Shades of Meaning Vocabulary Activity

Do you have any spare paint sample cards in your classroom? Grab this Ranking Words Vocabulary Freebie for a short activity that helps students visualize word intensity. Students sort or rank groups of words. The activity helps build vocabulary as well as encourage students to recognize shades of meaning.

There are several extension ideas. You can adapt this lesson to help with synonyms, antonyms, and analogies. I like to put the completed cards on a binder ring and hang it in my classroom. Students can flip through the cards when revising their writing and use the word ring as a classroom thesaurus.

CLICK HERE to download for free.

Caitlin
The-Room-Mom.com

Ranking Words Vocabulary Activity

This short vocabulary activity works like a mini thesaurus for my students to encourage better word choice in their writing. The activity illustrates the different intensity levels words can have and helps students see shades of meaning.

There are 20 word lists included with 7-9 word choices per list. Print and cut the word lists and provide a student, students pairs, or student groups with a family of words. The students "rank" the words from weak to strong and write the ordered list on a paint chip for visual reinforcement.

Teachers have the option to remove tricky words or require students to use their dictionary skills and locate unfamiliar words. There is no one correct answer, but I love watching the students debate reasons why one word might be stronger than another. The Ranking Words Vocabulary Activity also has extension options like analogy practice or naming the word category.

Happy Word Work!

Caitlin
The-Room-Mom.com

Shades of Meaning

Shades of Meaning

We've all heard of synonyms and antonyms, but what about semantic gradients?  In the CCSS they're called shades of meaning, which means the subtle differences between words that have similar meanings.  

All these words mean hot; sizzling, warm, scorching, steamy. But, they would be used in different situations.  One way for students to better understand these gentle differences is to arrange them in order by intensity.  Like this. . .

warm, hot, steamy, sizzling, scorching.  The order may vary, but kids can discuss and defend their arrangement.  It leads to great discussions!

In this freebie you'll get a PowerPoint slide that shows students how to come up with a list of words and then arrange them in a semantic gradient order.  There is also an idea of how to use shades of meaning to help readers and writers. 

 (Click on first picture for the Freebie!)