Lesson Plan Title : Another Name

Age Range: Grade 6 through Grade 8 (Middle School Level)

Overview and Purpose : How many words can a person find with the same meaning? Students will get to find out, using their vocabulary words, in the following fun-filled lesson.

Objective: The student will be able to list two or three other words that are synonymous with each vocabulary word.

Resources:

Thesarus

Chart paper

Index cards

Activities:

As a whole group, have student brainstorm words that have the same meaning as the vocabulary words. Write the words on chart paper and copy them on index cards. List the vocabulary word at the top of the card and the synonyms under it. (Make 2 sets of cards.)

Divide the class into two teams and play Password. Have two students from each team come to the front of the room. One student from each team gets a card and reads one word from it. The other student from the same team tries to guess the vocabulary word. If he guesses correctly, his team gets a point. If he does not, the other team gets to read one word and make one guess. This continues until one team guesses the word. Another two pairs of students then come up. The team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

Closure:

To continue this lesson, you could have the students write down a list of synonyms for their vocabulary words. Have them write a short story using their vocabulary words. After sharing their story, have them insert the synonyms in place of the vocabulary words and share it again. Does it change the story at all?