Maximum Verbosity

Learning Intention

I am learning to extend my vocabulary by using a range of synonyms. 

Success Criteria

I can: 

• locate synonyms in a text
• identify synonyms for specific vocabulary 
• compose a poem
• experiment with using synonyms to avoid repetition.

Essential knowledge

Ensure students are familiar with the terms synonyms and antonyms.  View the English K-10 Glossaryungroup for further information. 

Introduction

Display the following poem: 

I like cars, 

I like ice-cream, 

I like bikes, 

I like swimming, 

But most of all, 

I like my friends. 

Discuss students' opinions of the poem. Draw students' attention to the fact that the words ‘I like’ have been repeated multiple times. Tell students that some authors use repetition deliberately, but that repeating the same words multiple times in a text can make it feel repetitive and boring. 

Teacher modelling (I do)

5 minutes

Read Maximum Verbosity or listen to the audio file if you have a digital subscription. Display the definition of verbosityungroup from the Cambridge Dictionary and ensure students understand that it means using more words than necessary. 

Emphasise that the author has used a number of synonyms to avoid repetition. 

Display the following words: 

• Talk
• More 
• Rules 

Re-read the poem aloud and pause each time you come across a word or phrase with the same meaning as those displayed. Make it explicit to students how the meanings of the synonyms are the same as the words listed. Add each synonym next to the word with the same meaning on the board. 

The lists should include the following: 

• Talk: chat, gab, a maximum of words allowed each day
• More: galore 
• Rules: need a talk vacation! implement a brand-new expectation

Inform students that using synonyms makes the poem more engaging. Point out, however, that the word ‘talk’ has been used multiple times and explain that the author has done this deliberately to emphasise the amount the narrator of the poem talks. 

Guided practice (we do)

10 minutes

Inform students that they will be creating a poem in a similar style to Maximum Verbosity, and that they will be identifying synonyms to use to avoid repeating vocabulary. Tell students that first you will compose an example together. 

Refer back to the poem and emphasise that it is about something the narrator enjoys, talking. Discuss things students enjoy, such as dancing, singing, running, drawing or building LEGO. Select one example, such as dancing. Provide students with thesauruses and place students in pairs. Instruct students to identify as many synonyms as they can for the chosen word and to list them in their workbooks. Provide students with time to identify synonyms before instructing them to share examples. List responses on the board for students to refer to later if they wish. Sample responses include: 

• Sway
• Twirl 
• Pirouette 
• Shake 
• Bop 
• Disco 

Discuss phrases students might add to the list, for example: 

• Carving up the dancefloor 
• Throwing some shapes   

Collaboratively compose a poem using the vocabulary identified. Tell students to aim to make the poem rhyme using the same rhyme scheme as is used in Maximum Verbosity (ABCB). Inform students that they should include at least three synonyms and at least one phrase. 

A sample response is: 

I simply love to dance all day, 

I twirl, I whirl, I spin, 

But when my mum is cooking, 

She says ‘stop making a din’. 

And when I hit the dancefloor, 

I love to throw some shapes,

After all the dancing’s done, 

On my couch I love to drape. 

If access allows, complete the joint construction using a digital program such as Google Slides. Instruct students to type the synonyms they locate onto a collaborative list on the slides and to add suggestions for the joint construction onto them. Ideas should be shared from the slides and discussed, before collaboratively deciding on which to use in the class poem. 

Independent activity (you do)

15 minutes

Place students with a partner and instruct them to create their own poems about an activity they enjoy. Tell students to locate synonyms for their chosen topic using a thesaurus. Inform students that they should then compose their poems and instruct them to include at least three synonyms in their poems. Extension students should be instructed to also include at least one phrase that acts as a synonym. 

Allow time for students to compose their poems before sharing them with another pair.

Differentiation

20 minutes

Provide students who require support with a list of activities and synonyms for them. Instruct students to select a topic and to add to the list using a thesaurus. Students may prefer to use an online thesaurus to search for synonyms rather than search through a physical version. 

Students can use rhyming dictionaries to identify rhyming words. 

Instruct extension students to identify antonyms for their chosen activity/vocabulary. Tell students to add an additional stanza to their poems, that includes at least two antonyms. For example: 

I never like to freeze, 

And not to move around, 

For dancing is my greatest passion, 

That I have ever, ever found. 

Assessment

Students should respond to the following exit ticket questions in their workbooks: 

• Why do authors use synonyms? 
• What’s one thing you learnt today?
• How will you use what you have learnt in future lessons?

Students can complete the exit ticket digitally, using 3-2-1 exit ticket formungroup from the digital learning selector.