English lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 30 minutes
Antonyms
Vocabulary
CCSS L.3.5CCSS L.4.5.CEngland: Y3 VocabularyEngland: 11+ English (antonyms)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Antonyms.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Opposites; Synonyms
Leads to: Word relationships and analogies; Synonyms or antonyms? Word pairs
Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Opposites; Synonyms). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- What is the opposite of "closed"? (push / quiet / open / on) → openPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
- Which word means the SAME as "sad"? (brave / proud / merry / unhappy) → unhappyPrompt: A synonym has the same or nearly the same meaning.
- Which word is closest in meaning to "cautious"? (jealous / careful / jolly / reckless) → carefulPrompt: One of the choices means the opposite. Don't be tricked!
Hook · 3 min
- Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
- Share the objective: Antonyms. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Which word means the OPPOSITE of "gift"?
- Step 1: "gift" and "debt" are antonyms.
- Step 2: So the answer is: debt
- Answer: debt
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Which word means the OPPOSITE of "shut"? (lift / open / close / bend) → openPrompt: An antonym has the opposite meaning.
- Which word is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to "reluctant"? (furious / unwilling / eager / generous) → eagerPrompt: Work out what the word means first.
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Which word means the OPPOSITE of "rich"? (hollow / grumpy / wealthy / poor) → poorPrompt: An antonym has the opposite meaning.
- Which word is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to "astonish"? (obey / amaze / bore / repair) → borePrompt: Work out what the word means first.
Watch out for
- Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
- Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Opposites.
- Use concrete materials: word cards.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Word relationships and analogies; Synonyms or antonyms? Word pairs.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-3.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder