Choose Precise Words

Use grade-appropriate academic/domain vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms, and shades of meaning to express ideas precisely.

How the lesson starts: Choose Precise Words

Llama Light Studios
Welcome to Llama Light Studios! Director Lulu the llama is making a movie. The script says: the dog went. Lulu shouts, cut! Went how? Did the dog zoom? Sneak? Stumble? Plain words make a blurry movie.
Blurry word, sharp word
Compare these two lines. The kitten went up the curtain. The kitten scrambled up the curtain. Scrambled shows claws and wiggly legs. A precise verb paints the picture for you.
Pick the sharpest verb
The tired hiker blank up the steep hill. Lulu tries each word. Went? Plain. Moved? Plain too. Trudged means walked slowly and heavily. That fits tired and steep! Read the clues in the sentence, then pick.