A Lovely Little Lesson: Adjective Order

About This Resource

A complete Grade 6 ESL lesson pack on the order of adjectives before a noun: the usual order of opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material and purpose, why "a big red ball" sounds right and "a red big ball" does not, when to use commas between adjectives, and how to write vivid descriptions without stacking too many adjectives. Includes slides, a timed lesson plan, flashcards, worksheet, quiz, homework, rubric and answer key.

Overview

Students discover that English speakers put adjectives in a fixed order, even though most native speakers have never learned the rule. They learn the usual sequence (opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose) with a memorable chart, sort adjectives into categories, choose and build correctly ordered noun phrases, correct mistakes, and read a lost-property notice full of descriptions. They also learn when a comma is needed between two opinion adjectives and finish by writing their own detailed description of a special object.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Adjective Order
Category: Grammar
File Type: PDF
File Size: 369.8 KB
Published: 04 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 6 (ages 11–12) 55 minutes Grammar word order editing descriptive writing reading

Learning Objectives

Identify the category of an adjective: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material or purpose.
Put two or three adjectives before a noun in the correct order.
Write clear descriptions using adjectives in the correct order and with correct commas.

How to Use This Resource

Start with slide 1: "Which sounds right: a red big ball or a big red ball?" Ask students why.
Teach the order chart and the comma rule with the slides, then do activities 1 and 2 together.
Students complete activities 3 to 6, then use the quiz to check and the homework description. Answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Human sentence: give students cards with "a", a noun and three adjectives. They stand in the correct order at the front of the room.
Mystery bag: put an object in a bag. Students feel it and describe it with two or three adjectives in the right order.
Shop catalog: students write catalog descriptions for classroom objects, such as "a useful small plastic ruler".

Differentiation

Support: give the order chart with picture examples and limit tasks to two adjectives. Challenge: write a five-adjective description that still sounds natural, then decide which adjectives could be removed to make it clearer.

Assessment

Worksheet activities 1 to 5 and the quiz check categories, order and commas (answer key included). Activity 6 and the homework description are assessed with the rubric.

Teacher Tips

Reassure students that real descriptions rarely use more than three adjectives. Teach the first part of the order well (opinion before size, size before color, color before material) because these combinations are the most common.

What's Included

11-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (9 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Quiz / assessment (3 parts)
Homework practice page
Printable flashcards: 9 A5 picture cards (separate PDF)
Assessment rubric (4 levels)
Lesson slides (editable PowerPoint)
Editable Word version of all student pages
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)