January 25 is Opposite Day! One of the great things about homeschooling is that you can break up your usual routine to celebrate some of the less traditional holidays in your own way.
Playing with language in this way allows us to practice flexible thinking and explore the nuances of just what it means to be an opposite.
Rewrite a Story with Antonyms
Perhaps one of the most straightforward interpretations of Opposite Day is to replace words with their antonyms. With this activity, you can go beyond saying “good night” when you greet each other in the morning and “yes” when you mean “no.”
Step 1: Pick a Story to Retell
For this activity, you’ll want to keep it short to avoid tedium. You can choose your favorite picture book or a classic fable. (Here’s a collection of Aesop’s Fables you could use.)
Step 2: Read the Story in its Original Form
Read the story in its original form. If it’s one you know well, you might not need to spend as much time on this step, but if it’s something you haven’t read in a while or a new story, you’ll definitely want to spend some time exploring it.
- What do we know about the main characters?
- What words do we see in the story that help describe the characters?
- What’s the conflict/problem of the story?
- How is it solved?
- What’s the setting of the story?
- How would the story change if the setting was different?
- What’s the main point of this story?
- Would you call the story happy? Sad? Funny? Scary?
Step 3: Rewrite the Story Using Antonyms
Now that you’ve got a good understanding of the original, it’s time to rewrite it for Opposite Day! You can make this as formal or as informal as you’d like. Here are some variations you can try:
- Print a copy of the fable/story and have writers cross out words and write their antonyms above them.
- Rewrite the story on separate paper and change words to their antonyms. Then re-illustrate the story to reflect the new version.
- Read the story aloud and change the words verbally as you get to them.
(You could also mix and match these. You could read aloud the Opposite Day version of a picture book and then choose a single page to rewrite and illustrate.)
Step 4: Explore Your New Story
Take a closer look at what happened to the story when it became its “opposite.” Here are some questions you might ask to dig in!
- What parts of the story changed the most?
- Does the story still make sense?
- What words were the easiest to turn into their opposites?
- Were there any words that didn’t have opposites?
- Are there parts of the story that didn’t change?
- Which story did you like better? Why?
Bonus Activity (for Older Learners)
If you want to take it deeper, watch this video version of a poem written about a similar activity.
Content Note: This poem reflects on the “opposite of a gun” through the perspective of high school children. It’s a commentary on gun violence, particularly school shootings. Please pre-screen the content before sharing with your learners to make sure it’s appropriate for your learners’ needs.
Take a closer look at the various suggestions for the “opposite of a gun” (you may find it useful to use the transcript).
- What does each suggested “opposite” tell us about how the kids see a gun?
- What fears, anxieties, and hopes are coming up for the kids in the classroom?
- Why do they have a hard time agreeing?
- What do they end up choosing, and what do you think of that choice?