English lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 60 minutes
Opposites
Vocabulary
CCSS L.K.5.BEngland: Reception Vocabulary
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Opposites.
- 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: no earlier skill in the map; start from what students know.
Leads to: Shades of meaning; Antonyms; Feeling words: how does each character feel?
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 · 6 min
- Quick retrieval: three short questions students should already manage. Answers on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- What is the opposite of "up"? (down / full / sad / dry) → downPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
- What is the opposite of "cold"? (empty / hot / dry / fast) → hotPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
- What is the opposite of "happy"? (sad / soft / on / big) → sadPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
Hook · 6 min
- Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
- Share the objective: Opposites. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 12 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: What is the opposite of "big"?
- Step 1: "big" and "small" are opposites.
- Step 2: So the answer is: small
- Answer: small
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 12 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- What is the opposite of "thick"? (clean / thin / hard / fast) → thinPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
- What is the opposite of "hard"? (far / short / soft / in) → softPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
You do: independent practice · 17 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 7 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- What is the opposite of "start"? (up / empty / stop / old) → stopPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
- What is the opposite of "push"? (pull / first / up / night) → pullPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
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
- 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: Shades of meaning; Antonyms; Feeling words: how does each character feel?.
- 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/kindergarten.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder