If you’re looking for some of the best comparative adjectives ESL activities or games, along with worksheets, lesson plans and a whole lot more then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for all the details you need to know about teaching this important grammar concept.
Comparative adjectives games and activities
Are you ready for some comparative adjectives ESL? Let’s get to it!
ESL Comparative Activities
Let’s get to the best comparative adjective games and activities that you can use in your TEFL classes.
#1: Hot Potato Comparative Adjective Game
If you’re looking for a fun game to play with kids as well as adults, then you’ll want to consider Hot Potato. Students have to pass around a classroom object of some kind until the timer goes off or the music stops. Then, the person holding the object at that point has to do something.
In this case, I’ll usually show two flashcards and require that students make a sentence using a comparative. Find out all the information you need to know here:
#2: Comparatives Board Game
A fun game that you can play to review these kinds of adjectives is to make your own board game. You can actually use this activity for just about any topic but in this case, you should write down two objects in each square. Then, students have to make a sentence using them.
For example, cat and horse. Students could make a number of sentences but one example is, “A cat is smaller than a horse.”
Want to give it a try with your students? Learn more here: Board Games ESL.
#3: The Comparatives Vocabulary Auction
#4: Food and Comparative Adjectives
A very common combination of topic and this grammar point is food. If you think about it, there are just so many possible sentences you can make:
- A is spicier than B.
- C is more delicious than D.
- E is saltier than F.
- Etc.
For some of my top tips for teaching the food unit in South Korea, check this out: ESL Food Unit Korea.
#5: Comparative Adjectives ESL Speaking Activities
There are a number of fun, engaging ESL speaking games and activities that you might want to try out with your students for this popular grammar point. Check out this filled with activities that can be adapted to just about anything, including comparatives.
You can see all the ideas here: ESL Speaking Activities.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Bolen, Jackie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 148 Pages - 03/09/2016 (Publication Date)
#6: Use the Test Teach Test Approach
Unless your students are beginners, chances are that they’ve seen this kind of English grammar before. If that’s the case with your students, you may want to try this approach to language teaching that targets the teaching portion to what students don’t know. After all, there’s no point covering stuff they know already, right?
Do you want to give it a try with your students? Find out all the details here: Test Teach Test Approach.
ESL comparatives: Games and activities
#7: Proofreading and Editing Practice for Comparative Adjectives
A key writing skill that often gets overlooked is editing and proof-reading. That’s why I like to do some dedicated practice for it in my TEFL classes. The cool thing is that you can include a bunch of errors related to a certain grammar point. That’s right—maybe comparative adjectives!
Find out all the information you need to know about it right here: ESL Proofreading Practice.
#8: ESL Comparative Listening Lesson
A common way that grammar concepts are introduced in ESL textbooks is through a listening passage. Most often, students have to listen and “notice” examples of the target grammar or vocabulary. This works particularly well for something like comparatives.
If you want to know more details about how to plan this kind of lesson, be sure to check out: ESL Listening Lesson Plan.
#9: Dialogue Substitution
#10: Go Touch It!
A fun comparative adjective game for kids that you might want to try out is this one: Go Touch It! The way it works is that you say two classroom objects. For example, Whiteboard and clock. Then, tell students to touch the one that’s bigger.
It’s fun and makes an excellent review activity. Learn more about physical activity in the ESL classroom here: ESL TPR Activities.
#11: Error Correction Relay
Teaching Comparative Adjectives? Here are the Rules
Today, it’s all about Touchstone 2, Unit 10, which deals with comparative adjectives. When I first started teaching at a university in Korea, I was so surprised that my students, despite studying ridiculously complicated grammar for their university entrance exam, didn’t know the simple rules about comparative adjectives. If you’re a native speaker of English, perhaps you don’t know them either. I certainly didn’t until I started teaching English! Anyway, help is here and I’m happy to share my tips with you.
This is straight from the PPT that I used with my students:
Comparing 2 Things _____er, more ______
Short words (1 syllable): ____er (nicer, bigger)
Long words (2+ syllables): more/less (more convenient, less expensive, more modern)
Exceptions:
Ends in “y,” change it to “i” + er. Easy—>easier
Fun —->more fun
Good—>better
Bad—>worse
Activities for teaching comparative adjectives
Comparative Adjectives Lesson Plans
If you’re a busy teacher, I know you probably want to save time. That’s why you should check out these comparatives ESL lesson plans. Here are some of the best ones to consider printing off and using!
Online Practice for ESL Comparatives
If your students want some extra practice with perfecting comparatives, then you’ll want to recommend the following online resources to them:
ESL Comparative Worksheets
Along with ready-made ESL lesson plans, using some of these worksheets can really save you a ton of time. They’re perfect for homework or some extra practice in class with this important grammar concept.
Need More Ideas for Teaching English Grammar?
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Bolen, Jackie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 87 Pages - 10/24/2019 (Publication Date)
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Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide when making lesson plans. Or, take the digital version with you on your phone, tablet, Mac or PC to your favourite coffee shop for a serious lesson planning session on the go.
Whatever the case, it’s the book you need if you want to level up your ESL grammar teaching in a big way. Check out the book for yourself on Amazon but only if you want to get yourself a serious dose of ESL teaching awesome in your life:
Have your say about these Comparative Adjectives Games and Activities for ESL
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Last update on 2022-06-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
