Text word knowledge

Preparation

The lesson’s worksheet activities focus on synonyms, antonyms and base words.

Curriculum links

• Australian Curriculum: ACELA1827
• NSW Syllabus:
• Vic. Curriculum:
• WA Curriculum:

Elaborations

• Identifies base words
• Provides synonyms
• Provides antonyms

Suggested teaching strategies

• –

Introduction

Re-read the text, this time focusing on words. Ask students to underline the occupations mentioned in the text.

Development

Discuss words with similar meanings and the term ‘synonym’. Use familiar words such as pretty/beautiful; smile/grin.

Discuss words opposite in meaning and the term, ‘antonym’ using words already discussed as synonyms (beautiful/ugly; smile/frown). Each time a new word is encountered, encourage students to think of a synonym and its antonym. Display these on a classroom poster.

Discuss the word knowledge activities on the worksheet before students complete the page independently.

Questions 7, 8 and 9 require students to focus on base words—words that can stand alone. Base words can have suffixes and prefixes added to them. For example, in the word ‘played’, ‘play’ is the base word. Identify other words and their bases (helpful, unfair, magical etc).

Differentiation

Less capable students

• Assist a group to correctly use a dictionary. Explain how to identify base words.
• Students re-read the story silently and underline all the characters mentioned. (e.g. Jack, mother, farmer, cheesemaker). Students can write these words in a list.

More capable students

• The word ‘nice’ is overused. Ask the students to come up with as many synonyms as possible for nice. The students could then create a classroom poster for display and reference.
• Using the base words in Question 8, challenge students to write other words that can be made from each base word.

Conclusion

Have the students write a list of common words they can then ask the person sitting next to them for the synonyms. Can they also find the antonyms of these words?

Assessment

Worksheet answers
1. (c) did not mean to drop it
2. (c) wobbled
3. (b) scruffy
4. No
5. (a) cool (b) largest
(c) melt (d) carefully
(e) lead (f) beautiful
6. (a) silly – clever
(b) release – capture
(c) poor – rich
7. (a) start (b) large (c) drag (d) spoke
8. (a) laughing (b) starts
9. permit