Lesson Plan Title : Webbing with Synonyms

Age Range: Grade 6 through Grade 8 (Middle School Level)

Overview and Purpose : This lesson will help students expand their written and oral vocabularies with the use of synonyms.

Objective: The student will be able to

*list at least three synonyms for a given spelling word.

*write sentences using the spelling word and its synonyms correctly.

Resources:

Thesaurus

Dictionary

Activities:

Divide the class into pairs. Assign each pair two spelling words. Have them work together to create webs of synonyms for that word. Ask them to include one or two words that are not synonyms.

When all the students are finished, have each pair exchange papers with another pair. Have the students write a sentence for each word listed in the webs. They should cross out any words that are not synonyms for the spelling word. They will need to look up the meaning of any words they are not sure of in the thesaurus or dictionary.

Check the work by making sure the synonyms and sentences are correct and that the words that are not synonyms are marked out.

Closure:

To introduce this lesson, have students rewrite the following paragraph, using a different synonym for each of the underlined words.

"Jane's birthday party was great. The food was great, the presents were great and the games were great. I had a great time!"