Microsoft Word - Thesaurus

When it turned out that our print thesaurus didn't include some of the words for which the third graders wanted synonyms, I decided to eschew it in favor of an online resource: Microsoft Word. Did you know that it can help you find better, more interesting words when you are writing a report or a story?

Depending on the version on your computer, the way to access the thesaurus varies slightly. But it's generally under "Tools" on the standard toolbar.

Students practiced opening Word on the laptops, then typed a word and chose a new one from the thesaurus. Here are some of their synonym pairs:

smart	brainy
money	cash currency
crazy	fanciful
annoying	bothersome
awesome	breathtaking astonishing
break	snap in two
sassy	impudent