This activity uses shades of a color as a visual to help students think about the strength of an adjective or verb as compared to its synonyms. Students are given a “paint chip” and 4-5 stimulus words, either verbs or adjectives. They must put the words in order from weakest (lightest shade) to strongest (darkest shade) and think about how the nuanced meanings would be signed in ASL.

This activity is 49 pages of fun! It includes two tasks to reinforce what students have learned, including fill-in-the-blank sentences and acting out differences in word meanings. There are also six blank paint chips if your students want to come up with their own synonyms!