Making Synonym Word Banks
Goal-Oriented List-Making in Writing Lessons
Using goal-oriented list-making will give your students a bank of words to draw from as they write and can help students making connections between synonyms, too.
Different Ways to Say
Sometimes students need a bit of inspiration when it comes to word choice in their writing projects. Tired of seeing “said” or “walked” or “nice” over and over in your students’ writing? Try helping them make lists of alternatives.
Introduction
Depending on the students, it may help to begin the activity by reading aloud a selection that serves as an example of repetitive word choice. This can show your students were their problems lie and why creativity in word choice makes for a more interesting reading selection.
Activity
Depending on the size and personality of the class, there are several options for grouping combinations with this activity. After presenting the theme word (such as “said”) and explaining the task, you may direct students to make a short list of synonyms (i.e., whispered, yelled, mumbled) individually, in pairs, or in small groups.
If students initially work individually, they may pair up to compare lists after a pre-determined length of time (if students worked in pairs, then two sets of pairs should work together to compare lists). Once students have worked in small groups to create longer lists of synonyms for the theme word, the whole class should come back together for the finale.
The Finale
On the overhead projector, whiteboard, or chalkboard, write down the list of synonyms the students came up with. You may want to challenge your class to work together to come up with a certain number of synonyms for the theme word. For “said”, my class came up with 150 words when we did this activity, so don’t underestimate how creative students can be when presented with this kind of challenge!
Using resources such as a thesaurus or their own reading materials may or may not be within the “rules” you proscribe for this activity, depending on time constraints and how well your students respond to the challenge. Have fun with it!
