First Grade, Grammar, Set Three

• Antonyms and Synonyms -- I wrote 40 words on cards, trying not to have any that would be synonyms or antonyms of each other. We are working on going through and writing an antonym (this week) and synonym (next week) for each word. We are going to make it into a matching game. We did not get through all 40 words this week, as it is more important to enjoy the process than complete project.
• Another Game: I made a spinner with 6 divisions: "Synonym & Antonym 3 spaces" (2 of these), Synonym 1 space, Synonym 2 spaces, Antonym 1 space, Antonym 2 spaces (see photo at bottom). We used the playing board I made for the review game (see below) and the 40 word cards. Player 1 takes a word card and spins. Then gives a synonym and/or antonym (depending on what the spin landed on) and moves that number of spaces. Then it is Player 2's turn, etc.
• Here are the 40 words I came up with: happy, rapid, go, silent, dim, slim, keep, peace, far, easy, hungry, all, big, afraid, enemy, take, over, warm, weak, fix, wet, often, stand, curvy, same, exciting, true, gentle, smile, bent, many, nice, sleep, idle, raise, old, light, open, clean, and tired
• Stop and God, Yes and No: What is an Antonym? by Brian P. Cleary
• Pitch and Throw, Grasp and Know: What is a Synonym? by Brian P. Cleary
• Onomatopoeia -- It Figures by Marvin Terban has a chapter about onomatopoeia. After reading it we played a game, sort of like charades, but along with acting something out, we made the sounds things made. Then the other person had to tell what you were doing. Examples: popping corn, driving a car, etc. I am also making a point to show onomatopoetic words to K. as we run across them in our books.
• Another Activity: I got out my envelope of pictures. We mixed them all up, turned them upside down, and spread them out. Then we took turns picking one picture and making the sound that went with it. For example, if it was a picture of a dog, you might say, "arf-arf", but if it was a picture of a screwdriver, you might say, "click, rrrrrrrrrrritt", or however you think it sounds when you are turning a screw.
• If You Were Onomatopoeia by Trisha Speed Shaskan
• Similes -- It Figures also has a chapter on similes. I read part of it to K., then we played the Silly-Simile Game from The Magic Pencil pg 67.
• We played the Silly-Simile Game, then I let K. pick her favorite Silly Simile. I wrote it at the top of a blank paper, then she drew a picture to illustrate it. The simile was: Mrs. Smith stirred like fireworks on the Fourth of July. The picture showed that her stirring had splattered batter all over the kitchen.
• Muddy as a Duck Puddle and Other American Similes by Laurie Lawlor
• Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk: What Are Similes and Metaphors? by Brian P. Cleary
• Muddy as a Duck Puddle and Other American Similes by Laurie Lawlor
• Stubborn as a Mule and Other Silly Similes by Nancy Loewen
• Describing Words -- I used Quirky to introduce describing words, then we thought of some for ten nouns I had written down.
• Another activity: I pulled out the book, Over in the Meadow, and we (mostly K., I made suggestions when she couldn't think of something) added or replaced the adjective describing each mother animal. For instance, instead of "Over in the meadow in the sand, in the sun, lived an old mother turtle . . ." we replaced "old" with "bumpy". I used small sticky-notes on each page for the new adjective.
• We added describing words to the book, The House that Jack Built. So we had a big house, sweet malt, hungry mouse, sneaky cat, friendly dog, dancy cow, tired maiden, kind man, lively priest, noisy cock, busy farmer, happy horse, little hound, and tootley horn.
• Quirky, Jerky, Extra Perky: More about Adjectives by Brian P. Cleary
• Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What is an Adjective? by Brian P. Cleary
• Many Luscious Lollipops by Ruth Heller -- okay book, but not as fun as "Quirky"
• Comparative and Superlative -- I wrote out a work sheet with sentences, some compared two things, some three or more. K. needed to decide if the word should have the "er" or "est" ending.
• The Big, Bigger, Biggest Book by SAMi -- I read this book to K. first, pointing out that when two things are compared, we use "er" and when three or more things are compared we use "est"
• Review Game -- it is time to start reviewing what we have learned, so I made a board game. The cards have review questions from last year and this year. I will add cards to this game each week. If you are going to make a review game, don't just have questions like "What is an antonym?" Instead put "Give an antonym for the word __________". The person whose turn it is reads the card, and the other players fill in the blank. Write on the card how many spaces the person gets to move, depending on how difficult the card is.

Spinner for Synonym/Antonym Game: