Do your kids regularly fill their sentences with ho-hum words like big, happy, nice, walked, and said? Here’s a fabulous idea for a pocket word bank to help children choose more concrete synonyms instead.
Thesaurus.com is a perfect place to begin gathering synonyms.
- Enter a word your kids tend to overuse.
- Browse the various lists and pick out a handful of reasonable synonyms.
- Type them up using a large, clear font.
- Print out the words and cut them into strips, laminating them so they hold up longer.
A “Good” Illustration
Let’s use good as an example, since it’s often overused (good friend, good snack, good worker, good child). With a few synonyms at their disposal, your children can choose much stronger, more concrete words instead, such as:
- honorable
- marvelous
- pleasing
- competent
- virtuous
- skillful
- healthy
- wholesome
- reliable
- friendly
- kindhearted
- gracious
- obedient
- well-mannered
Now they can describe a kindhearted friend, healthy snack, skillful worker, or obedient child. Not only will their writing improve, their vocabulary will grow too!
Pop over to Cheryl Sigmon’s website to check out a closeup photo and make a Tired Words pocket chart of your own. In no time, you’ll begin to see more descriptive, lively words spilling from your kids’ pens!
