Curated OER
Word Association Poetry with Visual Thesaurus (or Not)
Young poets get inspiration and guidance for making word association poems with the Visual Thesaurus. Your class could complete this project with nothing more than a pencil and paper as well. A nice one-off for a substitute during your...
Curated OER
Rooting One's Way to Meaning
Discover the Virtual Thesaurus with your class. They use the Virtual Thesaurus to assist them in an inquiry-based approach to discovering the meanings of some common Latin and Greek roots. Each child then teaches a particular root and...
Curated OER
The Mighty Elements: Using the Visual Thesaurus to Investigate Chemical Elements
Pupils create trading cards for elements in the Periodic Table. Initially, they are introduced to the Periodic Table of Elements and the concept of elements in the world around us. After dividing into groups, learners use the Visual...
Curated OER
Writing a Poem
A colorful and educational presentation shows young learners how to write poetry. Many of the slides contain graphic organizers, which can assist pupils in coming up with adjectives, similes, metaphors, phrases, and other elements of a...
Curated OER
Locating Information Quickly in a Variety of Resources
Here is a lesson which may be best suited for a library science teacher, or one that can be done by a regular teacher when in the library. In it, learners explore the best ways to use print and electronic resources to find information...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - The Weekly Test
Readers take the main characters in Matilda and individually describe them through a mnemonic. To get there, group members create an acrostic poem describing the character they were given, and choose one of the words from the...
Curated OER
Blogging to Create a Community of Writers
One of the keys for successful teaching is connecting curriculum to real-life experiences. This lesson on blogging does this, by making writing, revising, and publishing a reality. Pupils create a character for a story, write about their...
Curated OER
Synonyms
Students examine the meaning of synonyms after reading the story "Meet Taz the tiny terrier!" Students discover the importance of synonyms in stories and how to use a thesaurus.
Curated OER
Using Adjectives to Write
Fifth graders examine how to write a story using comparative and superlative adjectives. They listen to the book "Pig Pigger Piggest" by Rick Walton and identify the comparative adjectives used in the story. Students then write a rough...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Meaning, Dictionary Cube
Scholars work together to define words and answer questions using a dictionary cube.
Curated OER
Creative Writing Using the Senses
Fifth graders, utilizing a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings, eat a sweet treat and then list eight different adjectives for each of the five senses. They then describe a sweet with at least then adjectives...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Shades of Meaning
Learners use words with similar meanings to analyze implied meanings. In this word connotation activity, the teacher introduces the activity by asking students whether a new product should be advertised as "newfangled" or...
Curated OER
Wetlands A - Z Book
In this wetlands worksheet, students follow directions on how to make an online a - z book about the wetlands. Students follow 5 sets of directions.
Curated OER
Introduction to the Visual Thesaurus
Young scholars examine the basic functions of the online Visual Thesaurus, exploring how simple words may sometimes have multiple meanings. In small groups they select words and explore the Visual Thesaurus, and write a short play using...
Curated OER
Using the Thesaurus: Synonyms
In this recognizing synonyms and antonyms worksheet, 6th graders read a list of keywords and a group of four words to identify the word that is an antonym for the keyword. Students circle 12 answers.
Curated OER
Understanding Science Vocabulary and Categorization
Students analyze scientific vocabulary words. In this life science vocabulary activity, students complete a worksheet using VisualThesaurus as they evaluate words related to plants and animals and how the words are used.
Curated OER
Feelings From A to Z
Third graders express and interpret information and ideas. They identify a variety of feelings and their effect on people. They explain how someone's actions can cause someone else to have a specific feeling.
Curated OER
Create a Word Graveyard to Teach Synonyms
Students explore descriptive writing by creating headstones. In this memorial lesson plan, students utilize an 11" x 17" piece of paper to create a cemetery headstone memorializing a word rather than a person. Students decorate their...
Curated OER
Exploring the Power of Puns
Read and analyze a variety of Shakespearean and contemporary puns using Visual Thesaurus computer software. Middle and high schoolers analyze a pun as a class; in small groups they analyze a Shakespearean pun using contextual clues and...
Cleveland Metro School District
Novel Lesson for The Giver
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...
Curated OER
Improving Descriptive Writing: Painting an Original Picture
Descriptive writing is rich in sensory appeals and paints pictures in the minds of readers. Show young writers how to use an on-line thesaurus and a cliché website to create fresh, descriptive writing. The presentation ends with an...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Text-Dependent and Short Answer Questions: Excerpts from “A Limited Supply”
There's no such thing as an unlimited resource. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment by reading A Limited
Supply. They answer text-dependent questions and complete a graphic organizer about key terms in the text.
Beacon Learning Center
Power Words
Using words can create a power struggle! Using antonyms and synonyms can create a Power Words game! Check out this lesson that teachers your class the difference between the two and how to use a thesaurus.