Comparatives and Superlative adjectives.
pre-intermediate level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide practice of comparatives and superlatives in the context of appearance for people and clothes.
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide clarification of comparatives and superlatives in the context of appearance for people and clothes.
Procedure (40-46 minutes)
In the lead-in section, the teacher is going to show learners a couple of pictures related to comparatives and superlatives, and they are going to share their ideas and opinions. Learners are also going to discuss the following question. Is it easy for you to compare people or things? They are expected to share their ideas and points of view regarding the topic mentioned
In this stage, the students will listen to a fashion expert talk about the pictures described, and the students are going to check whether they agree or disagree through a Google Form given. The teacher is going to check their agreements and then will show the script from the listening, in which they will have to highlight comparative and superlative structures. The following is the script: a. This is a very casual look, obviously … the T-shirt and jeans make her look very natural … She looks quite young in this picture, I think. b. It’s hard to believe this is the same person … Obviously, her whole look is very different from the other pictures. Picture A … the glasses make her look much more serious, much more mature … and the hairstyle, too. In fact, she looks like a senior executive or something like that, something in the business world. c. Hmm … I’m not sure about this one … the hair makes her look younger, doesn’t it? Personally, I think her hair is better in the other pictures … and I think she looks prettier in Picture A, to be honest. That tracksuit isn’t the most elegant outfit in the world, I must say. It makes her look heavier, definitely … I’d say she looks better in Picture A, definitely. d. You can see how the dress makes her look taller than in the other pictures. This is definitely the most sophisticated of the four pictures … It's the hairstyle, isn’t it? It gives her a very elegant, sophisticated appearance ... nice. I think this is the best picture; I really do. The learners and the teacher are going to highlight the content about comparatives and superlatives. The teacher is going to ask pupils other ways to compare people and things so that the teacher elicits more information from them.
In the "meaning stage," the teacher is going to share the chosen grammar, comparatives, and superlatives, and the students are going to match the expression with the definition. They are going to use arrows for this activity. The following is the activity. more serious / more mature younger prettier the most elegant better taller the most sophisticated best Grammar definition. Comparative Adjectives Used to compare two people/things. Superlative Adjectives Used to compare three or more things and show the highest degree. The teacher is going to check learners' understanding and drill. The teacher is going to ask CCQs so that he will notice the students' learning. Example: “She looks younger.” Are we comparing one thing or two things? (two) Is she older? (No) Does she look younger? (Yes) Example: “She is the prettiest.” Are we comparing many people/pictures? (Yes) Is she number one in beauty? (Yes) Is she the most beautiful? (Yes) In the "form stage," the teacher is going to ask learners to notice the difference between short and long adjectives for comparative structures, as well as the structure for short and long adjectives for superlative ones, as follows: Type Form Example Short adjectives adjective + -er + than taller than Short superlatives the + adjective + -est the prettiest Long adjectives more + adjective + than more sophisticated than Long superlatives the most + adjective the most elegant Irregular forms good → better → best bad → worse → worst In the "pronunciation stage," the teacher is going to ask the learners to practice their speaking and notice the words and syllables stressed as follows. Target Language Stress more SErious SE more maTURE TURE YOUNGer YOUNG PRETtier PRET the most Elegant E BETter BET TALLer TALL the most soPHISticated PHIS best BEST. The teacher is going to drill and model the pronunciation; the learners are going to repeat and improve their pronunciation skills. The teacher will show the pupils a sentence stress slide, and they will listen and repeat the following sentences. She looks much more SErious. The hairstyle makes her look more maTURE. She looks YOUNGer in this picture. She looks PRETtier in Picture A. That’s the most Elegant outfit. The dress makes her look TALLer. This is the most soPHISticated picture. I think this is the BEST picture. Content words receive the strongest stress. The teacher will model and drill pronunciation.
In this stage of the class, the students are going to complete the conversation by using the grammar about comparatives and superlatives practiced during the class; they need to identify which part of the structure is missing and complete the sentence. They will be able to review their notes and fill in the gaps in the activity as follows. The glasses make her look much _______ (serious) and much _______ (mature). The hair makes her look _______ (young), doesn’t it? I think she looks _______ (pretty) in Picture A, to be honest. That tracksuit isn’t _______ (elegant) outfit in the world. I’d say she looks _______ (good) in Picture A, definitely. The dress makes her look _______ (tall) than in the other pictures. This is definitely _______ (sophisticated) of the four pictures. I think this is the _______ (good) picture. The teacher is going to assess their performance and use CCQ to clarify doubts learners might have.
After practicing and participating in class, the students are going to discuss and interact with each other about comparatives and superlatives. They are supposed to use the grammar practiced to express themselves and describe some given pictures so that they will be able to use comparative and superlative structures. The learners can ask their classmates the following questions: Ask your classmates the following questions based on the pictures on the next slide. Which picture looks younger? Which picture looks prettier? Which picture looks more serious? Which picture looks more mature? Which outfit is better for work? Which person looks taller? Which picture is the most elegant? Which picture is the most sophisticated? Which picture is the best overall? Why? These questions will elicit useful information from students, and the teacher will be able to identify whether they are using the comparatives and superlatives properly.
After the development of the free practice, the teacher is going to share the students' strengths and weaknesses about the grammar given. The teacher is going to have an OCFB. The learners are expected to reflect on their learning process and incorporate the target language in their real-life contexts.
