Amazing Adjectives!

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Adjectives describe - or tell more about - a noun. Remember, a noun is a person (like a doctor), a place (like a park), or a thing (like a tree).

Read the short story below.

My mom and I went to a zoo. We saw a lot of animals. My favorites were bears, giraffes, lions, and penguins. We ate food and rode a train.

• Can you tell why it's not very interesting?

Now, read this story.

My mom and I went to a big zoo, and it was a lot of fun. We saw a lot of neat animals, and my favorites were bears, giraffes, lions, and penguins. Even though the bears were a little scary, they were fat and looked cuddly. The giraffes were very tall and adorable with big, brown eyes and long, black tongues.

The penguins were energetic and playful. They made me laugh because they looked so clumsy. The African lion was huge and had a serious look in his eyes. I wouldn't want to be in the cage with him!

We ate delicious food that we don't get very often, like juicy hamburgers, salty French fries, and creamy milkshakes. Finally, we rode a very slow train, but we could relax while the curious animals watched us ride by. Our trip to the zoo was awesome!

• What is different about this story?
• It is longer, but why? What was added?

Adjectives were added to make the story come to life! Here are just a few of them:

Don't they make the story more interesting? How do they do that?

1. The adjectives describe the nouns in the story, making the story more real.

2. The adjectives help the reader "see" the zoo trip in their mind.

3. The adjectives communicate a clearer picture of the zoo trip than does the first story without adjectives.

Continue on to the Got It? section to test your understanding of adjectives with some more nouns.