Design for Learning

Instructor: Emily Trucks

Lesson Title: Come and Compare!
Curriculum Area: Language Arts

Grade Level/Cooperating Teacher: 1st, Harris

Date: April 18, 2016
Estimated Time: 30 Minutes

Standards Connection:
40.) With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding of word
relationships and nuances in word meanings. [L.1.5]
Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek,
glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large,
gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings. [L.1.5d]
Learning Objective(s):
Students will categorize a list of adjectives according to the number of nouns they
describe or compare.
Learning Objective(s) Stated in Kid-Friendly Language:
Today, boys and girls, we will be talking more about using adjectives to compare nouns!
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
Students will be given an assessment page with a word bank of twelve adjectives.
Beneath the word bank, there will be three large boxes: one labeled Describes 1 Noun,
one labeled Compares 2 Nouns, and one labeled Compares 3 or More Nouns. Students
will be assigned the task of sorting the twelve adjectives in the word bank into the three
boxes based on the number of nouns they describe or compare. Proficient students will
sort all twelve adjectives correctly. Students in need of more practice will sort ten or
eleven adjectives correctly. Students in need of re-teaching will sort fewer than ten
adjectives correctly.
Engagement:
The teacher stands at the front of the room. Students are reading silently at their seats.
The book Pig Pigger Piggest by Rick Walton sits on the chalk tray. The computer is
turned on to display a flipchart, but the Promethean board is turned off so that the chart is
not visible to the students. A stack of assessment pages sits on the teachers desk by the
computer. Alright, my friends, it is time to get started with our reading lesson. I would
like for you to put your books away and get into a quiet position at your tables. I will call
quiet tables to the front of the room first. The teacher allows students time to get their
books put away and to lay their heads down quietly on their desks. I like the way Table 1
is ready. You may come to the front and sit crisscross applesauce. Table 2 The teacher
calls all tables to the front and waits for students to be seated, crisscross applesauce, in
front of the Promethean board. She picks Pig Pigger Piggest up from the chalk tray and
has a seat in front of them. We talked all last week about a certain type of word that is
used to describe a noun. Show me a quiet thumb at your chest if you can tell me what
words used to describe nouns are called. Student A? Yes, adjectives are the words used to
describe nouns. Show me a thumb if you can give me an example of an adjective. Student
B? Yes, Student B, blue is an adjective. It describes a noun by telling us what color that
noun is. Show me a thumb if you would like to share another example. Student C? Yes,
Student C, three is an example of an adjective that tells us how many of a certain noun
there are. We are going to talk, today, about adjectives that help us describe nouns by
comparing them to each other. This book (the teacher holds Pig Pigger Piggest in the air
for all students to see) is called Pig Pigger Piggest. The author of this story, Rick Walton,
uses lots of adjectives to describe the characters, places, and things in this story by
comparing them to one another. As we read, I would like for you to have your listening
ears on really well, listening for the adjectives used to compare in this story. Are you
ready to get started? Pig Pigger Piggest by Rick Walton. Once upon a time The teacher
reads the book to the students, ensuring that they are all alert during the reading. When
the book is finished, she closes it and places it on her lap.

Learning Design:
I.

