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Using a Thesaurus
Middle schoolers discover how to use a thesaurus. In this language arts lesson, students explore thesauruses as they look up words and write sentences for the new words they encounter.
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Using a Thesaurus
In this writing instructional activity, students read about how to use a thesaurus. Students also replace a word, using a thesaurus, in each of five sentences.
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Mapping Your Identity: A Back-To-School Ice Breaker
Identify the unique personal attributes of your class members. Begin by viewing the Visual Thesaurus and discussing displayed attributes associated with famous American leaders. Using these identity maps as models, pupils generate nouns...
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When You Reeeaaallly Want to Say Something
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),...
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The Visual Thesaurus and the SAT
Demonstrate strategies for tackling unfamiliar vocabulary words in preparation for the SAT. Using Visual Thesaurus computer software, middle and high schoolers interpret contextual clues, solve sample sentence completion questions, and...
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Thesaurus Forage
Looking for a game that teaches students about how to use a thesaurus, and reinforces the concept of synonyms? Each player will have the opportunity to use their "tools" in this engaging lesson plan. They will use their thesauruses in...
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Using Words as a Way into Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief
Use the Visual Thesaurus to predict the subject matter of Rick Riordan's book The Lightning Thief. A pre-reading activity encourages middle schoolers to use context clues and word meaning to discover what the book is about. After...
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Thesaurus Power
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...
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Using the Thesaurus: Synonyms
in this synonyms worksheet, students use a thesaurus to look up 12 words. Students then read four possible choices and circle the word that is not a synonym for the given word.
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Day 1 - Synonyms
Looking for a good presentation on synonyms? This presentation could be for you! After basic instruction on synonyms, pupils are given many opportunities to practice using them in a variety of ways. Additionally, they learn how to use a...
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Synonyms
Use this resource to help learners improve the quality of their writing. Discuss the importance of using synonyms for commonly used words. Class members also learn to use a thesaurus, and revise a writing sample to include more...
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Improve Your Spelling with the Visual Thesaurus
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...
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Using Descriptive Language
Students examine the use of adjectives in a product review, then write their own descriptive review. In this writing and word usage lesson, students first analyze the choice of adjectives in a New York Times article about the iPhone,...
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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...
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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...
Library Sparks
Reference Tools Vocabulary Challenge
Learners love the opportunity of going to the library to jump into that one comfy chair in the whole room with a book, or be a lucky one to get to the computers before anyone else. But knowing how to locate books and other reference...
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Introducing Synonyms to Early Writers
Upper elementary schoolers examine the concept of synonyms and how using a variety of vocabulary through synonyms can expand their writing skills. They revise a paragraph using synonyms located on the Visual Thesaurus and participate in...
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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...
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It's Opposite Day
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...
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Introduction to the Visual Thesaurus
Students 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 the...
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Using the Thesaurus: Synonyms
In this recognizing synonyms and antonyms activity, 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.
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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...
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Seeing Words in a New Way
What's the best resource to use when looking up words? Use Visual Thesaurus to see a word's meaning. The class accesses the interactive website and then compares and contrasts the difference between using a traditional dictionary and the...
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Word Reference Materials
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...