Superlative Adjectives Lesson Plan Series

We have a series of superlative adjectives lesson plans designed for private ESL teachers and tutors…

If you’re student has gained confidence using comparative adjectives, it’s time to tackle superlative adjectives. We have a set of two superlative adjectives lesson plans ready for you to teach. You can find them filed under Adjectives&Adverbs category on our Teacher tab. If you don’t yet have an account for our private beta set one up on our Home page.
Remember, a superlative adjective typically compares three or more nouns while a comparative adjective compares two nouns. Keep in mind that this is not always the case (e.g. I am taller than him and his brother). For this reason, we avoid using this line of explanation in our superlative adjectives lesson plan series and instead focus on constructing the superlative while allowing the student to learn it’s natural use through exercises and discovery.
The following is a breakdown of what you can expect to find in our two-part superlative adjectives lesson plan series:
A4.1 – Adjectives-Superlatives – 1
We begin with some warm-up (describing pictures) exercises where the student is encouraged to discover the superlative adjective form. After several discovery exercises we introduce the superlative adjective form (+ – est for short adjectives and most + adjective for long adjectives) and the use of the before superlative adjectives.

After a lengthy set of practice exercises for the basic superlative adjective form we introduce our most common irregulars (best/worst/furthest). We then explain that the superlative form is often used to express the fastest/largest/smartest/etc… in a group/place/organization (e.g. he is the smartest in the class). We also make the distinction between the use of in (for groups/organizations/places) and of (for periods of time). We also introduce the construction of one of the + superlative + plural noun + preposition (e.g. one of the nicest people in my class):

A4.2 – Adjectives-Superlatives – 2

Since superlative adjectives and comparative adjectives are highly related concepts, our second superlative adjectives lesson plan focuses on providing practice for all the superlative and comparative forms your student has discovered by this point. We also give ample freer practice and production scenarios later in the lesson plan:

Have you used our superlative adjectives lesson plans with your private ESL students? Let us know!