This is a great way to introduce and exercise thesaurus skills in the classroom. First the teacher models it a few times, and then the students can play it in small groups.

The teacher (or group leader) chooses a word in the thesaurus which the other students have to try to guess. The teacher (or group leader) then gives the group clues which will help them guess: the clues are the words which have a similar meaning to the chosen secret word and which can be found in the thesaurus right next to the chosen word. (I run this lesson with 9-11 year olds, and they love it.) It has learning rewards for both the team leaders as well as the players. Each member of the group can have a turn at being the group leader.

Here is an example: (The secret word is teach)

--Submitted by Elizabeth Ross, New Zeland