While teaching a Montessori Teacher Certification Program, one of my students asked, “Why do we teach Opposites?  How do opposites help children with language skills?”   Basically the student was asking, what is the point to teaching Opposites?   It was a question that I had to think about for a moment.  To me the most obvious reason is that it builds a child’s vocabulary!  Reading, writing, and oral language skills are all about ….WORDS! WORDS! WORDS!  Introducing the child to opposites not only increases vocabulary, but it is a fun activity that forces the child to use higher order thinking skills thereby building his/her intelligence. 

Using picture cards that illustrate opposites gives the child a visual understanding of the words introduced.   Opposites are easily taught with the use of our beautiful Sensorial materials.   The Pink Tower cubes can be used to introduce big and little or small and large.  The prisms that form the Broad Stairs introduce terms such as thick and thin or broad/wide and narrow. The Red Rods teach length, long and short and comparative words such as long, longer, longest, etc.  All of these comparisons are exercises in opposites and adjectives. 

The following is a list of opposite exercises to do with children:

Opposite Puzzles

Opposite Songs (Piggy Back Songs)

Opposites Song

Sung to:  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Written by:  Mildred Hoffman, Tocoma, WA

The opposite of left is right.

The opposite of day is night.

Now we come to short and long,

After that, right and wrong.

Lost and found, sick and well.

How many opposites can you tell?

Heavy and light are not the same.

Don’t you like our opposite game?

Next, I think of stop and go.

After that, high and low.

First and last, fast and slow.

How many opposites do you know?

Opposites Song

Sung to:  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Written by:  Mildred Hoffman, Tocoma, WA

The opposite of left is right.

The opposite of day is night.

Now we come to short and long,

After that, right and wrong.

Lost and found, sick and well.

How many opposites can you tell?

Heavy and light are not the same.

Don’t you like our opposite game?

Next, I think of stop and go.

After that, high and low.

First and last, fast and slow.

How many opposites do you know?

Reading Opposite Books

Play Opposite Games

There are several opposite games to be played.  First use opposite picture cards and turn them with the pictures down.  The child finds one and then attempts to find its opposite.  When they find a match then the person who finds the match keeps the set.   Another way to use opposite picture cards is to simply hold one up to the group and ask them what is its opposite. 

Another game is the Opposite Action Game.  The teacher tells a particular child to “sit.”  Another child is asked, "what is the opposite of sit?"  Hopefully the child states "stands" and performs the action.  Continue with some of the following Opposite Commands: Sit/Stand,  Walk/Run,  Happy/Sad,  Left/Right,  Asleep/Awake,  Up/Down, Open Eyes, Close Eyes ( or hands), Back/Front, Read/Write,  Short/Tall, Smile/Frown.

Introducing Opposite Words with Sensorial Materials

Do not neglect to introduce opposites to the children in your life!  Remember you are expanding their vocabulary, building comprehension skills and their intelligence and introducing them to descriptive words which are adjectives.  Can you imagine all of those skills from simple Opposites?  Remember to make it fun and enjoy every moment!