There are three types of antonyms: graded, relational and complementary. Graded antonyms are opposites that can have a myriad of gradations between them. For instance, fast and slow are opposites, but words like speedy, accelerated, express, sluggish or pokey fit on the spectrum between them as well. Relational antonyms show a relationship between the two opposite words; in fact, you cannot have one without the other. Examples of relational antonyms are husband/wife or hello/goodbye. Complementary antonyms are just plain opposites and have no degree of meaning. Examples include up/down or true/false.
There are several enjoyable writing activities to practice antonyms with middle schoolers. One activity requires a well-known nursery rhyme. Students are divided in groups and choose a nursery rhyme they all know. They can replace the adverbs and adjectives with antonyms. For instance, in "Hickory Dickory Dock," the mouse can run down the clock rather than up. For the second activity, students can bring in appropriate song lyrics from their favorite song. They then circle all adjectives and insert antonyms. Since music is so important to middle school, this practice will engage their interest.
Middle school students often learn best with hands-on activities. Artistic activities are an easy way to understand concepts such as antonyms. Students can create a comic strip that features antonyms by folding a paper in four or six squares and creating a story that features several pairs of antonyms. Another good artistic project is for students to create a poster that includes pictures of opposites. They can work together in a group and find pictures in magazines or on the Internet. They can find pictures of each of the three types of antonyms for a bigger challenge.
Students can play a live matching game to practice antonyms. First, students or the teacher write a pair of opposites on a pair of cards. Depending on the age group, these can contain tricky, graded opposites or easier complementary opposites. The teacher sticks one card on each student's back. Students mill around the room and ask each other yes/no questions to try to determine their own word and then find their opposite. Another acting activity is for students to choose one card out of a pile and act out its antonym. For instance, if a student drew the card "loud," the student could whisper to act out the antonym "quiet."