Antonyms - are what widen our vocabulary – making simple, and basic sentences into something more

engaging to listen to. Think of most English classic literature, now imagine them with the most basic
language — you would get bored with reading! Many authors and entertainers have used the technique of
antonyms to create engaging entertainment, for example:

Live and let die — Paul McCartney

Hello Goodbye  — The Beatles

Hot & cold — Katy Perry

Bittersweet Symphony — The Verve

We should always encourage students to expand their vocabulary by using alternatives to words. Keep in mind,
Antonyms are part of the English national curriculum therefore teachers should try and create fun lesson plans that
allow students to fully immerse themselves in what antonyms are.

Antonyms go hand in hand with synonyms and homonyms, but for the purpose of this article, we will stick with
antonyms. 

Students simply need to understand what an antonym is and how we use them in our vocabulary.

Often, antonyms can show up in your student’s STA’s, therefore it is a great idea to use antonyms as much
as possible in your class. Once students get the hang of it, they won’t forget!

This one is straightforward and ideal for when the students wait for their morning lessons. Perfect for brain
warm-ups before your actual English lesson starts too! 

Simply let students grab a thesaurus, or share them between pairs, then ask them to search for an opposite
word for a word you’ve said. Each pair, or individual, gets to say their anonym. Whoever gets it wrong, has
to choose a different word to find an antonym for.
The opposite game:

Split your class into two groups. Much like learning to use the thesaurus, this time ask the groups to pick a
word from the thesaurus, the second team must answer with an antonym. Both teams can go back and forth
with words until one of the teams gets the answer wrong. For each answer wrong, the opposite team gains
10 points, the first one to 100 points wins!