Synonyms

When we write, we sometimes use the same words repeatedly. At other times, we use boring words when more exciting words would make the writing more interesting. At times like these, using a thesaurus can help us make our writing more exciting. A thesaurus is a book of synonyms. A synonym is a word that has the same, or nearly the same, meaning as another word.

Synonyms are words that have essentially the same meaning, and they provide some variety in your word choices, helping the reader to stay focused on the idea being discussed.  Using synonyms can help your writing be more specific or expressive.  Use a thesaurus, a synonym dictionary, or a regular dictionary to help you find a synonym that is more exact than your original word.

Synonym Poetry

Create a synonym poem.  Choose any word (you can use the same word that you used in your Wordle or you can choose a different word).  Write that word in capital letters on the first line.  In a thesaurus (you can link the the WWWebster(TM) Dictionary based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary, Tenth Edition by clicking here) look up the word and find three to five synonyms for it.  Write the synonyms on the second line.  One the third line, write a descriptive phrase about the word.  The last two lines of the poem should rhyme.

Student Examples:

LOVE

Attachment, adoration, warmth, adore

Love is so pure, right down to the core.

---Kimiko Brantley (Grade 10)

NOISE

Clamor, uproar, hullabaloo.

These things can really annoy you.

---Shasta Inman (Grade 9)

*The Synonyms were suggested by Paul Janezco in workshops sponsored by NNWP.

Example: Myths narrate sacred histories and explain sacred origins. These traditional narratives are, in short, a set of beliefs that are a very real force in the lives of the people who tell them.

 

Next, complete the worksheets that I have for you, play some synonym games, create a synonym poem, and create a Wordle with synonyms.

 

Synonym Games

 

http://www.scholastic.com/wordgirl/synonym_toast.htm

 

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/frog/frog.html

 

http://www.teflgames.com/msie_synonyms06.htm

 

http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson282/Crossword.pdf