Adjectives in Informational Texts

Building academic language

Word

• Tell students that they will first learn some key terms related to the lesson.
• Show students the vocabulary cards. Read each term and its definition aloud to students.
• Display a blank Frayer Model on the document camera and model to students how you fill out each section for the term "informational text." Use the information and examples you presented in the introduction.
• Divide students into three groups and assign them each one of the remaining vocabulary words. Hand out a blank Frayer Model to each student. Instruct them to work together to complete the model on their assigned word.
• Have a representative from each group briefly present the information from their model to the whole class. Display one completed Frayer Model for each vocabulary term for students to refer to for the remainder of the lesson.

Sentence

• Tell students that adjectives are descriptive words that give us more information about a noun. Explain that adjectives can describe the size, shape, color, or quality of something.
• Hand out and display a copy of the Identifying Common Adjectives worksheet to each student.
• Read the teaching box and example. Define any unfamiliar words for the students in their home language (L1) and English (L2).
• Elaborate that in informational nonfiction texts, adjectives are important to help the reader have a clear picture of the noun (person, place, thing, animal, or idea) the author is writing about. By including important adjectives that describe the noun, we can develop a more specific and detailed image of the noun as we read about it.
• Demonstrate how to identify the adjective in Part 1 of the worksheet. Have students complete the rest of Part 1 independently.
• Repeat this process (i.e., read directions, model one problem, and assign the remaining sentences) for Part 2 and Part 3.
• Review students' answers as a whole class and clarify any misunderstandings or mistakes.

Discourse

• Distribute the Adjectives as Key Details worksheet and a highlighter to students. Read the teaching box and explain that adjectives help provide key details in informational text. Without these key details, our understanding of the information would be limited or incomplete.
• Model how to complete the first row of the graphic organizer by reading aloud the paragraph, highlighting adjectives as key details, and writing them in the column provided.
• Assign students into partnerships and have them complete the rest of the graphic organizer.
• Circulate the room to offer assistance as needed.