ALEX Learning Activity

  

Name That -nym

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Marcus Jackson
System:Chickasaw City
School:Chickasaw City Elementary School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 1554
Title:
Name That -nym
Digital Tool/Resource:
Word Frog Arcademics
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

In this activity, the students will be introduced to antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms using examples on index cards. Teaching students to read and write often involves teaching them about how language works in general. This lesson focuses on strategies you can use for teaching synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms. Giving students an understanding of the aforementioned phenomena leads to better comprehension, better spelling, and more expressive writing. 

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 3
14. Describe word relationships and nuances in word meanings, including relating them to their opposites and distinguishing shades of meaning in similar or related words, including nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

a. Determine meaning of words using synonyms in context.

b. Determine meaning of words using antonyms as a clue.

c. Describe the similarities and differences between related words.

d. Use knowledge of homophones to determine appropriate use of words.

e. Interpret figurative language.

f. Identify relationships and nuances in word meanings to determine real-life connections between words and their use.
Examples: Discuss relationships in words related to home (house, residence, habitat) and give reasons for choosing a particular word in speaking or writing.
Distinguish shades of meaning in words related to bad (terrible, awful, horrible) and give reasons for choosing a particular word in speaking or writing.
Distinguish shades of meaning in words related to talk (yell, scream, bellow) and give reasons for choosing a particular word in speaking or writing.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
14.
  • Describe
  • Word relationships
  • Nuances
  • Opposites
  • Distinguishing
  • Shades of meaning
  • Similar words
  • Related words
  • Nouns
  • Verbs
  • Adjectives
14a.
  • Determine
  • Synonyms
  • Context
14b.
  • Determine
  • Antonyms
  • Clue
14c.
  • Similarities
  • Differences
  • Related words
  • Describe
14d.
  • Homophones
14e.
  • Interpret
  • Figurative language/li>
14f.
  • Word relationships
  • Nuances in word meanings
  • Identify
  • Real-life connections
Knowledge:
14. Students know:
  • Word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
  • Words with opposite meanings are antonyms, and words with similar meanings are synonyms.
  • A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
  • A verb expresses an action or state of being.
  • An adjective describes a noun or pronoun.
14a.
  • Synonyms are words that have similar meanings.
  • The meaning of an unfamiliar word can be identified using synonyms.
14b.
  • Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.
  • The meaning of an unfamiliar word can be identified using antonyms.
14c.
  • Related words can be described by their similarities and differences.
14d.
  • Homophones have the same pronunciation, but different meanings, origins, and/or spellings.
14e.
  • Figurative language is a creative way to use words and phrases beyond their literal definition to explain or describe something.
14f.
  • Writers and speakers use a variety of words to distinguish between specific intended meanings.
  • Real life means situations that they have experienced or will experience, and they can make real-life connections about how vocabulary words can be used.
Skills:
14. Students are able to:
  • Describe the relationships between words and nuances in word meanings.
  • Describe how the meaning of words are alike or different.
  • Describe the nuances of words that have different shades of meaning.
14a.
  • Use synonyms to interpret word meaning in context.
14b.
  • Use antonyms as a clue to interpret word meaning.
14c.
  • Describe how the meaning of related words are alike and different.
14d.
  • Determine appropriate homophone use based on their knowledge of homophones and context clues.
14e.
  • Interpret figurative language to understand its meaning.
14f.
  • Discuss relationships of words and give reasons for choosing to use a particular word in writing or speaking; for example, words related to home include house, residence, and habitat.
  • Distinguish shades of meaning in related words, and give reasons for choosing to use a particular word in writing or speaking; for example, words related to bad with different nuances include terrible, awful, horrible.
Understanding:
14. Students understand that:
  • Writers and speakers should carefully select words to convey specific meanings, ideas, and relationships.
  • Words have relationships with other words and words have subtle differences that can be distinguished within text.
14a.
  • Synonyms are words that have similar meanings, and they can be used to determine the meaning of a new vocabulary word.
14b.
  • Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings, and they can be used to determine the meaning of a new vocabulary word.
14c.
  • Identifying the similarities and differences of related words improves their vocabulary knowledge.
14d.
  • Their knowledge and understanding of homophones can help determine the correct word to use when given context clues.
14e.
  • Figurative language carries meaning other than the literal meaning of the words or phrases .
14f.
  • Writers and speakers carefully select words to convey specific meanings, ideas, and relationships.
  • Making real-life connections to new vocabulary words helps them move the new words to their long-term memory, becoming part of their "ready to use" vocabulary.
Learning Objectives:

The students will be able to:

  • demonstrate an understanding of words by relating them to opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).

  • determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words (homonyms).

  • consult reference materials (thesaurus) to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of keywords.
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
Before/Engage, During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

  1. The teacher will introduce the words antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms to the students. The teacher will provide a definition for each word.  Antonyms: words that have an opposite meaning, Synonyms: words that have a similar meaning, Homonyms: words that sound alike and are spelled identically but have a different meaning.

  2. The teacher will provide the students with examples for each word. The teacher should write the examples and the type of example on index cards.  Synonyms-words that mean the same or nearly the same  (above & over), antonyms - words that have opposite meanings (asleep & awake), homonyms- words that sound alike and are spelled identically but have a different meaning (tire & tire). As the teacher shows the word sets (antonyms, synonyms, homonyms) the teacher will reinforce the meaning of each word by using the examples for each word. The teacher will use the examples in sentences......For example, I went above and over my goal for reading non-fiction books this year. (Synonyms) I could hardly stay asleep as my dad's snoring kept me awake. (Antonyms) The bat flew out of the cave as the boy went up to bat. (Homonyms)

  3. The teacher will introduce the students to a thesaurus. The teacher will teach the students how to use a thesaurus, as well as the thesaurus function on their classroom computer or use hard copies, to locate meaningful synonyms.

  4. The teacher will make a three-way chart (graphic organizer) and label each section with antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms. The teacher will show the students cards that have synonyms (big/large, beautiful/pretty, funny/comical, introverted/shy) antonyms (boy/girl, entrance/exit, interior/exterior), and homonyms (can/can, ring/ring, fair/fair) written on them. The teacher will ask the students to select which column the word set fits underneath. As the students share their findings, as a group, chart the answers (or tape the index cards) on the chart paper as a visual and as a way of checking for understanding.

  5. As a culminating activity, the class will play the game Word Frog Arcademics (click on the link). The game can be played in the whole group or in a small group or can be used as a center activity.
Assessment Strategies:

The teacher will check for understanding as the students share their findings underneath the correct column heading on the class three-way chart.

The teacher will also check for understanding while students play the Word Frog Arcademics game.
Advanced Preparation:

The teacher should familiarize themselves with the proper use of synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/Antonyms-Synonyms-Homonyms.html

 
Variation Tips (optional):

  1. The students can be provided with a teacher made a copy of a cross-word search puzzle which may contain a mixture of synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.

  2. The students can use words from the anchor chart to write a story about the "NYM family". 

  3. The teacher can create worksheets designed to have students match synonyms, antonyms, or homonyms with each other.

  4. The students can create illustrated synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms dictionaries, drawing pictures to go along with pairs they find interesting.

  5. The students can pantomime the meaning of words.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

The teacher may use this resource as an introduction lesson to teaching shades of meaning and vocabulary words in whole group or small group.  
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: Antonyms, Homonyms, Synonyms, thesaurus