Yummy Adjectives

Samantha Michael

Description

This activity is a fun, tasty, hands-on experience that allows students to recognize and brainstorm descriptive adjectives to use in their writing. The students work in pairs to take a taste and touch test and record their adjectives used to describe the food and knick-knacks on handout.

Materials

- Dixie cups or small Styrofoam cups (2 for each student)
- Spoons (enough for each cup/student)
- Napkins
- 2 different flavors of ice-cream (quart size)
- Vegetable soup (served warm)
- Creamy Soup (any kind/ served warm)
- Popcorn
- Toothbrush (one per pair)
- Sea shells (small pile per pair)
- Sharpened pencil (one per pair)
- Stuffed toy (one per pair)
- Handkerchief, towel or shirt to cover students' eyes (one per pair)
- Tester/Observer activity sheet (see attached file)
- Notebook paper for adjective word list
- Book: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
- Activity sheet to go with book activity (See attached file)
- Copy of the rubric (See attached file)

Preparations

1. Gather materials for activity.
2. Prepare food and knick-knacks for each pair of students.
3. Make copies of the attached files.
4. Review adjectives and the five senses.

Procedures

1. Review with students what an adjective is. Make a word list on the board of student examples.

2. Using the same adjective word list, work with students to make the adjectives more descriptive. (Examples: red= fire engine red, soft= fluffy, hot= spicy.)

3. Review the five senses.

4. Ask students to think of what their favorite food or toy is. Make a separate word list of students' responses of describing their favorite food or toy, using descriptive adjectives.

5. Place students in groups of two and pass out materials for the taste and touch test. Make sure that all items are covered up so that students do not know what the items are until they test them!

6. Explain to students that they will be taking a taste and touch test of two different foods and two different knick-knacks while blindfolded. Each student has a different set of testing items.

7. Starting with the food, each student takes turns guiding their partner through the test to make sure that they don't spill anything or harm themselves.

8. After the student tests each item, their partner records their adjectives used to describe the item on the tester/observer activity sheet. After testing each food item, the observer circles the smiley face according to their partner's reaction to the taste of the food.

9. Once the first student tests their food and knick-knacks and the activity sheet is completed, the students switch roles and the process starts over using the remaining testing items.

10. When each pair has completed their activity, they clean up their work area and return to their seats to begin brainstorming a word list of descriptive adjectives.

11. When the whole class has had time to complete the test, clean up and begin a word list of descriptive adjectives, pass out the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs activity sheet to each student.

12. Students read the paragraph and draw what they hear being described in the paragraph. Make sure to explain to students that they are not allowed to draw what they think the picture should look like, but draw it according to how it is actually being described.

13. Students rewrite the paragraph by adding their own descriptive adjectives to make it more creative and fun for the reader. They may use their word list that they brainstormed after the taste and touch activity. Students then draw paragraph based on their own descriptive paragraph.

14. Share students' samples with class and then read out loud the book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

15. Assess students' paragraphs. (See rubric in the attached file.)

Assessments

Use may the Yummy Adjectives rubric in the attached file.

Extensions

This lesson can be extended by having students:
Elaborate on details using a variety of sentences.
Replacing average verbs with S.I.X Verbs (Strong, Interesting, Exciting).
Rewrite the events and/or ending to story.
Instead of each student drawing his or her new paragraph with descriptive adjectives, they switch paragraphs with a partner and draw each other's paragraphs.

 

Of Mice and Men Chapter 3

Concept / Topic to Teach: Discussion of Chapter 3 & Introduce theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men

General Goal(s): To give students a deeper understanding of the theme beyond basic story lines & to ensure a basic understanding of the text.

Specific Objectives: Students will be able to name characters in story that exhibit loneliness and explain what evidence in the book implies it. Students will be able to pick out one scene in each of the first three chapters that they find memorable or important. 

Required Materials:  Of Mice and Men book, Large sheets of paper, markers

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In): Think Pair Share - Loneliness is not necessarily being alone. We may be alone for long periods without feeling at all lonely. On the other hand we may feel lonely in a familiar setting without really understanding why.  When do you feel lonely?

Step-By-Step Procedures: Write anticipatory question on the board.  Have each student think about it write it down and then share it with a partner.

2. Introduce the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men.  Ask students to identify characters are lonely and the behaviors they exhibit that evidence their loneliness.

3. Go over previously given discussion questions over chapter three

4. Students will be divided into small groups.  They will be given large sheets of paper and markers.  Students will be asked to draw pictures or write words that describe what they consider to be the most important aspects of each chapter so far.  

Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set): Students will answer the question, do they feel George is lonely even though he is with Lennie or does caring for Lennie keep George from being lonely?  Why?

Assessment Based on Objectives:  Assessment will be based on the graffiti boards and what scenes the students choose to include, also the level of discussion given to the chapter itself.