Adjectives for Kids: Fun Activities for Learning Adjectives

How to Teach Kids Adjectives

Kids can use adjectives to bring their writing to life. However, many kids use generic adjectives like good, bad, cold or hot, and may not be aware that there are more descriptive words they can use as well. Help your child understand what an adjective is, why he or she might use adjectives when writing and the variety of adjectives that exist by creating fun, at-home activities.

Three Adjective Activities

Mad Lib Activity

Many kids have done Mad Libs for fun, but this is also an effective way to help them understand how adjectives are used and the countless choices they have. One way to do this is to have your child pick out his or her favorite short story. Once selected, go through and remove all adjectives. You may need to type the story on the computer to remove them and print off a worksheet. Ask your child to fill in the blanks with his or her own adjectives, or provide a list of blanks so your child can choose silly adjectives without viewing the text. Then, he or she can read the story with all of the new descriptors and have a better understanding of how adjectives can bring excitement to writing.

Flashcard Activity

Create flash cards at home for a fun activity that will assist your child with using adjectives in his or her writing. Start by writing one generic adjective per index card, and then brainstorm with your child to come up with several related adjectives. For example, one index card may say 'cold,' so on the back you could write 'chilly,' 'frosty' and 'freezing.' Once you and your child have come up with a good amount, he or she can use them when writing essays or stories at school. Instead of reverting to generic terms, he or she will have plenty of options to choose from.

A-Z Activity

This activity will help your child think creatively by encouraging the use of different descriptors for the same noun. First, have your child write a sentence. It could be something as simple as, 'My room is big.' Then, create a worksheet that lists the sentence 26 times without the adjective. Have your child fill in the blank with an adjective that starts with each letter of the alphabet. For example, he or she may choose to write, 'My room is awesome' for the letter 'A' and 'My room is quiet' for 'Q.'