Teaching adjectives in 1st grade is a great way to expand students’ vocabulary and help them express themselves more vividly. I’m sharing several hands-on activities so you can make learning adjectives for 1st grade fun and engaging.
In the sixth week of my grammar lessons, we dive into adjectives. Each lesson starts with everyone gathered at the front by the SMART board, where we go over digital slides together. The students enjoy these slides and look forward to working on them daily, right after morning recess.
For adjective week, I’ve prepared a poster explaining what an adjective is, along with an original adjective song that I wrote, which is linked to YouTube for audio. The unit includes 6 practice slides and daily “you do” activities. You can use the “you do” slides to complete together with the class, review after they’ve finished, or model for them before letting them work independently.
I love incorporating children’s books that tie into the grammar concepts we’re learning. For this week, I found two great books that focus on adjectives, which complement the lessons. I’ve linked any available digital versions of the stories, so you don’t have to purchase them separately. The language stories are also linked here for easy access.
Each day, we go through the digital slides, read the stories, and sing the adjective song. By the end of the week, students will have memorized the song and clearly understand what an adjective is.
After our shared session, I like to let the students work independently on the “you do” activities. In this adjective unit, we create lists centered around our senses and practice describing pictures.
Each unit also includes some kind of sorting activity. During this week, students will sort words based on the five senses. I use these sorting activities for morning tubs and literacy centers.
At the end of each grammar unit, we do a fun cumulative craft. For Week 6, which usually falls in early autumn, we create a “rake with leaves” craft. The students label the leaves with descriptive adjectives. I’ve also included bulletin board letters that spell out “Falling Over Adjectives.” It makes for an adorable bulletin board display.
If you are interested in my other grammar lessons for 1st grade I have a Free Grammar Curriculum Scope and Sequence that you can download and take a closer look at what is covered throughout the year. The full 32-week Grammar Curriculum is available on TeachersPayTeachers.
Additionally, I offer a Grammar Club subscription, which includes all my grammar units and a wealth of supplementary digital practice slides. This Adjectives for 1st Grade Unit is available for purchase on TpT.
Here’s what some buyers had to say about this unit:
“This has been the absolute best resource! So many great activities from google slides to paper pencil. The students have been engaged and love the songs. One of my favorite things I have bought!!”
“I keep on purchasing the grammar weeks because I love that everything I need is already there! The slides are helpful to guide students and even for review! The worksheets and activities included are great! There is so many options that I can stretch out a week into two if needed for extra practice.”
Check out these other blog posts about my Grammar units:
