Designed to meet these objectives:
Language
• Students will develop vocabulary.
• Students will identify and compare synonyms
and antonyms.
Finding synonyms and antonyms is as easy as tying
your shoe with these colorful language lacers!
Students will love lacing the shoestrings to match
synonym and antonym pairs, and with 15 different
boards, students get lots of practice with a variety
of vocabulary words!
What’s Included
• 15 shoe boards
• 15 laces
• Answer card
• Storage box
© 2009 Lakeshore
(800) 428-4414
www.lakeshorelearning.com
FF221
Ages 6+
Printed in China
Before You Begin
Make a knot on one end of each lace, and pull one
lace through the top left hole of each board to give
students a place to start. Set out the boards at a
center, and provide sheets of lined paper for extension activities.
Getting Started
Demonstrate how to lace up the “shoes,” starting
with the word at the top left of the board, and
pulling the lace through the hole next to that word’s
synonym or antonym on the right side. When students have completed an activity, ask them to undo
the laces, leaving them attached through the first
hole so that the boards will be ready for the next
student to use.
Using the Cards
Whole-Class Activity
• Review synonyms and antonyms with the class.
Choose a shoe and write the words from the left
side on the classroom board or on chart paper.
Then, ask students to think of a synonym or
antonym for each word. Write down their
responses.
2
If a student volunteers a synonym or antonym
that is listed on the right side of the lacing board,
ask that student to come up and pull the lace
through the hole next to that word. Continue the
exercise until the shoe is all laced up!
Small-Group Activities
• Set out all of the synonym or antonym shoe
boards at a learning center. Have students visit the
center with a partner and challenge each other to
a “Lace Race.” Each student selects a shoe board.
Beginning at the same time, students lace up the
shoe as quickly as possible, placing the completed
board next to them and picking up another one to
lace. When all the shoes have been laced up, have
students check each other’s work. Whoever has
the most boards laced up wins!
• Divide students into small groups of three and
give each group a shoe board. Have them pass
the board from person to person to lace up the
shoe one word pair at a time. Then, ask students
to work together to write a definition for each
pair of synonyms or antonyms on a sheet of
paper.
• Set up the boards at a center for students to
visit during your scheduled center time, or for
early finishers to use for extra practice.
3
Meeting Individual Needs
ELL
Gather a small group of students together and display
one of the shoe boards. Start by pointing to each
word and reading it aloud. Have students repeat
after you. Then, have students copy the words from
the left side of the shoe onto an index card. Help
them find the correct synonym or antonym to write
on the back of each index card. For antonyms, have
students draw a small picture on each side of the
index cards. Place the cards on a ring, and allow
students to keep them at their desks or take them
home to use as a reference tool.
Reteach/Extra Support
Have each student work with a partner to lace up
one of the lacer boards. Before students begin the
activity, read the words on the boards you want
them to work with, making sure they understand
what each word means.
Challenge
Challenge students to lace up one of the boards and
then use some or all of the words to write a story or
a poem. Invite students to share their writing with
the class.