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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Words as a Way into Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Use the Visual Thesaurus to predict the subject matter of Rick Riordan's book The Lightning Thief. A pre-reading activity encourages middle schoolers to use context clues and word meaning to discover what the book is about. After they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seeing Words in a New Way

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What's the best resource to use when looking up words? Use Visual Thesaurus to see a word's meaning. The class accesses the interactive website and then compares and contrasts the difference between using a traditional dictionary and the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Vocabulary Building Through Visualization of Word Meanings to Create Digital Art

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Use online dictionaries to define vocabulary words and create a visualization of word meanings through digital art. Middle schoolers go online to define assigned vocabulary words. They visualize the meanings of the words in photo...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Create a Word

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Brainstorm new words for a class dictionary. In small groups, young learners read and discuss an article about how words get into dictionaries. They then develop a new word, use it in a sentence, and share their creations with their peers. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's Greek to Me!

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Use Greek roots, suffixes, and prefixes to create polysyllabic words. Readers use the dictionary to identify what the word's prefix, suffix, and root or base word mean. They define what a syllable is and how one is formed using Greek...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If a Runner Runs, Does a Sweater Sweat?

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Play with words and word meanings involving the suffix -er. After reading a sample list of words, young readers look up each one in the dictionary to decide which words refer to people, animals, or objects, or have three or more...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reinvigorate Your Vocabulary

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders participate in a variety of activities to examine the meanings and roots of word derivatives and the meanings of words. Using context clues, they determine the meanings of words omitted from a passage and complete a prefix...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simile and Metaphor

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Middle schoolers use context clues to find the figurative meaning of similes and metaphors in writing. They practice using figurative language to help their writing come alive. Use this activity in a instructional activity about poetry,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greek, Latin and Anglo-Saxon Roots to Better Vocabulary

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Practice vocabulary skills with this word analysis lesson. Middle schoolers examine the roots of unfamiliar words and use their knowledge of roots to discern meaning through word analysis.
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Curated OER

It's Opposite Day

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Celebrate Opposite Day by using a Visual Thesaurus to match words to their antonyms. They match a list of vocabulary words to their antonym counterparts using the Visual Thesaurus, and then they play Antonym Bingo with the words from...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hyperbole and Idiom

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Seventh graders use context clues to determine the figurative meaning of idioms and hyperboles. They practice writing idioms and hyperboles in sentences about real life situations around them. This lesson is a good way to improve variety...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Word Origins

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Understanding a word's etymology can really help with decoding and building vocabulary skills. Readers compare and contrast words of similar origins but with different difficulty levels. They focus on prefixes, suffixes, and affixes....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mythological Word Origins

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Review myths and the characters therein, connecting them to vocabulary words in the English language today. Begin by searching online for myths and character names. With at least ten names that are familiar English words, students use...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Guide Word Sentences

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learners write sentences using dictionary guide words, putting two guide words from the same page in the same sentence. They demonstrate creative-writing and vocabulary skills to write sentences using dictionary guide words.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shades of Meaning

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Examine and distinguish between words that have similar definitions but different connotations. Middle schoolers define connotation and denotation and participate in a "shades of meaning" contest in small groups. Groups use the Visual...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Context

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Teams practice decoding and using context strategies to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words. After verifying the meanings of words through the use of dictionaries, the Internet, thesauruses, and other sources, learners write the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nym Family

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
List and identify words for each part of the "Nym" family: synonyms, antonyms and homonyms. Middle schoolers place words in the correct category, then find the corresponding mate in a dictionary or thesaurus.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding and Using Root Words to Expand Vocabulary

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers engage in a lesson which reminds them that root words indicate the base meaning of a word, and that those roots are found in many different words that have similar meanings. Pairs of pupils use construction paper and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Revising Writing: Plain English

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Eschew obfuscation! Using dictionaries, writers revise a complicated text so that it reads more simply and improves the clarity of the passage. Focusing on word meanings, they revise the sample worksheets and then present their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Synonyms to Early Writers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Upper elementary schoolers examine the concept of synonyms and how using a variety of vocabulary through synonyms can expand their writing skills. They revise a paragraph using synonyms located on the Visual Thesaurus and participate in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Words Have Meaning

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Learners interpret and analyze art for meaning and a Maya Angelou poem for meaning. In this art and literature analysis instructional activity, students analyze Alison Saar's "Lost and Found" and Maya Angelou's poem "Alone." Learners...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dolch Sight Word Booklet

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
First and second graders expand their vocabulary by reading a word recognition booklet.  In this English vocabulary activity, learners utilize a booklet of 220 basic sight words which they read over everyday and are quizzed on the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Words That Sell

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Explore words, definitions, their connotations and associations with brand names. Middle and high schoolers identify words used in commercials and determine their effect upon the consumer population. They explore how meanings are...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Come Fly with Me . . . Open a Book: Travels through Literature

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...

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