Grammar Unit: Parts of Speech: The Building Blocks of Grammar
Grammar Mini Focus: adjectives
Sequence: #4 of 8
Total Time Allotment: 10 minutes
Special Materials Needed: transparency of jellyfish picture, transparency of “Giant Jellyfish
Invasion” article, transparency of Adjective Notes, transparency of Adjective Answers, overhead
projector (or ELMO/LCD projector)
State Standard(s) addressed: Grade 7, Conventions 1.3; Grade 8, Conventions 1.4
Rationale for teaching this mini lesson: Students should build on their understanding of noun
and pronoun as they see that adjectives describe nouns and pronouns.
Prior knowledge needed: understanding of noun and pronoun
Indicators of attainment: Students will be able to locate adjectives in the jellyfish article.
Connection to prior instruction: Students need to be able to identify nouns and pronouns in
order to identify adjectives
Teaching the Lesson:
I.
GRABBER (2 minutes):
1. Take out a sheet of paper and a pen for our grammar lesson today. Our topic is
adjectives.
2. (Place copy of jellyfish picture on the overhead projector.) Look at the picture of
this oversized jellyfish and the diver. You have one minute to list all of the words
that describe the jellyfish, the diver and their surroundings.
3. Time’s up. Count up your list and write the total at the top of your paper.
4. Let’s see who has the most words that describe the person, place and things in the
picture.
5. Good job, student! You have done the best job of finding adjectives for the nouns
and pronouns in the picture.
II.
DIRECT INSTRUCTION (2 minutes):
1. Now we are going to take some notes on adjectives. (Place transparency of notes
on the projector.)
2. Definition: an adjective is a word used to describe a noun or a pronoun
3. Adjectives answer one of these three questions: What kind is it? How many are
there? Which one is it?
4. The articles a, an and the are adjectives
5. Adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun that they describe
(example, blue coat, soggy toast, exciting adjective lesson etc.)
NOTE: This is different from Spanish and many other languages, where the
adjective comes AFTER the noun.
Mini-lesson created by Katy Lapajne, 8th grade English teacher, Malibu High School, SMMUSD, 2008
III.
QUICK CHECK (4 minutes):
1. Now let’s read this article about the jellyfish invasion in Japan.
2. While we read the first paragraph together, let’s locate all of the adjectives.
(Read first paragraph and note all adjectives.)
3. Now, with a partner, finish reading the article. Make a list of all the adjectives.
Let’s see who can recognize all of them!
4. Here are the answers. (Place transparency of answers on the projector.)
IV.
NEXT STEP (30 seconds):
1. In our next grammar lesson we will delve into the exciting world of verbs!
Mini-lesson created by Katy Lapajne, 8th grade English teacher, Malibu High School, SMMUSD, 2008
Mini-lesson created by Katy Lapajne, 8th grade English teacher, Malibu High School, SMMUSD, 2008
Are aliens attacking the Sea of Japan? Not exactly. But these
gigantic blobs are unwelcome visitors from another place. Called
Nomura's jellyfish, the wiggly, pinkish giants can weigh up to 450
pounds (204 kilograms)—as heavy as a male lion—and they're
swarming by the millions.
The supersize sea creatures—normally found off the coasts of
China and North and South Korea—occasionally drift east into the
Sea of Japan to feed on tiny organisms called plankton. But now
one hundred times the usual number of jellyfish are invading
Japanese waters. And local fishermen are feeling as if they are
under siege.
The fishermen's nets are getting weighted down, or even broken,
by hundreds of Nomura's. The jellies crush, slime, and poison
valuable fish in the nets, such as the tuna and salmon that the
fishermen rely on to make a living.
No one knows for sure what's causing this jellyfish traffic jam. It's
possible that oceans heated by global warming are creating the
perfect jellyfish breeding ground. Another theory is that
overfishing has decreased the numbers of some fish, which may
allow the jellies to chow down without competition for food.
Fast Facts
•
•
•
Baby Nomura's jellyfish change from the size of a grain of
rice to the size of a washing machine in six months or less.
Jellyfish are 95% water.
Jellyfish aren't actually fish, they're invertebrates—animals
without backbones.
Text by Ruth A. Musgrave National Geographic Kids magazine
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Giant-jellyfish-invasion
Mini-lesson created by Katy Lapajne, 8th grade English teacher, Malibu High School, SMMUSD, 2008
Are aliens attacking the Sea of Japan? Not exactly. But these
gigantic blobs are unwelcome visitors from another place. Called
Nomura's jellyfish, the wiggly, pinkish giants can weigh up to 450
pounds (204 kilograms)—as heavy as a male lion—and they're
swarming by the millions.
The supersize sea creatures—normally found off the coasts of
China and North and South Korea—occasionally drift east into the
Sea of Japan to feed on tiny organisms called plankton. But now
one hundred times the usual number of jellyfish are invading
Japanese waters. And local fishermen are feeling as if they are
under siege.
The fishermen's nets are getting weighted down, or even broken,
by hundreds of Nomura's. The jellies crush, slime, and poison
valuable fish in the nets, such as the tuna and salmon that the
fishermen rely on to make a living.
No one knows for sure what's causing this jellyfish traffic jam. It's
possible that oceans heated by global warming are creating the
perfect jellyfish breeding ground. Another theory is that
overfishing has decreased the numbers of some fish, which may
allow the jellies to chow down without competition for food.
Fast Facts
•
•
•
Baby Nomura's jellyfish change from the size of a grain of
rice to the size of a washing machine in six months or less.
Jellyfish are 95% water.
Jellyfish aren't actually fish, they're invertebrates—animals
without backbones.
Text by Ruth A. Musgrave National Geographic Kids magazine
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Giant-jellyfish-invasion
Mini-lesson created by Katy Lapajne, 8th grade English teacher, Malibu High School, SMMUSD, 2008
Adjective Answers
(not including 1st paragraph)
1. the (article)
2. supersize
3. sea
4. tiny
5. one hundred
6. usual
7. Japanese
8. local
9. weighted
10.broken
11. valuable
12. traffic
13. global
14. perfect
15. breeding
16. Another
17. some
18. Baby
19. washing
20. six
21. 95%
Mini-lesson created by Katy Lapajne, 8th grade English teacher, Malibu High School, SMMUSD, 2008
Adjective Notes
1. Definition: an adjective is a word
used to describe a noun or a pronoun
2. Adjectives answer one of these three
questions: What kind is it? How many
are there? Which one is it?
3. The articles a, an and the are
adjectives
4. Adjectives nearly always appear
immediately before the noun that they
describe (example, blue coat, soggy
toast, exciting adjective lesson, etc.)
Mini-lesson created by Katy Lapajne, 8th grade English teacher, Malibu High School, SMMUSD, 2008