Words Matter!

4th and 5th grade are the target audience for this word study lesson.  The objective was to encourage students right before their standardized writing test to use more exciting words.  We also were able to compare and evaluate different thesauruses.

1.  I started with sharing apples.  "When going giving me a shopping list, you can't just ask for apples." I gave each student three different apples slices; Granny Smith, Red Delicious and Fuji.  After snacking we discussed how they all taste a bit different.  At my local grocery store (HEB) they have an awesome sign, like a number line, that shows the range of the tastes of apples from sweet to tart.  On the line it shows where the different types of apples fall.  So after the tasting, we talk about how you can't just ask for an apple, you must be specific.

2.  Next, I head to my dry erase board where there is a display of the word line and the word "good" with many synonyms of good.  Using my voice to suggest meaning I give examples of using good in a sentence, but with different meaning.  "I had a good weekend." I make sure one sounds like it was a fantastic weekend and one that was not so great.  We talk about how when talking we can kinda change our voice to give meaning, but what about in writing?  When we write we can't hear the voice, so we have to be pickier about word choice.  That's were synonyms come in.

3.  They all get out a thesaurus and look up the word "good".  We look at different features; list of words, definitions, word used in sentence, etc.  We look for the words on my chart and look for clues as to the meaning.  Looking up acceptable, for example, will show you that it means to meet minimal standards.  We place this word on the weaker, or not-so-good side of the word line.  We look up marvelous and find it is very good, excellent.  We move that word to the better, or stronger side of the word line.  

4. After looking up a few words together, we get out the online version of a thesaurus.  I like to use the Dictionary App or www.dictionary.com.  We try several more words together, finding how the different features of the online version make it much faster to find words and clues to their meaning.

5.  Next, the groups get their own set of cards and word line to justify where the words should be on the word line.  There are many great discussions going on at this point.

 

6.  As groups start finishing, I stop all and show them how to use www.wordle.net.  They take each word on the word line and assign a number starting at the weaker end with 1.  They then type each word into Wordle how ever many times indicated.  The result is an amazing display showing the strength of that word.  

7.  At the end, I take the lesson back to the apples.  "Words matter.  You can't just ask for an apple.  When you are writing you can't just say good.  Be more specific, let the reader truly understand the message you are writing."

You can find the printouts for this lesson here.