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Click here to read all the articles by Dianna Huff. He has also published a dozen other essays on literature through his own Franklin Street Press. Lydon teaches "The Music of Writing" at St. John's University and leads seminars for teenage writers through the Connecticut Young Writers program.
Click here to read all the articles by Michael Lydon. He works as a materials writer and teacher trainer. In he set up the acclaimed BritLit project for the British Council in Portugal, and has worked since then to help establish a new place for literature in English language teaching. He also contributes to the WordPowered website, which brings together teachers of English by using short stories, poetry and film.
He now works as a freelance consultant and is based in Europe. Click here to read all the articles by Fitch O'Connell. Jonathon Owen Jonathon Owen is a copy editor and book designer with a master's degree in linguistics from Brigham Young University. His thesis explores the role of copyediting in regulating English usage, and he holds the paradoxical view that it's possible to be a prescriptivist and descriptivist simultaneously.
He writes about usage, editing, and linguistics at arrantpedantry. In his free time he likes to play Scrabble and design word-nerdy t-shirts. Click here to read all the articles by Jonathon Owen. Merrill Perlman Merrill Perlman is adjunct assistant professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and president of Merrill Perlman Consulting, offering consulting and freelance editing services and training in journalism, grammar and usage.
Merrill retired in June after 25 years at The New York Times, most recently as director of copy desks with responsibility for managing copy editors. Click here to read all the articles by Merrill Perlman. You can read Mark's own jokes on Twitter , such as, "I play by my own rules, which is probably why no one comes to my board game parties anymore.
Click here to read all the articles by Mark Peters. Mike Pope Mike Pope has been a technical writer and editor for nearly 30 years. He has worked at Microsoft and Amazon, and currently works at Tableau Software. Click here to read all the articles by Mike Pope. Read more about her work at shannonreed. Click here to read all the articles by Shannon Reed. Julia Rubiner Julia Rubiner is a partner in Editorial Emergency , a Los Angeles copy shop specializing in content manufacturing and brand communications for entertainment, lifestyle and nonprofit concerns.
She is also a personal-branding consultant, writing resumes, LinkedIn summaries and executive bios, among other tools, for people in creative fields who want to advance their careers. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, she was an editor of reference publications.
Rubiner wears the label "word nerd" as a badge of honor. Click here to read all the articles by Julia Rubiner. Read the book Monsters Can Mosey aloud to the class. While reading, stop and record the different synonyms used for "walk" in the story. Create a chart of words for the class to see, adding each word as it comes up. Each time you find a new synonym, ask a student volunteer to demonstrate the way to walk. After reading, review the different ways monsters can walk. Take a vote for the scariest way to walk and the funniest way to walk.
Emphasize that these are all ways to walk. Show students the word tombstone for walk.
Attach it to the top of the chart you made while reading. Tell students that now, in their writing, "walk" is a dead word. They can choose a more interesting and descriptive word from the list. Introduce some other overused words that you have observed in your students' writing.
You may choose to use all verbs or all adjectives if you are focusing on a certain part of speech.
Have a word tombstone ready with each overused word written on it. Attach the tombstone to a piece of chart paper. With one pair of students, model how to create a list of synonyms for one of the overused words for the class. Start by asking some key questions that activate the students' prior knowledge. Great examples include things like, "What's another word for say? After you have modeled thinking out and writing a few replacement words, pair off students in groups of two. Pass out a word tombstone chart to each pair of students.
Direct them to ask key questions in order to come up with replacement words for the "dead" word. Students may be encouraged to use a thesaurus if one has been introduced previously. Independent working time 10 minutes. Post the word tombstone charts in a visible spot. Give each student a blank sheet of paper. Ask them to choose one of the "dead" words, use it in a sentence, and then illustrate that sentence below. Next, have students write the same sentence, but replace the dead word with another word on the chart.
Ask them to illustrate the new sentence, showing the change in meaning.
Finally have students answer the question, "How does the new word change the meaning of your sentence? Ask students to write the replacement words on strips of paper. Then have them order the words by shades of meaning. For example, little, small, tiny, miniscule, microscopic.
Provide students with replacement words for two or more "dead" words already written on strips of paper.
Have students sort the words by which "dead" word they could replace. Observe student writing after the lesson. When you see one of the "dead" words used, ask the student to replace the word with another from the appropriate chart. Help them choose a new word by asking questions like, "How is this done?
Students may be encouraged to use a thesaurus if one has been introduced previously. Independent working time 10 minutes. Post the word tombstone charts in a visible spot. Give each student a blank sheet of paper. Ask them to choose one of the "dead" words, use it in a sentence, and then illustrate that sentence below. Next, have students write the same sentence, but replace the dead word with another word on the chart.
Ask them to illustrate the new sentence, showing the change in meaning.
Finally have students answer the question, "How does the new word change the meaning of your sentence? Ask students to write the replacement words on strips of paper. Then have them order the words by shades of meaning. For example, little, small, tiny, miniscule, microscopic. Provide students with replacement words for two or more "dead" words already written on strips of paper. Have students sort the words by which "dead" word they could replace.
Observe student writing after the lesson. When you see one of the "dead" words used, ask the student to replace the word with another from the appropriate chart. Help them choose a new word by asking questions like, "How is this done? Assess whether the student chooses because of shades of meaning.
As the class prepares to transition to the next activity, ask the students to choose a way to walk to your next setting from the original word tombstone chart for walk. Guided Lessons are a sequence of interactive digital games, worksheets, and other activities that guide learners through different concepts and skills.
They keep track of your progress and help you study smarter, step by step. Guided Lessons are digital games and exercises that keep track of your progress and help you study smarter, step by step. Vocabulary development helps second graders advance their reading and writing skills. This guided lesson uses exercises and techniques targeted to building vocabulary.
Kids will be tasked with using descriptive adjectives, distinguishing between similar verbs and adjectives, and using context clues to determine the meaning of a word phrase. For more vocabulary boosters, check out the worksheets that align with this lesson. This lesson includes printable activities: Prefix and Suffix Fish.
She is also a personal-branding consultant, writing resumes, LinkedIn summaries and executive bios, among other tools, for people in creative fields who want to advance their careers. Grade Second Grade Third Grade. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter and receive top education news, lesson ideas, teaching tips and more! Allow about 10 minutes for the students to make a list of places where energy is being transferred. More from Merriam-Webster on middle Rhyming Dictionary: Sign in with Facebook. Our Visual Thesaurus contributors are a diverse and talented group who graciously share their insights on language, writing, business communications and copywriting, branding and more.
In this lesson, students will learn how to use synonyms to express shades of meaning in their writing. Introduce the topic with a book, then brainstorm descriptive options for overused words. In this shades of meaning game, kids identify common synonyms that are grouped together. This exercise will give your students practice identifying synonyms and using them in context. Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheet. Try this synonyms worksheet with your third grader.
This synonyms worksheet gets your child to find words with the same meanings. Expand your first grader's vocabulary by learning about synonyms. Synonyms are words that share a meaning. Use this worksheet to help students connect words with similar meanings.