Do We Need and Adverb or an Adjective Here?

Teaching parts of speech can be tricky, and one of the more difficult skills for students to master is deciding whether to use an adjective or an adverb to modify a noun or verb!

They now know what an adjective and an adverb are, but here’s the next step.

Understanding the role of adverbs and adjectives in a sentence, along with the specific information they want to convey, will help students determine whether to use an adverb or an adjective to modify a word. 

This set of 24 fun task cards will give students plenty of practice at selecting the correct word in the sentence provided, which is a building block to including these parts of speech effectively in their own writing.

To prepare, simply print one set of the task cards, and cut them up, then print the correct number of recording sheets for your class size. 

To play, students draw a card, determine the correct and write it on their individual recording sheet. 

Teacher Tip: Alternate Uses for Adjectives and Adverb? Task Cards

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your literacy lessons. 

In addition to individual student work time, use this task card game to enhance learning through guided literacy groups, whole class lessons or try one of these ideas:

🛴 Scoot Activity 

Get students up and out of their seats! Place the cards around the room in numerical order and give each student a recording sheet. Assign students or pairs to a starting point card. Give students time to review the card and record their answers in the corresponding space on their paper. Students will rotate to the next card when you say, “SCOOT!” Continue in this manner until students return to their starting point. 

👋 Exit Ticket 

Use these cards as a formative assessment after your lesson. Pick a random assortment of cards and project them on the board for the whole class to see. Students can record their answers on a sheet of paper, sticky note or notebook. 

♦️ Sorting Activity

Pair students up and give each pair a set of task cards (you may wish to print them in black and white), and ask them to physically sort the cards into ‘adverb required’ or ‘adjective required’ piles. 

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. A recording sheet is also included with this download. 

Print on cardboard for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

To keep the task cards out of pockets or under desks, punch a hole in the corner of each to place them on a binder ring. 

This resource was created by Kendall Britnell, a teacher in Colorado and Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more adjectives and adverbs activities for your class:

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Adverbs Match-Up

Skip those comparative and superlative adverb worksheets and try out an adverb matching game.

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Adverbs Scoot

Build vocabulary and grammar skills with a game of Comparative and Superlative Adverbs SCOOT!

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Types of Adverbs Teaching Slides

Explore five types of adverbs in this action-packed adverb adventure teaching slide deck! This resource covers adverbs of time, place, manner, frequency and degree.