2.3.4 Intensifier Adverbs

Lesson Procedure:

1. Make a Word Wall. Have students collaborate on a Word Wall with the intensifiers from plus any others they think of, such as absolutely, extremely, terribly, unbelievably, etc. Suggest they use a thesaurus or dictionary to look up synonyms of some of the intensifiers, such as very or completely to populate the list. Remember to include hardly, enough, too, and so. Students should add intensifiers to the Word Wall as they find them, throughout the unit. Now have students look up the word "intensify," and be ready to explain why it's a good name for this kind of adverb.
2. Weakest to Strongest. Reminding students that intensifier adverbs make words stronger or weaker. Show pictures of any food item that is cooked and uncooked, such as a raw and a hard-boiled egg. Other examples might include cake batter and a finished cake, or a raw steak and a cooked steak. You might also choose to include multiple images showing the spectrum of stages between raw and well-cooked, or even burnt. Write the sentence: “It’s cooked.” on the board. Using blank index cards or sentence strips, have students write “It’s cooked” with intensifiers, and place them in order of intensity, from weakest to strongest. Remind them that enough is the only adverb that comes after the verb cooked. You can start together, asking which one they would use if something were not cooked at all. Putting words or expressions on a continuum is a higher order thinking skill that allows students to figure out the meanings, nuances, and relationships among new words, while using them cognitively and creatively. Answers will vary and discussion about the order should be encouraged. Brainstorm with the class other ideas they could use to illustrate a continuum or spectrum using intensifier adverbs. Challenge them to think outside the box, including actions, such as how fast different modes of transportation go, or the stages in a life cycle. Assign a project for students to create a poster or chart illustrating anything they choose that has varying degrees or stages. They must depict the spectrum, including illustrations and labels with intensifier adverbs.
3. How Late Is It? Play the Hear it, Say It feature. Pause after each sentence for students to ask a question and then answer with an intensifier. For example:
   HISI: It's already late. Student A: How late is it? Student B: It's terribly late!
   HISI: I think I measured the wood carefully. Student A: How carefully did he measure the wood? Student B: He measured really carefully.
   
4. Very Well, Hardly Well. In pairs, students tell each other something they can do very well, and something they can hardly do at all, reminding the students that “hardly” means “just a little bit.” Students then re-tell their partners' stronger and weaker skills for the class. Alternatively, do a Roundrobin activity with each student adding their own sentence. Their sentences don't have to be true, but they must make sense. For example, I can cook, but I can hardly bake. / I can read English well, but I can hardly write it.