by Liane B. Onish - Scholastic

Unit 10

Cause, Compare, and Persuade—Essay Words

Name ______________________________________________________ Date _________________

Synonym Substitution

Write a more descriptive synonym for the overused word in brackets.
1. Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008. It was a

[important] ____ ____ ____ ____ __n__ ____ ____ ____ ____ event in U.S. history.
2. T he [effect] ____ ____ ____ __s__ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ of not studying

may be failing the course.
3. From what I see on the map, the directions you gave me are

[different] ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ __r__ ____.
4. There are many arduous swimming events at the Olympics, but none is

[similar] ____ __n__ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ to running the marathon.
5. On what [cause] ____ ____ ____ __u__ ____ ____ ____ do you think the club should not

include people from other schools?

Write sentences for two of your answers.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Draw a picture to illustrate one of your sentences.

Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources 51

Unit 10 Date _________________

Cause, Compare, and Persuade—Essay Words

Name ______________________________________________________

Crossword Puzzle

Read the clues. Use synonyms for words in the box to complete the puzzle.

synonyms cause, different, effect, important, similar

CLUES 3. 1. 2.
9.
ACROSS 5. 6.
1. She disagreed because she 7. 8.

reached a ________ conclusion. 10.
4. The final result
7. On equal or similar terms 4.
10. Necessary

DOWN
2. Six eggs and half a dozen

eggs are this.
3. Broadly varied, distinct
5. T hey were so far ahead, the

________ of the game was
never in doubt.
6. Day workers are paid on a daily ________.
8. The cause for an action
9. Extremely important

On the back, write
and illustrate a sentence
using one of your answers.

Use any verb tense.

52 Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Unit 10

Cause, Compare, and Persuade—Essay Words

Name ______________________________________________________ Date _________________

Word Cards

▶ Write the meaning for each synonym. Synonyms for cause
▶ Add other synonyms for the word. 1. basis means _______________
▶ Cut out the cards and tape or staple 2. grounds means _______________
3. motive means _______________
them to index cards. 4. Other words I know for cause:
▶ Write a sentence for one of the _____________________________________
_____________________________________
synonyms on the back of the card. _____________________________________

Synonyms for different Synonyms for effect
1. contradictory means _______________ 1. consequence means _______________
2. disparate means _______________ 2. outcome means _______________
3. divergent means _______________ 3. upshot means _______________
4. Other words I know for different: 4. Other words I know for effect:
_____________________________________ _____________________________________
_____________________________________ _____________________________________
_____________________________________ _____________________________________

Synonyms for important Synonyms for similar
1. essential means _______________ 1. analogous means _______________
2. momentous means _______________ 2. comparable means _______________
3. vital means _______________ 3. equivalent means _______________
4. Other words I know for important: 4. Other words I know for similar:
_____________________________________ _____________________________________
_____________________________________ _____________________________________
_____________________________________ _____________________________________

Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources 53

Units 9&10

REVIEW GAME 5

Review Game 5:
Cloze Concentration

Skill Use synonyms to complete sentences
Number of Players Pairs
Object of the Game Find the word that completes a cloze sentence.
Materials S tudents’ Word Cards, Blank game cards (page 62),

bag for each pair of students

Make the Game Cards

1. Duplicate and distribute four pages of blank game cards (page 62). Players cut the cards
into strips, so that the word and sentence cards are still attached.

2. P airs of players place one set of Word Cards for Units 9 and 10 in a bag. Then they take
turns, each taking nine words out of the bag and copying the word on the left side of a
blank game card. On both parts of the remaining four blank game cards, write: “Wild Card.”

3. O n the right sentence side of the card, players write a cloze sentence for the word. Where
the target word would appear in the sentence, have students draw a box:

ORIGINALLY We live in San Diego,
but we are from St. Louis.


4. S tudents review each other’s words and sentences to be sure they are correct. Then have
students cut apart the game cards. Each pair of students should have made a total of 40
game cards: 18 sets of word-and-cloze sentence cards and four Wild Cards. Place each
pair’s game cards in an envelope. Have students write their initials in the top right corner
of the envelope. Collect the envelopes.

Play the Game

1. R andomly distribute the envelopes, making sure that no pair gets its own set of game
cards. Players mix up the cards and place them facedown in a 5 x 8 array.

