Comprehension / Vocabulary – JSS1 English Lesson Note (First Term)

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun, and this lesson uses a passage about the writer’s aunt, Mrs Catherine Odinachi Ezeru, to teach adjectives for describing people.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. describe Mrs Catherine Odinachi Ezeru using details from the passage;
2. give the meaning of the adjectives shiny, pale, cheerful, welcoming and calm;
3. pronounce each of these adjectives correctly;
4. use the adjectives to describe people in sentences of their own.

What is comprehension?

Comprehension is the skill of reading a passage and understanding what it says.

• Read: read the passage slowly and carefully at least twice.
• Understand: find who, where and what the passage is about.
• Answer: use details from the passage to answer questions.
• Vocabulary: learn new words from the passage, with their meaning and pronunciation.

What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word that tells us more about a person, place, animal or thing.

• Position: an adjective can come before a noun, as in “a kind woman”.
• After “is”: an adjective can also come after verbs like is, are and was, as in “She is kind”.
• Use: adjectives answer questions such as “What is she like?” and “What does she look like?”

Who is Mrs Catherine Odinachi Ezeru?

Mrs Catherine Odinachi Ezeru is the aunt of the writer, and she is a very kind person.

The passage tells us these facts about her:

• Home: she lives in a village called Ifite Ukpo, near the Onitsha-Enugu road in Anambra State.
• Appearance: she is beautiful, short and quite fat.
• Character: she is good and kind.
• Her house: she is never alone in her house.
• Her role: she is like a mother to the children of other women.
• Why children visit: they go to her house because she is good and kind to them.

Adjectives used for Mrs Catherine in the passage

• Kind: shows her character.
• Beautiful: shows how she looks.
• Short: shows her height.
• Fat: shows her body size.

What are the five new adjectives for describing people?

The five new adjectives are shiny, pale, cheerful, welcoming and calm.

Each word in a sentence

• Shiny: the baby’s face was shiny after her bath.
• Pale: the sick boy looked pale.
• Cheerful: our cheerful teacher greeted everyone with a smile.
• Welcoming: Aunty Catherine’s house is warm and welcoming.
• Calm: the pupils stayed calm during the fire drill.

How do we pronounce the five adjectives?

Each adjective is pronounced by breaking it into syllables and stressing the right one.

• Shiny: two syllables, SHI-ny, with stress on the first.
• Pale: one syllable, said like “pail” (the vowel sounds like “ay”).
• Cheerful: two syllables, CHEER-ful, with stress on the first.
• Welcoming: three syllables, WEL-com-ing, with stress on the first.
• Calm: one syllable, said like “karm”, and the letter l is silent.

What are the kinds of adjectives for describing people?

Adjectives for describing people can tell us about appearance, character or mood.

How do we describe a person using adjectives?

1. Choose the person, for example your mother, teacher or neighbour.
2. Pick adjectives for appearance, such as tall, short or beautiful.
3. Pick adjectives for character, such as kind, cheerful or calm.
4. Put the adjectives into full sentences, for example “My teacher is tall and cheerful.”
5. Read the sentences aloud and check your pronunciation.

• Be polite: choose respectful words when you describe people.

Evaluation

1. Practice 3, page 69.
2. Practice 4.
3. Where does Mrs Catherine Odinachi Ezeru live?
4. Why do children go to her house?
5. Give the meaning of cheerful and calm, and say each word aloud correctly.

Assignment

Read about adjectives for describing people (vocabulary). Then write five sentences about a person you know, using shiny, pale, cheerful, welcoming and calm, one in each sentence.

Reference

Effective English for J.S.S 1, page 69