English lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 45 minutes
Irregular comparisons: good, better, best and bad, worse, worst
Grammar
CCSS L.3.1.GEngland: Y3 GPS (Standard English)England: Y4 GPS
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Irregular comparisons: good, better, best and bad, worse, worst.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Adding -er and -est (fast, faster, fastest)
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: Sentence strips, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Adding -er and -est (fast, faster, fastest)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Add -er to "rich". Type the new word. → richerPrompt: Does the word end in two consonants or a vowel team? Then just add the ending.
- Which word fits? Of all the animals, the cheetah is the ___ runner. (fast / faster / fastest) → fastestPrompt: Are we comparing two things, or more than two?
- Add -est to "small". Type the new word. → smallestPrompt: Does the word end in two consonants or a vowel team? Then just add the ending.
Hook · 5 min
- Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
- Share the objective: Irregular comparisons: good, better, best and bad, worse, worst. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Choose the correct word. Of the two puzzles, the blue one is ___.
- Step 1: good → better → best; bad → worse → worst; many/much → more → most; little → less → least.
- Step 2: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "Of the two puzzles, the blue one is better."
- Step 3: So the answer is: better
- Answer: better
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Choose the correct word. Of the two puzzles, the blue one is ___. (gooder / goodest / best / better) → betterPrompt: good, bad, many and little have special forms. They do not add -er or -est.
- Type the missing word. good → ___ → best → betterPrompt: These words do not follow the -er/-est pattern.
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Choose the correct word. Of the two puzzles, the blue one is ___. (goodest / best / gooder / better) → betterPrompt: good, bad, many and little have special forms. They do not add -er or -est.
- Type the missing word. far → ___ → farthest → fartherPrompt: These words do not follow the -er/-est pattern.
Watch out for
- Naming the feature but not using it in their own sentences.
- Thinking a sentence is right because it sounds right when spoken casually.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Adding -er and -est (fast, faster, fastest).
- Use concrete materials: sentence strips.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-3.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder