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...

Using Visual Thesaurus software, class members participate in a computer-based spelling bee. Then they work in groups to analyze the words and use deductive reasoning to infer spelling patterns. They then present one of their "rules" to...

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...

Lois Lowry's The Giver is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking works of literature in the middle school curriculum. Round out your novel unit with a collection of reading activities, comprehension questions, memoir and...

Two online lessons, one in math and one in language arts, are here for you. In them, learners play online games which reinforce important skills in literacy and numeracy. The thing I like about both of these lessons is that they get the...

Introduce your high schoolers to some tough vocabulary. No, I'm not talking about the SAT list! Revisit Victorian literature to find tricky words we still use today. Using the Visual Thesaurus, learners will preview vocabulary in a quote...

A class discussion on reference materials opens up a activity 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...

Here is a fine lesson on teaching ways to use context clues. Upper graders split up into groups and use sticky notes to cover up five words in a passage of text. The passages are rotated to the other groups, and learners must use their...

Students 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.

Kids paraphrase an entry from The Elements of Style, and then revise a sentence. They use the Visual Thesaurus and find synonyms for the phrase very pretty, brainstorm a list of intensifiers (as alternatives to really and very),...

Fourth graders analyze the song "Home on the Range" and identify its meaning and setting.  In this timeline and retelling lesson, 4th graders use dictionaries to find definitions of unfamiliar words, create a timeline and retell the...

Shape shifters recognize characteristics of polygons. Embracing language arts skills in addition to math, they use a thesaurus to pinpoint specific attributes of a set of polygons. They also participate in a 21-question guessing game...

Third graders develop encyclopedia skills to locate information. In this Jan Brett library lesson, 3rd graders research animals in the encyclopedia and complete a worksheet on one animal. Students relate their work to the work of Jan...

Students study spelling words. In this word study instructional activity, students use the Visual Thesaurus and play the Visual Thesaurus Spelling Bee.

Given a deck of cards with different words printed, pairs draw cards and work together to locate definitions for each multiple-meaning word. Learners complete a worksheet that challenges them to write the word, two of its definitions,...

Review decoding strategies to read a chosen text. Readers tape themselves reading out loud, listen to the recording, and mark where they have misread words or phrases. They then discuss which words were misread and review how to correct...

Finding engaging ways to help your middle schoolers build their vocabulary is not easy to do. The activity presented here offers a great way to motivate them to build vocabulary by making it into a game. Teams of pupils use a dictionary...

Students explore world mapping skills. In this world geography lesson, students identify and label the continents and oceans on a world map using the Visual Thesaurus. Students generate mnemonic devices to help memorize these terms.

Students identify and categorize different polygons. In this polygons lesson plan, students research and identify properties of polygons,  identify different polygon shapes, and categorize different triangles and quadrilaterals.

Students form words using prefixes.  In this prefix lesson, students compete in a "prefix challenge" to see which team can combine a set of twelve prefixes with a set of twelve words fastest.  Students enter their words in...

If you are beginning Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this will provide activities for the first five chapters. The objectives include making connections to oneself and the world, organizing information and events, vocabulary acquisition,...

Learners explore the food pyramid. In this nutrition lesson, students identify the 5 food groups and sort foods according to the group in which they belong. Learners use the Visual Thesaurus to complete a food groups worksheet and...

Students understand the definition of binomial nomenclature. In this binomial nomenclature lesson, students classify ordinary animals by seeking their scientific names. Students participate in a knowledge hunt using binomial nomenclature.

Students explore the concept of homophones.  In this homophone lesson, students use a selection from the book Matilda to review homophones.  Students use a web to identify homophones.