2nd GradeUnit 3: Shopping and Clothes

Comparative and Superlative dominoes

-er than big -ger than the most

comfortable more difficult than long

-er than the short -est more

formal than young -er than the

best the most popular warm

-er than thin -ner than more

expensive than the most colorful the

worst cheap -er than fat

-ter than the small -est the

prettiest more fashionable than

the cheap

-est worse than the most

original hot -ter than better

than the tall -est the most

expensive the largest old

DISEÑOLa página está dividida en 2 tablas de 4 columnas de igual ancho y 14 filas cada una. Cada fila tiene los bordes externos punteados así como unas pequeñas tijeras en la primera fila y entre una tabla y otra para indicar el corte. Las fichas deben ser blanco y negro y tener las palabras tal como se ilustra.ACTIVITY: Comparative and Superlative dominoes – Groupwork: speaking

TIME: 30 minAIM: To practise the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives by playing a dominoes gameLANGUAGE: Function 3.1 Making comparisons/expressing degrees of difference Grammar: Present simple tense

PROCEDURE Before class: Make one copy of the worksheet for each group of four students. Cut them up into dominoes as indicated. Get a couple of posters showing celebrities known to students.In class:1. Stick one of the posters on the board. Do some brainstorm on the adjectives this person represents to students (either positive or negative). Write at least a short adjective and a long one from the students’ examples on the board. 2. Stick the second poster. Allow students to brainstorm some more, but when an adjective is repeated, encourage them to give you a comparative or superlative sentence instead. Write down a long comparative or superlative sentence and a short one from students’ examples on the board.3. If students make mistakes, for example: *Belinda is atractiver than Hilary Duff. *RDB is more good than Uff. *Eminem is the populest singer in the USA., write the sentences anyway. Ask other students if those sentences are correct. Encourage them to give you the grammar that supports their opinions.4. Divide students into groups of four and ask them to sit in a circle (around a table, if possible; on the floor, if necessary) Explain to students they are going to play dominoes by placing the correspondent comparative or superlative form of the adjectives in turn. As in regular dominoes, the winner will be the first one to finish up all his/her dominoes.5. Monitor the groups and be ready to clarify any doubts students may have.

REFLECTION ON LANGUAGE: Students notice that the forms adjective + -er (...than) and more + adjective (... than) indicate inequality, that the forms the + adjective + -est and the most + adjective indicate that one of a group is outstanding in a particular way, changes in spelling at the end of adjectives when using their comparative and superlative forms (e.g. big à bigger à biggest, dirty à dirtier à dirtiest, large à larger à largest, cheap à cheaper à cheapest, etc.) and that some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms (e.g. goodà betterà best, badà worseà worst), and use such language features appropriately.

POSSIBLE FOLLOW UP: You can ask students to leave their dominoes on the table/floor once they finish the game and use some of the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives placed to create a set of up to 15 sentences describing and comparing two different items of clothing, people, cars, etc. (each group could be assigned a certain topic). For example:

Our uniform is more fashionable than secondary 30’s one. Carlos is the tallest student in the class., etc.

IDEAS FOR EVALUATION: You can make a list of sentences eliciting from groups at random from those produced during the follow up exercise, re-arrange students into new groups, and ask them to check if they are correct, make the necessary corrections, and discuss within their new groups whether the sentences are true or false.

OPTION:If you have a multiple of 3 class size, for example, 42 students, you can divide them into groups of three and have the dominoes left as stock.

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OPTION:As students have been presented this language before, this is merely a check- point that could lead you to a remedial work session. If your class does not seem very confident, spot the main difficulties and leave the game for future practice.

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OPTION:To take this a step further, you can ask students to re-write the false sentences in order to make them true, practicing negative statements.