Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms Lesson Plan: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms Lesson Plan. 

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms, and supports the standard of demonstrating understanding of word relationships. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display the word “Love.” Ask students: 

  • What are some synonyms for the word love? 
  • What are some antonyms?

If needed, support students by providing an example or two of each.  

Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND

  • Read aloud the description on the Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Have students read one of the following Related Reading articles: “Personalities” or “Quirky Stuff.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: ENGAGE
Students express what they learned about antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Create a commercial for a sneaker that uses synonyms and antonyms to answer this question: Why should someone buy this sneaker over a competitor? (Essential Literacy Skill: Acquire and use a range of general academic words and phrases)
  • Make-a-Map: Make a concept map identifying as many synonyms and antonyms of a word as you can. (Essential Literacy Skill: Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meaning)
  • Creative Coding: Code a sorting game where players determine if a pair of words are antonyms, synonyms, or homonyms.  (Essential Literacy Skill: Acquire and use a range of domain specific words and phrases)

Step 4: APPLY & ASSESS 

Apply: Students take the Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms Challenge, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms Quiz. 

Step 5:  EXTEND LEARNING

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of vocabulary acquisition and use with these topics: Dictionary and Thesaurus and Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes.

Additional Support Resources:

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    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms, BrainPOP, Lesson Ideas, Lesson Plan
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