The opportunities are endless and appear in writing and reading. Authors choose words carefully; words don’t just fall out of the sky and land on the page. For example, in “Zak’s Lunch” by Margie Palatini, “Zak skipped down the stairs two at a time and ran into the kitchen.” He didn’t just go down the stairs, he skipped because that is what energetic kids do when mom calls them for lunch! “George pounded close behind and skidded across the linoleum.” Why does George pound? Because George is a Saint Bernard!! Can you imagine a Saint Bernard coming down the stairs in any other fashion? These are not hard words. They are not obscure. They are words kids should encounter every day during read alouds, in good basal readers, in literature, picture books, and in songs. They are great words, in meaningful context and kids love being taught how to tune into them and use them! I couldn’t agree with you more John- synonyms do not mean the same thing! To settle for that over simplified version is naïve. The beauty of synonyms is in how they are different! And, how their differences make our language, both written and spoken, unique, beautiful, and rich.

Kindergarten: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.5.D
Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings.
We’ll soon be providing on VocabularySpellingCity some lesson plans for doing this and maybe even some videos to inspire you and your students of students going across the room by strutting, strolling, skipping, marching, prancing, and dancing. We’ll help unpack this a little by providing lists of verbs that students can easily act out such as:
– ways of talking
– ways of sleeping
– ways of laughing
– ways of crying

1st grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.D
Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings.
So in first grade, there is more practice of the same actions (ie verbs) that we first saw in the standards in kindergarten but students will also get to work with adjectives. The standards limit the differences to intensity which is an idea that requires some unpacking.

2nd Grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.5.B
Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).
In second grade, the shades of meaning in adjectives are not limited to just intensity but to other distinctions.

By 3rd grade, figurative language is added to these strand. The shades of meaning level continues to increase where students are no longer just acting them out but should be able to work with them in terms of comprehension and expression:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.5.C
Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered).

In 4th and 5th, students skills in shades of meaning and word relationships:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.5.C Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.5.C Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homographs) to better understand each of the words.

Joan,
Thanks for the question. Rather than just answer off the cuff, let me ask you to stay tuned. We’ll be rolling out a series of articles laying out a strategy based on recognizing the importance of a well organized and integrated vocabulary-building word study program. John the “Mayor”