Animal record breakers: comparatives and superlatives
Children read checked facts about four record-breaking animals, work out the rules for comparatives and superlatives, then play a quiz and write their own comparisons.
At a glance
- From
- Level 2, Moving Up English: Week 6, Wild animals
- Grammar
- comparatives and superlatives
- Key language
- fast, faster, the fastest / big, bigger, the biggest / heavy, heavier, the heaviest / dangerous, more dangerous, the most dangerous / good, better, the best
- Children make
- Five comparison sentences and an animal quiz.
- Class size
- Works with 10 to 50 children; pair and group steps say how to scale.
Objective
Children form and use comparative and superlative adjectives to compare animals using facts from a text.
Success criteria for children
- I can make comparatives with -er and more.
- I can make superlatives with -est and the most.
- I can compare animals using facts.
Timing: 60 minutes
| Minutes | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | Warm-up: line up | Three children stand by height; class compares. |
| 5 to 17 | Reading: Animal record breakers | Read the facts; answer the questions. |
| 17 to 29 | Find the rules | Children find forms in the text and complete the rules table. |
| 29 to 39 | Practice | Worksheet tasks 1 and 2: forms and gap-fill. |
| 39 to 51 | Speaking: animal quiz | Teams write three quiz questions with superlatives and ask other teams. |
| 51 to 60 | Writing and exit ticket | Task 3 sentences; exit ticket. |
Materials
- Board table with three columns: adjective, comparative, superlative
- Worksheet, pencils
- Wild animals flashcards (free, linked from Week 6)
- Comparatives and superlatives (free, linked from Week 6)
- Animal fact file (free, linked from Week 6)
Step by step, with teacher talk
0 to 5 minWarm-up: line up
- Ask three volunteers to stand at the front. "Who is tall? Who is taller? Who is the tallest?" Let the class decide (kindly).
5 to 17 minReading: Animal record breakers
- Ask a prediction question first: "Which animal is the fastest on land?" Take guesses.
- Read the text aloud, then pairs answer the questions.
17 to 29 minFind the rules
- Pairs underline every -er, -est, more and most word in the text.
- Build the rules table on the board together: short words add -er/-est; words ending in consonant + y change to -ier/-iest; big doubles the g; long words use more/the most; good is irregular.
- Drill: you say an adjective, rows say the comparative and superlative.
- "The cheetah is the fastest." Are we comparing two animals or all animals? (All animals on land.)
- "Dangerous" is a long word. Do we say "dangerouser"? (No, more dangerous.)
29 to 39 minPractice
- Children complete tasks 1 and 2 alone, then check with a partner.
39 to 51 minSpeaking: animal quiz
- Model: "Which is bigger, a mouse or a cat?" "Which is the slowest: a snail, a dog or a horse?"
- In fours, teams write three questions (they can use any animals they know). Teams pair up and ask each other. One point per correct answer.
51 to 60 minWriting and exit ticket
- Children write task 3, then see the exit ticket below.
Differentiation
Support
- Give only regular short adjectives first: fast, tall, small, long.
- Provide the rules table as a printed or copied card.
Stretch
- Use "much": "A blue whale is much bigger than an elephant."
- Use "not as ... as": "A zebra is not as tall as a giraffe."
- Research a record-breaking animal for homework and write a fact card.
Reading passage
The cheetah is the fastest mammal on land. Over a short distance it can run at around 100 kilometres an hour. That is faster than a car in a town! But it gets tired quickly, so it cannot run fast for long.
The blue whale is the largest mammal in the world. It is much bigger than an elephant. Its heart is about the size of a small car.
The ostrich is the tallest and the heaviest bird. It cannot fly, but it is a very fast runner. Its eggs can be 15 centimetres long, so they are bigger than any other bird's eggs.
The giraffe is taller than any other animal. An adult giraffe can be more than five metres tall. Its long neck helps it to eat leaves that other animals cannot reach.
Questions
- Which animal is the fastest on land?
- Why can't a cheetah run fast for a long time?
- What is about the size of a small car?
- Can an ostrich fly?
- How does the giraffe's neck help it?
Printable worksheet
Prints on its own A4 page. Use Print the worksheet above, or print the whole plan and the worksheet starts on a new page. One copy per child, or one per pair to save paper.
Animal record breakers
1. Complete the table.
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| fast | faster | |
| big | the biggest | |
| heavy | ||
| tall | ||
| dangerous | the most dangerous | |
| good |
2. Use the text. Write the correct form.
- The cheetah is the (fast) mammal on land.
- A blue whale is much (big) than an elephant.
- The ostrich is the (heavy) bird.
- An ostrich egg is (big) than a chicken egg.
- A giraffe is (tall) than any other animal.
3. Compare two animals you know. Write three sentences.
Answer key
Reading passage questions
- The cheetah.
- Because it gets tired quickly.
- A blue whale's heart.
- No, it can't, but it runs very fast.
- It can eat leaves that other animals cannot reach.
Worksheet
- 1: the fastest; bigger; heavier, the heaviest; taller, the tallest; more dangerous; better, the best.
- 2: fastest; bigger; heaviest; bigger; taller.
- 3: answers will vary. Check "than" after comparatives and "the" before superlatives.
Exit ticket
Hold up three objects (a pencil, a book, a bag). Children write one comparative and one superlative sentence about them.
Homework
Choose an animal. Find two facts about it in a book or with an adult online. Write two sentences comparing it with another animal.
Teaching this to a whole class?
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Start free with LitlingsMore lesson plans
- Level 2, Week 6: Wild animals (the curriculum week this plan comes from)
- Cheetah facts (National Geographic Kids)
- Blue whale facts (National Geographic Kids)
- Ostrich facts (National Geographic Kids)
- Giraffe facts (National Geographic Kids)
- All reading texts, dialogues, scripts, worksheets and answer keys on this page are original to Litlings and free to copy for classroom use.