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Lesson plan In this lesson, students learn how to identify a synonym, find synonyms in a thesaurus, choose good synonyms to make their writing more vivid, and avoid selecting a synonym that is incorrect. On This PageLesson plan information|
School level | | Curriculum areas | | Class time | | Software required | | Materials needed | |
Teacher guideGoals| • |
Students will identify and use correct and incorrect synonyms.
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Objectives| • | Students will use a digital thesaurus to find synonyms. | | • | Students will find multiple synonyms for words. | | • | Students will replace specific words in sentences with correct synonyms. | | • | Students will identify incorrect synonyms for words in sentences they write. |
Lesson procedureIntroductionA synonym is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word in the same language. For example, a synonym for “dark” is “dim.” Words often have many synonyms; for example, “drab” ” ebony,” and “murky” are all synonyms for “dark.” You can make your writing a lot more vivid by finding lively synonyms for the words in your sentences. For example, instead of saying, “His hair was dark,” you can say “His hair was inky.” Which sentence sounds better and is more descriptive? A thesaurus is a book that lists synonyms for word and you can use these lists to help you find good synonyms for your writing. One thing to remember when you use a thesaurus is that some words have different meanings or usages and so not all synonyms listed for them mean the same thing. For example, one of the synonyms for “dark” is “gloomy.” If you substitute “gloomy” for “dark” in this sentence, “Her book bag was gloomy,” you will make everyone laugh. Another synonym for “dark” is “hidden,” as in “That is a dark secret.” If you try to substitute “hidden “ for “dark” in the following sentence, however, you end up making a mistake: “The afternoon was very hidden.” So be careful when you use a thesaurus that you don’t just grab a word from the list of synonyms. Check first to see if the word you want to replace has different meanings and find a synonym that goes with the right meaning. In this activity, we are going to practice finding synonyms in a digital thesaurus, identify correct synonyms that will make our writing more vivid, and write sentences that use incorrect synonyms. Main activitySoftware: Microsoft Student
What to do: Activity 1: Find multiple synonymsComplete each sentence below with a word and three of its synonyms. When you need help, use the Microsoft Student 2008 Thesaurus. For help using the Microsoft Student Thesaurus, read the document How to Find a Word in the Microsoft Student Thesaurus that your teacher has saved to your classroom computer. Example: The noise in the school cafeteria is loud (deafening, earsplitting, piercing). A Word of Caution When Using a Thesaurus: Many (numerous, multiple) English words have more than one meaning, and this can get you into trouble when you use synonyms. For example, carry means to transmit, but it also means to have in stock. I carry my books in a backpack. The bookstore carries backpacks of all kinds. If you randomly pick a synonym without paying attention to the usage of the word that you want to replace, you could make a humorous error. I stock my books in a backpack. (Huh? Sounds like it came straight out of a thesaurus.) The bookstore lugs backpacks of all kinds. (It does?) 1. | A presidential candidate must be _____________________________. | 2. | Sharee’s room is ______________________________________. | 3. | Ben ______________________________________________through the house. | 4. |
John _______________________________________________ the table.
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Bobby walked toward the river________________________________________.
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Activity 2: Find a good synonymIn the following three sentences, replace the words highlighted in bold with a synonym. Baseball legend Jackie Robinson became the first African-American person to play on a U.S. major league baseball team in the 20th century. 1. | As the only ___________ African-American player in an all-white league, Robinson had it tough ____________. | 2. | Branch Rickey, the Major League Baseball executive who signed Robinson, warned Robinson that he would face _________ abuse ____________ from fans and players and that he would have to stay quiet ______________. | 3. | Robinson showed _____________all Americans that it’s how you play on the field, not the color of your skin, that matters __________________________. |
Activity 3: Find the right synonymWhat’s my synonym? In the sentences below, there is one word that needs to be replaced with a synonym so that the sentence makes more sense. Underline the word in the sentence that you want to replace with a synonym, and write the synonym on the line provided. 1. | This room is closed; I can’t confess you. ____________________ | 2. | I like just a sprint of salt on my salad. ______________________ | 3. | She was loyal to prison for three years. _____________________ | 4. | I want to pressure how important it is that you wear your seat belt. | 5. | The lower departments of the tree were trimmed since it was getting too heavy. __________________ | 6. | The policeman handed her a quotation for speeding. ____________________ |
Activity 4: Use an incorrect synonymNow write four sentences of your own. In each sentence, replace a word with a synonym that is incorrect, that is, a synonym that has different usage or meaning of the word. In your sentence, underline the word that you are replacing with the incorrect synonym and write the incorrect synonym at the end of the sentence. Example: You have to pay a toll to cross that bridge. (penalty) Hint: Find words in the thesaurus that have more than one usage. Use a synonym incorrectly with the wrong usage. Creativity counts! 1. | _________________________________________________________________ | 2. | _________________________________________________________________ | 3. | _________________________________________________________________ | 4. | _________________________________________________________________ |
Conclusion| • | Evaluate the students’ work on the Student Handout. |
Materials needed| • |
Save the Student Handout (.doc, 58 KB) to your classroom computer and place it in a clearly marked folder so students can access it easily. To open this file, you might need to get Microsoft Office File Viewers.
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Save the document How to Find a Word in Microsoft Student Thesaurus (.doc, 119 KB) to your classroom computer and place it in a clearly marked folder so students can access easily.
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