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In Other Words: Using a Thesaurus
Help your young writers stay engaged with their writing through the practical use of a thesaurus. They work to reinforce the use of synonyms as a way of making writing more interesting and to determine word meaning by finding synonyms....
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Thesaurus Power
Give your class the advantage of Thesaurus Power! They will use a thesaurus to understand word meanings and relationships. They focus on how a thesaurus functions and how it gives the entry word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and part...
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Using a Thesaurus
Young scholars discover how to use a thesaurus. In this language arts lesson plan, students explore thesauruses as they look up words and write sentences for the new words they encounter.
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Degrees Of Meaning
Introduce the idea of a word and its synonyms having different degrees of meaning. Each individual chooses a word that he or she wants to work with and fills out the included worksheet using a thesaurus. Consider having a word bank of...
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Learning Vocabulary by Using Reference Materials
Finding engaging ways to help your middle schoolers build their vocabulary is not easy to do. The lesson presented here offers a great way to motivate them to build vocabulary by making it into a game. Teams of pupils use a dictionary...
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Using a Thesaurus
Learners become familiar with the Thesaurus as a resource. In this Thesaurus lesson, students complete a worksheet by finding other words to replace the given word and use the word in a sentence.
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Shades of Meaning
Students use words with similar meanings to analyze implied meanings. For this word connotation lesson, the teacher introduces the activity by asking students whether a new product should be advertised as "newfangled" or "cutting-edge."...
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Strengthening Your Vocabulary
A challenging worksheet is here for your learners of language arts. In it, they must find words that convey a more powerful, or more descriptive meaning than the guide word at the top of the list. There are 12 guide words, and nine more...
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Varied Word Choice
Fifth graders examine how to use a variety of word choices when writing. They discuss how using more descriptive words leads to a more varied word choice, watch a teacher-created PowerPoint presentation, and using a Thesaurus replace...
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Word Reference Materials
A class discussion on reference materials opens up a lesson on how to use these important resources. They discover that dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses are called word reference resources, and they practice using them. The...
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Cite Your Sites
What information would you find in an almanac that you would not find in an atlas? What is the difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus? Using a Cite Your Sites worksheet on which they record their observations, groups participate...
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Dictionary Work - Entry Words
Second graders examine the use of entry words in the dictionary. In this dictionary use lesson, learners look at guide words in a children's dictionary as the teacher/librarian describes the characteristics of each entry. They complete...
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Different Audiences
Students examine levels of language difficulty for different audiences. They explore how to simplify texts to suit a younger audience. Students use a thesaurus to find synonyms. Students select a news article to rewrite. They create...
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Synonyms
Students complete online exercises for synonyms. In this synonyms lesson, students work in pairs to find pictures around the room and choose one as the music plays. Students write a word to describe the picture and discuss their choices....
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Vocabulary Match for SMARTBoard
Second graders practice vocabulary using the interactive whiteboard. In this vocabulary match lesson, 2nd graders review vocabulary words, take turns revealing a word or definition, and then identify the match. Students utilize a...
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Phrase Card Reading
Fourth graders, after reading and discussing the book, "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," by Judy Bloom, complete a vocabulary worksheet and read sections from the book fluently and accurately. They utilize dictionaries and thesauruses...
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Guide Words
Third graders investigate guide words. In this library lesson, 3rd graders investigate guide words in reference materials and complete an alphabetizing worksheet.
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Reading Comprehension: Context Clues
Fifth graders use context clues to help them understand unknown words. In this context clues lesson, 5th graders practice identifying context clues on a worksheet, then work with a peer to write their own story. Stories are peer edited...
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Wolf Fact Cards
Students write a non-chronological report about wolves. They read and discuss wolf fact cards in small groups, complete a KWL chart, observe the teacher model the steps of writing a report, and conduct research and write an original...
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Transforming Negatives to Positives
Young scholars write diamonte poems that correspond to the double-exposed photograph they created. In this poetry and multimedia artwork lesson, students use the photographic process to create a double-exposed photo then create a...
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Fourth Grade Language: Research Process
For this review of fourth grade resource usage worksheet students answer questions about guide words, library database, resources for specific information, parts of a book, and dictionary usage. Students answer 10 questions.
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Writing with Vivid Verbs
Learners find vivid verbs in literature and use them in their own writing. In this vivid verbs lesson plan, students use a 'Thinking Thesaurus' of major verbs to study common verbs. Learners then practice rewriting sentences using vivid...
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Writing Similes
Fifth graders identify and write similes. They define simile and discuss different examples, and with the help of a thesaurus, write original similes that compare the colors of crayons to objects or feelings. Students copy their rough...
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"All About Me" Paragraph
Fifth graders write a paragraph titled "All About Me" in the computer lab after they have drawn graphic organizers to fill in background information about themselves and used a "10-Point Writing Checklist" to do peer editing.