1st grade · English Language Arts · Unit 8 of 13
Describing Words
Opposites and describing words
What your child practices
Opposites (hot and cold) and describing words that tell how something looks, feels, tastes or sounds, including finding the describing word in a sentence.
Alaska content standards learning standard: L.1.5 · describing words and opposites
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Describing words tell how something looks, feels or sounds.
- Opposites mean very different things: big and small.
- Other opposites: fast and slow, loud and quiet.
Example: What is the opposite of “hot”? Hot is very warm. Its opposite is cold. Answer: cold
Describing Words in Alaska
In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 8 of 13 in 1st grade English Language Arts, after Story Time and before More Than One.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 1st grade guide for Alaska parents
- Printable 1st grade English Language Arts sheet
- Alaska report cards explained
Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which word tells about the picture?
🍋lemon- fluffy
- sweet
- sour
sour
Hint: Think about how it looks, feels, tastes or sounds.
Question 2
Find the describing word: “Maya found a tiny bug.”
- bug
- tiny
- found
tiny
Hint: A describing word tells what something is like, such as big, red or soft.
Question 3
What is the opposite of “up”?
⬆️up- ⬇️down
- ☀️day
- 😀happy
⬇️ down
Hint: Opposites are as different as can be, like up and down.
Question 4
Find the describing word: “Priya has a happy puppy.”
- happy
- Priya
- has
happy
Hint: A describing word tells what something is like, such as big, red or soft.
Question 5
Which word tells about the picture?
⚽ball- round
- furry
- spiky
round
Hint: Think about how it looks, feels, tastes or sounds.
Question 6
Which word tells about the picture?
❄️snowflake- hot
- furry
- cold
cold
Hint: Think about how it looks, feels, tastes or sounds.