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Year 3

Rich vocabulary associated with small or thin words

I can use the words 'dainty, 'diminutive' and 'minuscule' effectively in multiple contexts.

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New
New
Year 3

Rich vocabulary associated with small or thin words

I can use the words 'dainty, 'diminutive' and 'minuscule' effectively in multiple contexts.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Dainty is an adjective which means small, delicate and pretty.
  2. Diminutive is an adjective which means unusally small.
  3. Miniscule is an adjective which means tiny or microsocpic.

Common misconception

Diminutive and minuscule can often be used interchangeably, but not always.

Use the word pairs to help pupils see and hear the words in nuanced contexts. i.e. 'minuscule amount' works but not 'diminutive amount'.

Keywords

  • Noun - a naming word for people, places or things

  • Adjective - a word that describes a noun

  • Synonym - a word that has the same or similar meaning to another word

  • Word pair - words that often appear together

Supplement the slides with more images to help embed learning. For example, it would be nice for children to see an image of a 'dainty' sandwich in comparison to a large baguette.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is an adjective?
a naming word for people, places or things
Correct answer: a word that describes a noun
a being or doing word
Q2.
What is a noun?
Correct answer: a naming word for people, places or things
a word that describes a noun
a being or doing word
Q3.
What is a synonym?
Correct answer: a word that has the same or similar meaning to another word
words that often appear together
a being or a doing word
Q4.
Which word is a synonym of 'small' in this sentence. 'Did you see that tiny spider crawl across the wooden floor?'
see
Correct answer: tiny
wooden
crawl
floor
Q5.
Which words are adjectives in this sentence? 'Did you see that tiny spider crawl across the wooden floor?'
spider, floor
see, crawl
Correct answer: tiny, wooden
Q6.
Which words are nouns in this sentence? 'Did you see that tiny spider crawl across the wooden floor?'
Correct answer: spider, floor
see, crawl
tiny, wooden

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What adjective does this image represent?
An image in a quiz
shrivelled
Correct answer: minuscule
squat
Q2.
What adjective does this image represent?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: dainty
robust
minuscule
Q3.
Match the word with the correct definition.
Correct Answer:dainty,small, delicate and pretty

small, delicate and pretty

Correct Answer:diminutive,unusually small

unusually small

Correct Answer:minuscule,tiny or microscopic

tiny or microscopic

Q4.
Match the word pairs that make sense.
Correct Answer:dainty,lace

lace

Correct Answer:diminutive,stature

stature

Correct Answer:minuscule,particle

particle

Q5.
Select the missing word to complete the sentence. 'She placed her __________ fingers over the harp strings and lightly strummed to create mesmerising music.'
Correct answer: dainty
minuscule
diminutive
Q6.
Select the missing word to complete the sentence. 'Grit had only a __________ amount of glitter left in his craft supplies, just enough to add a touch of sparkle to his handmade birthday card.'
dainty
Correct answer: minuscule
diminutive
Q1 Mrs Wordsmith Q2 Mrs Wordsmith