2 Fun Superlative Adjective Games

I want to share two fun superlative adjective games with you because I’m not sitting in your classroom.  *I* might have eaten worksheets when I was a student if I’d had the right side dishes to go with them.  I LOVED them.  I have this thing about text–letters and words have their own smells and emotions, so asking me to fill out a worksheet was one way to grab my attention.  But, your classroom probably has students who feel the opposite.  They might see the value of a worksheet and appreciate the reasons behind drills.  They probably also really want to have fun, especially in a grammar class.

So, let’s get to it! These two superlative adjective games are fun enough to engage students while sneakily giving them practice with superlative adjectives!

Superlative Adjective Games

Remember, some adult students might feel like playing games is a waste of time. Be sure to mention how these superlative adjective games are an effective review method and aid in the mastery of the concept. They want to have fun, but especially if they are paying for classes, they also don’t want to waste their money.

Team Theories

Preparation:  Cut 10-20 index cards in half.  Write a category question at the top and then a list of five words that share can answer that question on each piece.  For example:  

Category Question:  What are the five most popular items to write with?

1.  pencil
2. pen
3. marker
4. crayon
5. keyboard

How to Play:

• Divide the class into two teams.
• Have one student from each team come to the front of the class.
• Draw a card and read aloud the category question.  
• The student who gives the highest-ranking answer decides if their team will play that round or pass.
• The playing team’s members try to guess the remaining four answers on that card. When they guess, they must do so in the form of a sentence.  (“A pen is one of the most popular items to write with.”)
• If they can guess the remaining four answers, they win 10 points.  
• However, after the playing team gives three incorrect answers, the other team wins a chance to try, even if they only had one remaining answer to guess.  
• If the other team can guess the remaining answer(s), they win the ten points. 
• Start again with a new student from each team and repeat as time permits/student engagement is high.

Superlative Adjective Game: Line Up

Preparation:  Make a list of many different ways to have teams line up.  (eldest to youngest, tallest to shortest, biggest to smallest family, most to least artistic, loudest to quietest voice, darkest to lightest hair, shyest to most outgoing, most to least punctual, most to least serious, most to least dependent on coffee, fastest to slowest reverse ABC reciter, longest to shortest fingers, from the city with the biggest to smallest population, the best to the worst singer, etc.)  

Create three challenge cards per team.

How to Play:

• Divide the class into 2-4 teams, making sure not to have teams with fewer than three members.
• Give each team their challenge cards.
• Call out a line-up method for all teams to follow. 
• The first team to be lined up in order wins 5 points.  
• All teams must have the first and last person say their superlative order placement.  (I have the darkest hair.  I have the lightest hair.)
• A team that was NOT first may choose to use one of their challenge cards to ask for justification/proof about the order.  If the challenged team cannot defend their line order adequately, the challenging team wins the five points.  Either way, the challenging team must turn in that challenge card.
• Call out another line-up method.
• Repeat as time permits or student engagement is high.
• The team with the most points wins.
• Variation to break any ties:  teams with remaining challenge cards at the end of the game get one point per card.

I hope you and your students have fun with the superlative adjective games.  But hey, if you aren’t ready for superlative adjective games yet, take a quick peek at these three fun comparative adjective speaking activities!

Superlative adjectives resource alert!

Games are great, and so are time-saving resources made specifically for adult ESL!

• How Using Adjective Clauses Helps Power Up Their Writing
• 7 FUN Activities for Opposite Adjectives