I bet you’ve seen these paint chips before! Teachers love to use them for all sorts of things!
With the shift of my state to common core, there was a change in the 1st grade ELA standards {no surprise}.
Before we get started, let’s review some of the new vocabulary with common core.
shades of meaning:
how words are related; in this case words that mean almost the same thing
levels of intensity:
the degree of the action or description {example: a stare is more intense than a glance}
California State Standards said:
In Grade 1 {hmmmm NO SYNONYMS}:
In Grade 2 {oh there it is, just some synonyms and antonyms}:
When I was teaching 2nd grade, I most definitely was teaching antonyms and synomyns, it’s fun and always has easy peasy, could-be-filler, activities 😉
Well, let’s look at the shift shall we?
Common Core Standards state:
In Kinder {uh, yes, I found the standard in kinder}:
In Grade 1:
PEOPLE, they took this skill from 2nd grade and shifted it down to kinder and added some serious depth!
Now, in Kinder we do see that it is basic. Students are asked to tell different shades of meaning for verbs/actions and act it out.
Building on the kinder standard, the first grade standards asks students to recognize shades of meaning in verbs AND adjectives in intensity. Students can define the words, choose the words, or act out the words to demonstrate understanding.
Here are the differences we see between the kinder and first grade standard on shades of meaning:
•intensity
•adjectives
•define or choose
Let’s get into some activities on how we can make sure our students are engaging and mastering the standard.
First, we started our Shades of Meaning unit with the book Move.
A gorgeous picture book that tells about different ways animals move {this is also a great book for teaching about verbs}.
I then drew a circle map and put the word “move” on the inside.
We brainstormed all the ways we saw the animals move.
We talked about how although ALL the words are about movement, some of the words seemed to mean the same thing.
We highlighted those words in groups.
Then I acted them all out. I told them, look for the action that looks the most extreme.
After we decided we could order them from least to most “intense”.
Once we had done it together, we started one of my favorite activities from my Shades of Meaning pack.
Students are asked to first sort the words that relate {shades of meaning} from the words that don’t relate, then glue them in order of least to greatest intensity {note the thermometer} #twobirdswithonestone.
I even had them color them from light to darkest or cool to hot colors to show how the words get more intense in degree.
Here are some examples {we did this with adjectives and verbs}:
Lauren, from A Teachable Teacher, extend these cut and pastes by having the students write sentences using the words on the back! So simple, but so important!
There’s also a digital version that my students love to do on Google Classroom.
Another extension or separate activity is the paint chip activity!
I went to my local Home Depot and snagged some paint chips. They looked liked the ones above, so I just cut them in half {whatever happened to the rectangular paint chips?? they are all fancy and rounded now a days}.
Since we are first graders, we brainstormed together different lists of words that are similar in meaning, we also picked from our ordering adjectives and verbs activities from above. Each student picked his/her favorite list and wrote it on the paint chip {as you can see below on display}.
We then were able to use this display the rest of the year for our writing projects. The students would walk up to the display and see if they could use a more “intense” word for their writing.
Shades of meaning can be very fun! It is VERY similar to synonyms with a twist. I know we all just want to get using antonym/synonym, but if you use the language of the standards, the students pick it up quickly and sound adorable saying it!
Molly Maloy says
Love this lesson and the use of the paint chips!!! Such a great lesson for vocabulary and strengthening their writing! You are amazing!! 🙂
Jen says
Thank you Molly!
Hannah Braun says
You've got so much great content here on your blog! I'm going on a pinning frenzy : )
Jen says
Thank you 🙂 That means so much to me!
Jillian Langer says
I love this idea! Do you have a free sample of either of these sheets that I can download?
Jen says
Yes I do, you can find it in my TpT store here> https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shades-of-Meaning-FREEBIE-1832782