Teaching:
That story is a bit of a tongue twister, but it sure does use lots of adjectives to
compare characters, places, and things. Lets take a closer look at the types of
adjectives that we, and the author, use to compare. The teacher reaches over to
her desk, places Pig Pigger Piggest down, and obtains the Promethean board
remote, turning on the board so that the lesson flipchart is visible to the students.
The page shown on the screen is entitled Adjectives That Help Us Compare.
Beneath the title, there are three boxes: one labeled Base Word, one labeled Base
Word + er, and one labeled Base Word + est. In each box, there is information
about each of the three types of adjectives to be discussed, along with some
images to reinforce the new material. She places the remote back where it
belongs before picking up the Promethean board magic pen and traveling to the
right side of the board where the control panel is displayed. You just heard
several adjectives used to compare in our story. Now, we can look at adjectives
used to compare and see that they are written differently from other adjectives we
use to describe. We can use adjectives, or base words, (the teacher motions to the
first box on the screen) to describe all nouns. These base word adjectives are
used to describe one noun at a time. The pig in our first box is a noun, and is
described using the adjective big. The teacher motions to the next box. When we
want to compare two nouns, or describe what is different about them, we add er
to our base word adjective. In this box, we have two pigs, or two nouns, but this
pig (the teacher points to the pig on the right) is bigger than that pig (the teacher
points to the pig on the left). The teacher motions to the third box. When we want
to compare three or more nouns, or describe what is different about them, we
add est to our base word adjective. Here in this box, we have three pigs, or three
nouns, but this pig (the teacher motions to the pig on the right) is the biggest of
all three (the teacher draws a circle in the air around all three pigs shown). Show
me a thumb at your chest if this makes sense to you. I see are thumbs, so lets
keep moving. The teacher moves the flipchart to a new page. This page is
identical to the one before, except witch clipart has replaced the pig images. Lets
look at this box on the left. The teacher points to the box on the far left. What is
our base word adjective? Show me a thumb if you would like to read that for us.
Student A? Rich, yes. This witch is rich. Notice that there is only one witch being
described. Now, in this box, we have two witches. The teacher motions to the
second box. We have added er to our base word to compare the two witches.
What is the word used to describe this witch? The teacher points to the witch on
the right. Say it all together. Richer, yes. This witch is richer (the teacher points
to the witch on the right) than that witch (the teacher points to the witch on the
left). Finally, we can move to our third box to compare three witches. We add est
to our base adjective to describe this witch. The teacher points to the witch on the
right. What is the word used to describe this witch? Say it all together. Richest,
yes. This witch (the teacher points to the witch on the right) is the richest of all
three (the teacher draws a circle in the air around all three witches shown). Show
me a thumb at your chest if this makes sense to you. I see all thumbs, so we are
on the right track. Now, to review, what kind of adjective do we use to describe
one noun? The teacher points to the title Base Word on the screen. The students
should say base word in unison. What do we add to a base word when comparing
two nouns? The teacher points to the suffix er on the screen. The students should
say er in unison. And what do we add to a base word when comparing three or
more nouns? The teacher points to the suffix est on the screen. The students
should say est is unison. Give yourselves a big pat on the back! Lets practice
some more together.

II.

Opportunity for Practice:

The teacher moves the flipchart to the next page entitled Pig Pigger Piggest. The
directions beneath the title read Sort the adjectives from the text. There is a word

bank of adjectives pulled from the text beneath the directions. There are three
boxes beneath the word bank: one labeled Describes One Noun, one labeled
Compares Two Nouns, and one labeled Compares Three or More Nouns. Each
title is supported by an image of one pig, two pigs, or three pigs. Alright, here we
have a page called Pig Pigger Piggest. The directions tell us to sort the
adjectives from the story. The teacher points to the word bank. This is a list of
adjectives from the book we have just read. Each adjective is either a base word
adjective, an adjective that compares two nouns, or and adjective that compares
three or more nouns. Our job will be to drag each adjective here into one of
these three boxes. The teacher points to each box as it is mentioned. Adjectives
used to describe one noun will go in the first box, with one pig at the bottom.
Adjectives used to compare two nouns will go in the second box, with two pigs at
the bottom. Adjectives uses to compare three or more nouns will go in the last
box with three pigs at the bottom. Show me a thumb at your chest if this makes
sense to you. I see all thumbs, so we are ready to go. I am going to do our first
two rows of words for us, and then I will call quiet friends up to help me with the
final three. The teacher points to each adjective in the first row as it is mentioned.
Our first set of words are big, bigger, and biggest. We have already talked about
these words earlier, so I think I know where they belong. I am going to put big in
the first box, because it is a base word adjective, used to describe one noun. The
teacher drags the word big into its appropriate spot on the screen. I am going to
put bigger in the second box, because I see that it has an er on the end, so it must
be used to compare two nouns to each other. The teacher drags the word bigger
into its appropriate spot on the screen. I am going to put biggest in the third box,
since I see that it ends in est and must be used to compare three or more nouns to
each other. The teacher drags the word biggest into its appropriate spot on the
screen and turns around to face her students. Show me a me-too if you agree with
what I have done here. I see that we are all in agreement. The teacher points to
each word in the next row as it is mentioned. Our next set of words are rich,
richer, and richest. Show me a thumb if you can tell us where the word rich
would belong up here. Student A? Student A says the word rich belongs in our
first box, because it is used to describe one noun. Any me-toos with Student A?
Yes. The teacher drags the word rich into its appropriate spot on the screen. Good
thinking, Student A! Show me a thumb if you can tell us where the word richer
would go. Student B? Student B says that richer belongs in the second box
because it ends in er and is used to compare two nouns to one another. Any metoos with Student B? Yes! The teacher drags the word richer into its appropriate
spot on the screen. Good work, Student B! Now show me a thumb if you can tell
us where the word richest belongs. Student C? Student C says that the word
richest belongs in the third box because it ends in est and is used to compare
three or more nouns to one another. Any me-toos with Student C? Of course! The
teacher drags the word richest into its appropriate spot on the screen. Thank you,
Student C! I am looking for a quiet friend who is sitting still and facing the board
to come and drag our next set of words into the boxes where they belong
Student D, come take the pen from me please! The teacher waits for Student D to
make their way to the board. She gives them the pen before pointing to each
word in the third row as it is mentioned. Student D, you are going to sort the
words nice, nicer, and nicest into our three boxes. Everyone on the floor, stay
quiet so Student D can think! Well see if we agree with what they have done
when they are finished. The teacher stands off to the side as Student D should
drag nice to the first box, nicer to the second, and nicest to the third. She waits
until Student D has returned the pen and had a seat to move forward. Alright,
Student D has put nice in our first box to describe one noun, nicer in our second
box to compare two nouns, and nicest in our third box to compare three or more.
Any me-toos with what Student D has done? Yes, we are all in agreement. Good
work, Student D! I am looking for a quiet, still friend who is paying attention to
come and sort our next set of words. Student E, come and take the pen from me
please. The teacher waits for Student E to make their way to the board. She gives
them the pen before pointing to each word as it is mentioned. Student E, youve

got a bit of a challenge on your hands, because our next set of words are in a
different order from our last three sets. Here, you have the word tallest, the word
taller, and the word tall. The teacher stands off to the side as Student E should
drag tallest to the third box, taller to the second, and tall to the first. She waits
until Student E has returned the pen and had a seat to move forward. Alright,
Student E has placed tallest in the third box to compare three or more nouns,
taller in the second box to compare two nouns, and tall in the first box to
describe one noun. Any me-toos with Student E? Yes, we are all in agreement.
Thank you, Student E! We have one last set of words. I am looking for a quiet,
still, attentive friend Student F, you may come take the pen. The teacher waits
for Student F to make their way to the board. She gives them the pen before
pointing to each word as it is mentioned. Student F, you have a challenge on your
hands, too. These words are in a different order even from out last set. Here, you
have the words thicker, thickest, and thick. The teacher stands off to the side as
Student F should drag thicker to the second box, thickest to the third box, and
thick to the first box. She waits until Student F has returned the pen and had a
seat to move forward. Alright, Student F has put the word thicker in the second
box to compare two nouns, thickest in the third box to compare three or more
nouns, and thick in the first box to describe one noun. Any me-toos with Student
F? Yes, we are all in agreement. Good job, Student F! Lets look at what all of
the words in each of our boxes have in common. The teachers motions to the first
box. Each of these words in the first box stands on its own, to describe one noun.
The teacher motions to the second box. What do each of these words in the
second box end in, to compare two nouns? The students should say er in unison.
Er, yes! The teacher motions to the third box. And what do all of these words in
the third box end in, to compare three or more nouns? The students should say
est in unison. Est, yes! Give yourselves a pat on the back! I think you are ready to
put your knowledge to the test. The teacher travels to her desk, returns the pen to
its proper spot, and turns off the Promethean board. She obtains the stack of
assessment pages and has a seat in her chair in front of the students. In just a
minute, I am going to call you back to your seats. When you are situated and
still, I am going to bring you a work page. The teacher holds an assessment page
up for the students to see, pointing to each portion of the assessment as it is
explained. You are going to write your name and number at the top, read the
adjectives in your word bank, and sort them into these three boxes. The first box
will be for adjectives that describe one noun. The second box will be for
adjectives that compare two nouns. The third box will be for adjectives that
compare three or more nouns. I will be coming around to help you read the
words you do not understand. When you are finished, you may turn it in to the
basket and read quietly at your seat until everyone is finished. Are there any
questions? I dont see any hands. You may all go back to your seats and get
quietly settled. The teacher waits until all students are ready before standing up
and passing out assessment pages. She circulates the room as students are
working to help them with any problems that arise. When all students have
turned in their work and are reading quietly at their seats, she moves to the front
of the room and calls them back to attention.
III.

Assessment:
Students will be given an assessment page with a word bank of twelve adjectives.
Beneath the word bank, there will be three large boxes: one labeled Describes 1
Noun, one labeled Compares 2 Nouns, and one labeled Compares 3 or More
Nouns. Students will be assigned the task of sorting the twelve adjectives in the
word bank into the three boxes based on the number of nouns they describe or
compare. Proficient students will sort all twelve adjectives correctly. Students in
need of more practice will sort ten or eleven adjectives correctly. Students in
need of re-teaching will sort fewer than ten adjectives correctly.

IV.

Closure:
Alright, my friends, put your books away and put your eyes on me, please. The
teacher waits for all students to be situated and looking at her. How did you feel
about that work page? The teacher waits for student responses. I am sure all of
you did very well! To review, one last time, before we finish for the day, what type
of adjective do we use to describe one noun? The students should say base word
adjective in unison. And what do we add to a base word adjective when we want
to compare two nouns to each other? The students should say er in unison. And
what do we add to a base word adjective when we want to compare three or
more nouns to one another? The students should say est in unison. Absolutely!
You are all adjective experts! Kiss your brain for all that you have accomplished
today!

Materials and Resources:

Pig Pigger Piggest by Rick Walton
Promethean Board, Flipchart, and Pen
Assessment Pages
Student Pencils
Differentiation Strategies:
Green: Group students together to play a comparative and superlative game during
reading centers.
Red: Work with a small group of students, using manipulatives, to sort a list of adjectives
based on their ending sounds. Examine the relationship between those ending sounds and
the number of nouns described or compared by each word.
Data Analysis:
Each of Ms. Harriss nineteen students completed the assessment with proficiency. This
means that each student was able to sort the twelve given adjectives into the three boxes
for those describing one noun, those comparing two nouns, and those comparing three or
more nouns. The students discussed comparatives and superlatives briefly the week
before this lesson took place. According to the assessment results, they are now able to
identify the three types of adjectives with ease.

Adjectives Lesson
Proficient Students
Students in Need of
More Practice
Students in Need of ReTeaching
100%

Reflection:
This lesson was the most successful of the three lessons taught at Avondale Elementary
School. I feel that the lesson taught before this one served as a good practice run for what
was to come today. All of the students seemed to appreciate being read aloud to, as read
alouds are not incorporated into their everyday learning. The students were able to
connect the story told in the book to the work they did later on in the lesson. This lesson
was taught toward the middle of this group of learners, meaning that differentiation did
not take place. If I had the opportunity, I would extend this lesson to include follow-up
exercises for the students to work on during reading centers (which consist of leveled
work) for the rest of the week. Overall, the lesson went very well, and I am very proud of
all that my students accomplished.

Samford University
Design for Learning

Name ________________

Awesome Adjectives!
Place each adjective in the box where it belongs.
Small
Smallest
Bluer
Blue

Describes 1 Noun

Smaller
Bluest

Compares 2 Nouns

Feedback Form

Compares
3 or More
Nouns