Superlatives

Objective & content

This grammar sheet teaches the superlative: the tallest, the biggest, the funniest, the most dangerous, the best and the worst, with in or of after it, and the difference from the comparative (taller than). Pupils read a video call between Omar and Harriet about Omar's school trip to the zoo, find the missing words and read the rule, given in a box. By the end, they can compare three or more people, animals or things.

Pedagogical guide

Page 1 is the video call, with a picture of Omar and of Harriet: the giraffe was the tallest animal, the monkeys were the funniest, the crocodile was the laziest and the rain made it the wettest afternoon of the summer. Pupils find eight missing superlatives in sentences from the text. Page 2 has the rule, given in a box in short lines (-est for short adjectives, the spelling of biggest, nicest and funniest, the most for long adjectives, the best and the worst, in or of after a superlative, and two things against three or more), eight sentences where pupils tick the comparative or the superlative, and ten sentences to complete with the superlative of the adjective in brackets. Page 3 has five sets of facts to turn into sentences (prices, ages, temperatures, marks, times), a quiz of eight questions about animals, the UK and the world, where pupils write the superlative and tick the answer, and three sentences to write about their own family. Every exercise opens with a worked example.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Ask the class "Who is the tallest pupil in the class? What is the biggest animal in the world?"
2. (10 min) Read the video call aloud; pupils find the missing words.
3. (5 min) Read the rule in the box with the class; pupils find examples of it in the text.
4. (10 min) Page 2: comparative or superlative, then the superlatives in brackets.
5. (10 min) Page 3: the facts, then the quiz in pairs.
6. (5 min) Pupils write three sentences about their family.
7. (5 min) Check with the answer key on page 4.

Adaptations

[S] Pupils read the video call aloud in pairs, one as Omar and one as Harriet, before the tasks.

[A] Pupils write two more quiz questions with superlatives for a partner.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of pages 1 to 3 per pupil. Page 4 is the answer key and teacher notes: keep it. Pupils need the comparative (taller than, more beautiful than), common adjectives and the past simple of be. To take it further, groups write a quiz about their town and swap it.