Ditch ‘Very’ for Vibrant Synonyms

What are the most common words used in writing produced by early learners? If you ask teachers, they’ll probably give you a top ten list. Nice, happy, sad, big… Those are all on the list, but one word often stands at the very top because it’s ‘very’ annoying to read over and over again. Any ideas?

It’s ‘very’, of course! Kids love the word, and while ‘very’ has its place, sometimes it just needs to go. It’s boring, and there are so many other words to use in its place.

Easily Find Alternatives for ‘Very’

We’ve put together a handy little tool to help your students vary how they can say ‘very’. Students can cut out this vibrant word wheel and glue it to the back of their writing journals. They can then refer to this wheel to help them choose the best words to use when writing descriptive language.

The words in the centre ring are a guide for helping students find alternative ‘very’ words. The words in the second ring are common words that students like to add ‘very’ to. The words in the outer ring are more descriptive and can be used instead of adding ‘very’ to the words in the second ring.

Download and Print

This resource prints as a PDF file. It is available in colour and black and white. Use the dropdown arrow on the download button to choose the file you prefer.

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