2. Play Concentration. The first player turns over two cards. If the cards show a word and
a cloze sentence that the word completes, the player then gives the meaning of the
vocabulary word. If correct, the player keeps the cards. Then it is the second player’s turn.
Note: If the player turns over a Wild Card, he or she may write a vocabulary word or a
sentence to make a pair.

3. If the cards don’t match, or if the player cannot correctly define the word, the cards are
turned facedown again and the second player takes a turn.

4. When no cards are left facedown, the player with the most cards wins.

54 Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Bonus

REVIEW GAME

Bonus Review Game:
Synonym Pyramid

Skill Finding synonym pairs
Number of Players Individuals or pairs
Object of the Game Match the cards in the pyramid with synonyms
Materials 4 0 blank game cards (page 62) or index cards

Make the Game Cards

1. C hoose any two units and write all overused words and their three synonyms on 40
blank game cards (page 62) or 40 index cards. If using Units 5 or 6, you will need extra
blank cards.

2. W rite the words along the short side of the cards.
3. T urn the cards facedown and mix well.

Make the Pyramid

1. Gather the cards into a deck, facedown.
2. Turn over the top card and place it on the table.
3. T urn over the next 2 cards and place them in the second row,

slightly overlapping the first card. Be sure the words on the cards are visible.
4. Place the next 3 cards in the third row, slightly overlapping the row above.
5. Repeat, adding four cards to row 4, five cards to row 5, and six cards to row 6. The array

should resemble a pyramid.
6. Hold the remaining 19 cards facedown in your hand.

Play the Game

1. The cards that are not covered by other cards are free cards. These cards are
available to match.

2. L ook for synonyms in the bottom row. Remove synonym pairs.
3. When all available matches have been made, turn over the top card of the remaining cards

in your hand. If it can be matched to a free card, remove the synonym pair from the game.
4. If the card does not match a free card, place it faceup to start a discard pile. Turn over the

next card from the facedown deck. Try to match it to a free card in the pyramid or the top
card in the faceup discard pile. Note: When playing in pairs, the next player takes a turn
when the first player has made all available matches with one card from the facedown deck.
5. The player with the most pairs of synonyms wins. Mix up all the cards to play again.

Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources 55

Visual Learning

ACTIVITY 1

Word Graphs:
Denotation/Connotation

USE WITH UNITS 1 THROUGH 6

Introduce Denotation and Connotation

Begin by explaining that the denotation of a word is its dictionary meaning: say means
to speak. Then discuss that words may also have connotations, meanings that are
implied, usually depending on the context. Connotations can be positive, negative, or
neutral. For example: explain that say is neutral, neither positive nor negative. Shout
can be positive—if you are shouting for joy when a goal is scored. Shout can also be
negative—if you are loudly disagreeing with the umpire’s call. The connotation of a
word depends on context, how the word is used.

Introduce Word Graphs

Draw a large rectangle on the board with a diagonal line, similar to the Word Graph
reproducible on the next page. Write “Positive” on the upper half, and “Negative” on the
lower half. Then write the word say next to a point in the center of the diagonal neutral
line. Explain that it is neutral, neither positive nor negative. Ask students to suggest
synonyms for say that are positive, for example, exclaim, and negative, such as cry. Have
them use their suggested words in sentences that illustrate the connotation. For more
practice, discuss and add these words to a graph: okay, happy, fine, sad, and miserable.
Ask students to decide which ones are positive, which are negative, and which words
should be closest to the neutral line.

Using Word Graphs

1. Duplicate and distribute one word graph to each student or to pairs of students.
2. S tudents pick two overused words from the units they are working with, and write a

sentence for each synonym, underlining the target word.
3. N ext, students plot their synonyms on the graph, deciding whether the words are

positive, negative, or neutral (on the line).
4. Allow small groups to compare graphs and discuss placement (connotation) of words.

56 Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Visual Learning
ACTIVITY 1

Name ______________________________________________________ Date _________________

Word Graphs:
Denotation/Connotation

Pick two overused words from each unit. Write sentences for the synonyms.
Underline synonyms. Then plot the overused words and their synonyms on the graph.

