is the biggest.


Underline the words big, bigger and biggest.

Now use only book 2,3 and 4.

Compare using thin, thinner,thinnest - (It will be better if you are able to select the books in such a way as to make the biggest book the thinnest)

Use other words such as old/new...

Show pictures, talk about things students are interested in (video games, cartoons, etc.) and introduce

good,better,best

bad, worse, worst

interesting, more interesting, most interesting
colourful, more colourful, most colourful

Hold out two of the four books and ask questions like:

Is this as big as...?

Which one is as thin as....?

If on one side of the blackboard you have words such as

tall, taller, tallest

on the other side you should have

good, better, best

interesting, more interesting, most interesting

That is the adjectives should be grouped according to the pattern in which they form the comparative and superlative forms.

Here is a PowerPoint Presentation to teach adjectives.

Please download the presentation and watch it.

You can change the PowerPoint Presentation for teaching adjectives to suit the needs of your students.

http://www.coursesuseek.com/ppt/adjectives.ppt