Lesson topic: AdjectivesGrade Level: 2Ausvels outcomes: English level 2: “understand that noun groups/phrases can be expanded using articles and adjectives”

Construct texts featuring print, visual and audio elements using software, including word processing programs

http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Curriculum/ContentDescription/ACELA1468http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Level2

Learning Intention for the whole class: The students will be able to define, identify and give examples of adjectives. They will be capable of applying adjectives in their writing to make sentences more meaningful and interesting. Learning Intention for the small teacher focus group: The students will be able to recognise the purpose of adjectives in stories. They will be able to devise their own examples of adjectives in order to enhance a story/passage of text.

Resources/equipment:* smart board* photo of monkey* Donaldson, J. (1999). The Gruffalo. United Kingdom: Macmillan. * Wood, A. (1989). Quick as a Cricket. Swindon: Child’s Play. * class set of iPads* ‘Read all about it Adjectives game’ * Fill in the adjectives passage

Assessment:The teacher will assess whether the students have achieved the learning outcome by collecting students work and conducting share time.

Background to the lesson:Prior to this lesson, the children engaged in a ‘story time’ session where the teacher read the students an excerpt from a creative fictional book. This session was conducted to exposure the students to descriptive language and stimulate ideas that they could integrate into their own writing.

Content of the lesson:Introduction:Briefly gauge student’s current knowledge of adjectives by inviting children to identify their function and examples. On the smart board, present the students with a photo of a monkey (refer to appendix). Encourage the students to use adjectives to describe the monkey. Generate a list on the white board of the adjectives that the children used and other possible adjectives that could describe the monkey. Read the picture book “The Gruffalo” by Julia Donaldson. Have children identify particular examples of adjectives that are employed in the story to describe the gruffalo and the other animals. As a class, on the smart board, play the ‘Read all about it Adjectives game’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en25adje-game-read-all-about-it-adjectives . The game will

require the students to take on the role of news editor. The job entails matching the corresponding picture with a piece of text that describes the picture, selecting describing words to fill in the blanks in adverts, changing certain reviews from negative to positive by choosing the appropriate adjective etc.

Small focus group task: The small focus group, containing lower achieving students, will partake in a shared reading session with the teacher. They will read the picture book “Quick as a Cricket” by Audrey Wood. The story, however, will have the adjectives covered so that the students are unable to see them. Going around the circle, the students will be asked to offer a suggestion as to what the missing adjective could be. They are encouraged to use the pictures to assist them in making their decision. The adjectives they guess will be recorded for future reference. The students will then receive a small passage of text that has blank spaces in position of where there is an adjective. Working independently, the students will read the text and select an adjective which appropriately fits the story. The teacher will move around the group and provide individual assistance where necessary.

Other students task:Whilst the teacher is working with the small focus group, the other students will be asked to design a wanted/missing poster for themselves using an iPad. The wanted/missing poster should incorporate adjectives that describe themselves including their features, their interests and the particular crime they committed or a description of where they were last seen. The teacher will model an example of a wanted poster of themselves, which they prepared earlier, as a guide for students when they are creating their own.

Closure:Children will sit back on the floor and the teacher will show the class two or three of the pupils’ wanted/missing posters. She will ask the students to guess who the poster is describing in the class by listening to the adjectives that have been adopted in the description. A couple of other students will also be invited to share their work. The students will recap the function of adjectives and where they can utilise them to enhance their writing and speech.