+ Positive

– Negative
1.__________________________________________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________________________________________
3.__________________________________________________________________________________
4.__________________________________________________________________________________
5.__________________________________________________________________________________
6.__________________________________________________________________________________
7.__________________________________________________________________________________
8.__________________________________________________________________________________
9.__________________________________________________________________________________
10. __________________________________________________________________________________
11. __________________________________________________________________________________
12. __________________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources 57

Visual Learning

ACTIVITY 2

Comic Strip Conventions

Use With Unit 9 Together With Other Units

Introduce Comic Strip Conventions: Speech and Thought
Bubbles, Introductory and Transitional Boxes

Show students some favorite multi-panel comic strips from newspapers that include
dialogue and thought bubbles and introductory and transitional text in boxes. Explain
each convention, noting in particular the differences in design between speech and
thought bubbles.

Speech are usually smooth Thought have rounded, billowy Introductory Introductory boxes are at
bubbles shapes with sharp bubbles edges and soft bubbles & Transitional the top of cartoon panels.
“points” aimed at of decreasing size that Transitional text boxes
the speaker. indicate the thinker. Text Boxes are at the bottom.

Point out transition words (Unit 9) and other targeted vocabulary. Explain that the
information that goes in the boxes determines where it is placed in the panel. Help
students see that the boxes at the top of frames provide introductory or background
information needed to understand what will happen in the panels. Boxed text along the
bottom of a frame provides a transition to the next panel, or provides a short summary
at the end.

Using Comics

1. D uplicate and distribute page 59. Have students use their Unit 9 Transition Synonyms
Word Cards for reference.

2. P lace cards with numbers 1 through 8 in a bag. Have students select two or three
cards at random. These are the units they can choose words from for their comics and
stories, along with the transition words from Unit 9. Due to the limited amount of space
in the panels, students may use the most appropriate or shortest synonym for the
comic. (They will use additional and more interesting synonyms in their stories.)

3. E ncourage students to use at least one of each convention—speech bubbles, thought
bubbles, and introductory and transition boxes—in the panels.

4. Below the comic, have students write a narrative story using the word cards they chose.
Have them underline each vocabulary word in their story.

58 Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Visual Learning
ACTIVITY 2

Name ______________________________________________________ Date _________________

Comic Strip Conventions

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources 59

Visual Learning

ACTIVITY 3

“Picture This” Call-Outs

Use With Units 1 Through 10

Introduce Call-Outs

Review or introduce comic conventions: speech and thought bubbles, and introductory
and transitional boxes. (See page 58.) Show students a newspaper or magazine
photograph. Discuss what the people in the picture might be saying to each other or
to the reader. Have students suggest interesting synonyms for said, told, or answered.
Repeat for what the people might be thinking. Then brainstorm text for an introductory
box to tell readers what they need to know that led up to this photograph. Repeat to
create text for a transition box about what might happen next, or for a summary.

Using “Picture This” Call-Outs

1. Have students bring in their own newspaper or magazine photograph of two or more
people and tape it to a piece of writing paper. Photos can include animals.

2. Duplicate and distribute a page of call-outs (speech and thought bubbles) and boxes for
students to cut out and tape to the photographs. (See page 61.)

3. H ave students use their Transition and Essay Synonym Word Cards (from Units 9 and
10) to help them write text for top introductory or background boxes and for bottom
transition or summary boxes.

4. Encourage them to use their Synonym Word Cards from other units to write text for at
least one speech and one thought bubble.

5. O n the writing paper, students write a story to go with their photograph. Give extra
credit for each interesting synonym used in call-outs and stories.

60 Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Visual Learning
ACTIVITY 3

“Picture This” Call-Outs

Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources 61

Word Cards

TEMPLATE

Word Cards

See directions for review games on pages 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, and 55.

62 Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Answer Key

Unit 1 Unit 4

PAGE 10 PAGE 23
1. say, 2. tell, 3. ask, 4. yell, 5. answer 1. boring, 2. nice, 3. like, 4. very, 5. get
PAGE 11 PAGE 24
1. screeched, 2. cautioned, 3. countered, 1. congenial, 2. appreciated, 3. profoundly,
4. declared, 5. inquired 4. tedious, 5. obtain
PAGE 12 PAGE 25
Across: 2. announced, 5. implore, 6. assert, Across: 7. commonplace, 8. perceive,
9. profess, 10. bellow 9. relish, 10. banal
Down: 1. rant, 3. opine, 4. remark, Down: 1. savor, 2. deeply, 3. exceedingly,
7. retort, 8. beseech 4. gracious, 5. acquire, 6. amiable

