Standard 4: Vocabulary Students will expand their grade-level vocabularies to speak, read, and write effectively.

2.4.R.1 ​Students will determine relationships among words, including synonyms, antonyms, and simple multiple-meaning words.

Student Actions

Teacher Actions

• Students determine relationships among synonyms, or words that have the same meaning (e.g., glad and happy).

• Students determine relationships among antonyms, or words that mean the opposite (e.g., hot and cold).

• Students determine relationships among simple words with multiple meanings (e.g., duck can be a noun or verb) and use context to determine meaning from text.

• Teachers explain that synonyms are words that have the same meaning.

• Teachers model using synonyms and provide examples.

• Teachers explain that antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.

• Teachers model using antonyms and provide examples.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to determine relationships among words with the same meaning (synonyms) and words with opposite meanings (antonyms).

• Teachers explain how some words can have more than one meaning.

• Teachers provide examples of multiple-meaning words in a read aloud.

• Teachers allow students to contribute their own examples of multiple-meaning words during a classroom discussion.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to determine the correct meaning of multiple meaning words in context.

• Teachers monitor and provide opportunities for students to receive feedback as students practice determining the relationship among words.

Recommendations

Key Terms & Related Objectives

When students confuse synonyms and antonyms, teachers can…

• remind students that synonyms mean the  same.

• provide practice listing synonyms for familiar words.

• read a story aloud that contains synonyms.

• review the definition of antonyms. 

• give students time to list antonyms.

• complete puzzles or activities containing antonyms.

• use a graphic organizer (e.g. word webs, word maps) that includes both synonyms, antonyms, images, categories, multiple meanings, etc. so students can see the relationship among words.

When students use the wrong spelling of a multiple-meaning word, teachers can…

• review the meaning for each use of the word.

• allow time for the students to illustrate or write sentences using the words in multiple ways.

• complete puzzles or activities to practice using multiple-meaning words correctly.

• use a graphic organizer (e.g. word webs, word maps) that includes both synonyms, antonyms, images, categories, multiple meanings, etc. so students can see the relationship among words.

• Synonyms: words that have the same meaning.

• Antonyms: words that have opposite meanings.

• Multiple-Meaning Words: words that are spelled and/or pronounced the same, but have different meanings.

• 2.4.R.2: Context clues

• 2.4.R.5: Acquire new vocabulary