Synonyms and Antonyms

December 10, 2014

Subject: Language Arts
NJ Standards: Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites
(antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).
Resources/Materials:
Boris Ate A Thesaurus
Worksheet for the students
Synonym Snowmen
Arctic Antonyms
Sticky tack
Lesson Set: Students should know the basic words and their meanings. This will allow
them to participate in the activity without any difficulties.
Objectives: The student will be able to identify synonyms and antonyms and use them
in a sentence.
Student Potential Difficulties:
The students not understanding the words
The students not being able to find the hidden words in the activity
Lesson Procedure:
Prepare to read Boris Ate A Thesaurus by posing the question What is a
thesaurus?
Define synonym- words that have almost the same meaning
Read aloud the story
Define antonym- words that have opposite meanings
Hand out the worksheet and explain that they have to find the snowmen with
synonyms and the penguins with antonyms around the room. Then, they must
identify which words the synonym matches on the worksheet and which word the
antonym is opposite of on the worksheet.
Once they are done have them choose a set of words from the worksheet (one
with a synonym and one with an antonym that they found around the room). They
must write three sentences, using the original word in one, the synonym in
another, and the antonym in the last.
Timetable:
Read the book- 10 minutes
Have them complete the activity- 15 minutes
Have them write their sentences- 10 minutes
Modification for Different Learners:
Use an example like nice, kind, mean to simplify it to students who may be
struggling with understanding the difference between a synonym and an antonym
For students who excel at the activity and finish early, use harder words and
have them try to come up with appropriate synonyms and antonyms
ebullient
jubilant
frigid
Evaluation/Assessment:
Have the students write three sentences using the original word, its synonym,
and its antonym. This will show whether or not they can utilize the words
properly in a sentence.