Unit 2 Unit 5

PAGE 14 PAGE 28
1. awesome, 2. beautiful, 3. perfect, 1. good, 2. easy, 3. bad, 4. hard, 5. old, 6. new
4. awful, 5. unfair PAGE 29
PAGE 15 1. straightforward, 2. beneficial, 3. problematic,
1. horrendous, 2. exquisite, 3. impressive, 4. established, 5. current, 6. injurious
4. unwarranted, 5. flawless PAGE 30
PAGE 16 Across: 2. undemanding, 3. arduous,
Across: 1. fabulous, 4. inequitable, 10. innovative, 11. inventive, 12. mature
7. appealing, 8. indefensible, 10. ideal Down: 1. uncomplicated, 4. formidable,
Down: 2. alluring, 3. faultless, 5. excellent, 5. passé, 6. horrific, 7. appalling,
6. tragic, 9. dire 8. respectable, 9. competent

Unit 3 Unit 6

PAGE 19 PAGE 32
1. go, 2. take, 3. give, 4. want, 5. think 1. right, 2. wrong, 3. dark, 4. light,
PAGE 20 5. happy, 6. sad
1. contemplated, 2. bestow, 3. captured, PAGE 33
4. advance, 5. yearned. 1. heartrending, 2. euphoric, 3. forbidding,
PAGE 21 4. luminous, 5. justifiable, 6. erroneous
Across: 4. reflect, 5. grasp, 7. ensued, PAGE 34
8. aspire, 10. covet Across: 3. accurate, 7. sinister, 9. flawed,
Down: 1. deem, 2. seize, 3. furnish, 10. jubilant, 11. elated, 12. poignant
6. persist, 9. equip Down: 1. incandescent, 2. murky, 4. sorrowful,
5. misguided, 6. precise, 8. radiant

Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources 63

Answer Key

Unit 7 Unit 10

PAGE 37 PAGE 50
1. rough, 2. hard, 3. sweet, 4. smooth, 5. sour 1. cause, 2. different, 3. effect,
PAGE 38 4. important, 5. similar
1. saccharine, 2. inflexible, 3. consistent, PAGE 51
4. disagreeable, 5. irregular 1. momentous, 2. consequence,
PAGE 39 3. contradictory, 4. analogous, 6. grounds.
Across: 1. supple, 4. embittered, PAGE 52
5. sentimental, 8. acerbic, 9. rigid, 10. coarse Across: 1. divergent, 4. upshot,
Down: 2. unbending, 3. tranquil, 7. comparable, 10. essential
6. jagged, 7. tender Down: 2. equivalent, 3. disparate, 5. outcome,
6. basis, 8. motive, 9. vital
Unit 8
Professional
PAGE 41 Resources
1. loud, 2. big, 3. small, 4. soft, 5. tall
PAGE 42 Beck, I., McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2002).
1. gargantuan, 2. colossal, 3. mellow, Bringing words to life. New York: Guilford Press.
4. vociferous, 5. diminutive Feldman, K., Kinsella, K. (2004) Narrowing the language
PAGE 43 gap: The case for explicit vocabulary instruction. New
Across: 4. lilliputian, 7. trivial, York: Scholastic Inc.
9. deafening, 10. lofty National Reading Panel (2003). Put Reading First: The
Down: 1. delicate, 2. elevated, 3. massive, Research Building Blocks of Reading Instruction (Second
5. immense, 6. thunderous, 8. faint Edition), Washington, DC: The Partnership for Reading,
National Institute for Literacy.
Unit 9 READ 180 Stage C Rbook Stage C, Teacher’s Edition
(2005). New York: Scholastic, Inc.
PAGE 46 Stahl, S. (Spring 2003). Words are learned
1. first, 2. next, 3. last, 4. about, 5. sometimes incrementally over multiple exposures. American
PAGE 47 Educator, 18-19.
1. occasionally, 2. originally, 3. approximately, Stahl, S. & Fairbanks, M. (1986). The effects of
4. subsequently, 5. ultimately vocabulary instruction: A model-based meta-analysis.
PAGE 48 Review of Educational Research, 56(1), 72-110.
Across: 1. conclusive, 4. infrequently,
5. approaching, 7. roughly,
9. following, 10. sporadically
Down: 2. initially, 3. foremost,
6. afterward, 8. finally

64 Vocabulary Packets: No More Overused Words © Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources