SAMPLE LESSON, BLUE BOOK, PAGE 18
LANGUAGE
POINT
LEVEL
MATERIALS
WARM-UP
The comparative
Blue book
Photos/pictures and objects that can be compared; list of comparative categories; flashcards with
adjectives
Ask comprehension check questions to find out the students’ existing abilities with the
comparative. Listen for areas that need to be worked on or introduced, i.e. irregular forms,
forgetting ‘to be,’ and awareness of syllabic rules.
Model and drill one simple sentence per student, preferably strange/silly. For example: I am
stronger than a monkey./You are more beautiful than a tree. Distribute the sentences and guide the
drill in random order, keeping it fast and energetic. Make sure that the different forms of the
comparative are represented (i.e. one syllable, irregular, etc.)
INTRODUCTION
OF LANGUAGE
POINT
Show pictures/photos and objects to be compared and model the sentence that goes with it. For
example: A photo of Einstein and a photo of a chimpanzee; a photo of the tutor and a photo of a
muscleman; etc. Go through the pairs several times until the students can accurately reproduce the
accompanying sentences.
Write intelligent and strong on the board. Have students knock on their desks for the number of
syllables and show that the different form of the comparative that goes with each. Also, contrast the
irregular forms better and worse.
Ask comprehension check questions based on what’s popular at the time and the students’
vocabulary: Which film is better, _________ or _____________? Which singer is better,
__________ or ____________? Which food is worse, _____________ or ____________?
ACTIVITY BASED
ON LANGUAGE
POINT
REINFORCEMENT
THROUGH
WORKBOOK
Put students into pairs and distribute one list of categories per pair. The list will have about ten
questions with the comparative. For example: Whose tongue is longer? Whose feet are bigger?
Who sings better? The students in each pair decide who to sign up for each category. Tutor must
circulate and check that the students are using comparatives to state the differences. As a class,
each pair can present one of the categories and the students can make sentences based on the
comparison. [This activity can be extended once the students learn the superlative.
During this period, you should monitor students’ progress. Help those who are having difficulty;
point out errors and have the students correct them; give the students who finish early something
extra to do.
5
REINFORCEMENT
THROUGH A
CLOSING
ACTIVITY
Divide the students into two teams and form them into two lines facing each other. Explain that
they are gangs—they should come up with a name for their gang—and they are going to have a
fight with English words. For example, the first student points to the student opposite and says:
Your nose is bigger than my nose, or I am stronger than you. The tutor can help with ideas (use
flashcards with adjectives if the students can’t come up with enough ideas of their own) and gives a
point for each correctly formed comparative. The gang with the most points at the end wins the
fight.
BLUE
E BOOK PAGE 18