Thesaurus Teacher Resources

Demonstrate strategies for tackling unfamiliar vocabulary words in preparation for the SAT. Using Visual Thesaurus computer software, middle and high schoolers interpret contextual clues, solve sample sentence completion questions, and...

Young poets get inspiration and guidance for making word association poems with the Visual Thesaurus. Your class could complete this project with nothing more than a pencil and paper as well. A nice one-off for a substitute during your...

Give your class the advantage of Thesaurus Power! They will use a thesaurus to understand word meanings and relationships. They focus on how a thesaurus functions and how it gives the entry word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and part...

Help your young writers stay engaged with their writing through the practical use of a thesaurus. They work to reinforce the use of synonyms as a way of making writing more interesting and to determine word meaning by finding synonyms....

Pupils create trading cards for elements in the Periodic Table. Initially, they are introduced to the Periodic Table of Elements and the concept of elements in the world around us. After dividing into groups, learners use the Visual...

Smart, intelligent, perceptive. Here's a worksheet that asks kids to use a thesaurus (an online one, perhaps?) to find a series of synonyms for the six words listed.

In this language arts activity, students learn to use a thesaurus to replace words they already know. Students read 20 sentences and replace the underlined word with a new word found in the thesaurus.

Using Visual Thesaurus software, class members participate in a computer-based spelling bee. Then they work in groups to analyze the words and use deductive reasoning to infer spelling patterns. They then present one of their "rules" to...

Use a Visual Thesaurus to compose word association poems. Discuss poetry and word association, create word maps, then practice creating poems based on playful word associations. A perfect way to celebrate "Poem in Your Pocket Day" (April...

in this synonyms instructional activity, students use a thesaurus to look up 12 words. Students then read four possible choices and circle the word that is not a synonym for the given word.

Celebrate Opposite Day by using a Visual Thesaurus to match words to their antonyms. They match a list of vocabulary words to their antonym counterparts using the Visual Thesaurus, and then they play Antonym Bingo with the words from...

Looking for a game that teaches students about how to use a thesaurus, and reinforces the concept of synonyms? Each player will have the opportunity to use their "tools" in this engaging lesson. They will use their thesauruses in order...

In this writing worksheet, students read about how to use a thesaurus. Students also replace a word, using a thesaurus, in each of five sentences.

Learners practice consulting a thesaurus to find synonyms for each of 14 words on a list. They circle one of three choices as a synonym to match the target word. The list features adjectives you might call esoteric. 

Identify the unique personal attributes of your class members. Begin by viewing the Visual Thesaurus and discussing displayed attributes associated with famous American leaders. Using these identity maps as models, pupils generate nouns...

In this using a thesaurus worksheet, students read a sentence with a word underlined. Students use a thesaurus to change the underlined word to a stronger or more interesting synonym. There are 5 sentences.

Students examine the basic functions of the online Visual Thesaurus, exploring how simple words may sometimes have multiple meanings. In small groups they select words and explore the Visual Thesaurus, and write a short play using the...

Develop the decoding skills of your middle and high schoolers. Scholars participate in a classroom activity that requires them to decode a word with a prefix and suffix. They apply the skill of breaking the word into parts of meaning as...

Young scholars navigate the Visual Thesaurus to find keywords for research.  In this keywords lesson plan, students use synonyms, hypernyms and hyponyms to find keywords. Young scholars understand why some searches are effective and some...

What's the best resource to use when looking up words? Use Visual Thesaurus to see a word's meaning. The class accesses the interactive website and then compares and contrasts the difference between using a traditional dictionary and the...

Read and analyze a variety of Shakespearean and contemporary puns using Visual Thesaurus computer software. Middle and high schoolers analyze a pun as a class; in small groups they analyze a Shakespearean pun using contextual clues and...

Word relationships, connotation, and denotation are the focus of an activity to teach the use of a thesaurus. Scholars seek out vocabulary words to replace common starter words; they use the new vocabulary words to write three...

Discover the Virtual Thesaurus with your class. They use the Virtual Thesaurus to assist them in an inquiry-based approach to discovering the meanings of some common Latin and Greek roots. Each child then teaches a particular root and...