A two-task synonyms sheet for Year 3 over three pages. Page 1 is a table of twelve words, from big and happy to tired and rich, with a jumbled list of synonyms on the right to match. Page 2 asks pupils to think of their own word for nice, good, sad, said, went and bad. The third page is the answer key, with accepted examples for each of the six. It follows England National Curriculum vocabulary work for Years 3 and 4.
Writing - composition
“composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures”
Page 2 asks pupils to find their own words for six overused ones, which builds the varied vocabulary the objective describes.
Reading - comprehension
“checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context”
To match the twelve pairs on page 1, pupils have to know what each word means, such as shut and close or end and finish.
Pupils pair twelve words with their synonyms, for example big with large, shut with close and rich with wealthy. They write each match in the middle box of the table.
Six common words, nice, good, sad, said, went and bad, each with a dotted line for a pupil's own synonym.
All twelve matches, plus sample synonyms for each of the six words on page 2, such as lovely for nice and upset for sad.
Starter
Read out big, happy, quick and small and ask for synonyms before pupils open the sheet. Compare their ideas with the right-hand list afterwards.
Partner talk
Pairs compare their page 2 answers for said and went. Ask which words they chose and whether each one fits every sentence they can think of.
Writing folder
Keep the sheet with pupils' writing. When someone writes nice or said in a story, point them back to page 2.
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