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...

Help your young writers stay engaged with their writing through the practical use of a thesaurus. They work to reinforce the use of synonyms as a way of making writing more interesting and to determine word meaning by finding synonyms....

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...

Pupils 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...

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...

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...

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...

This is the cutest reference materials activity ever! Researchers complete six sentences on baby animal names, continuing the pattern by writing five more sentences about other animals from their research. They use a thesaurus to look up...

In this synonym worksheet, students use a thesaurus to find appropriate synonyms to complete the short story. Students write their answers on the blank lines.

A class discussion on reference materials opens up a lesson 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...

Examine and distinguish between words that have similar definitions but different connotations. Middle schoolers define connotation and denotation and participate in a "shades of meaning" contest in small groups. Groups use the...

Looking for a winter-themed vocabulary activity? Provide each learner with several templates of a snowflake (you need to provide this), and have them write one vocabulary word on the middle of each snowflake. Then, after doing some...

Students examine synonyms and practice finding appropriate synonyms in a thesaurus. In this use synonyms to make your writing vivid instructional activity, students identify the correct usage of synonyms. Students replace...

Using the online Visual Thesaurus, nascent actors work in groups to analyze and interpret Hamlet's "To Be Or Not To Be" monologue. Individuals then craft a contemporary version of this famous speech and present their adaptation...

A challenging worksheet is here for your learners of language arts. In it, they must find words that convey a more powerful, or more descriptive meaning than the guide word at the top of the list. There are 12 guide words, and nine more...

What information would you find in an almanac that you would not find in an atlas? What is the difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus? Using a Cite Your Sites worksheet on which they record their observations, groups participate...

Teams practice decoding and using context strategies to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words. After verifying the meanings of words through the use of dictionaries, the Internet, thesauruses, and other sources, learners write the...

Given a deck of cards with different words printed, pairs draw cards and work together to locate definitions for each multiple-meaning word. Learners complete a worksheet that challenges them to write the word, two of its definitions,...

Students discuss reasons to use reference materials, identify correct reference material to use for specific information, find answers to specific questions by locating information in encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, almanac, glossary,...

Learners use a thesaurus on the internet to explore the meanings of Greek and Latin roots. They find definitions of given words, draw a concept map for root words, and write four synonyms for each word. Students discover how Latin and...

In this synonym crossword worksheet, learners use a dictionary and/or thesaurus to help them solve the crossword puzzle. There are 10 words in this puzzle.

For this antonym crossword puzzle worksheet, students use a dictionary and/or a thesaurus to find the antonyms to the words in the clues and solve the puzzle. There are 13 words to fill in.

In this revisions worksheet, students fill in blanks in sentences, 15 total, with "vivid and precise" word. Students are instructed that they may use a thesaurus. 

It's time for pupils to read, examine, and contemplate literature to explore the difference between vivid and generic verbs. Pupils distinguish between the two types of verbs as they read the ghost scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet. They...