+

Connotation & Denotation

Students will be able to define denotation and connotation, identify positive and negative connotations, and apply their understanding of positive/negative connotation to analyzing the impact of word choice on the authors message.
Susan Carmody, 2012

I wrote the same, but different words.

+

What did the woman mean? How do you think what she said applies to what we are learning today?
Susan Carmody, 2012

Todays Lesson
Objectives

Agenda

I can distinguish between denotative and connotative meanings of words.

I can apply my understanding of denotation and connotation to analyze an authors message.

Opening: Video Clip & Think-PairShare Response (10 minutes) New Material: Definitions and Triggers for Connotation and Denotation (15 minutes) Practice: Positive & Negative Connotations (15 minutes) Model: Connotation in a Text (15 minutes) Collaborative Practice: Connotation in a Text (25 minutes) Assessment (10 minutes)

Susan Carmody, 2012

Denotation
Meaning: Dictionary Example: A

definition of a word

snake is a long, limbless reptile that has no eyelids, and jaws that are capable of considerable extension.

Color Association: What color can you associate with the concept of denotation? Why?

Susan Carmody, 2012

Connotation
Meaning: Feelings

associated with or connected to

a word
Example: A

snake represents evil or danger.

Color Association: What color can you associate with the concept of denotation? Why?

Susan Carmody, 2012

Negative Neutral - Positive

Susan Carmody, 2012

Scrawny Slender Thin

Negative Neutral - Positive

1. Assign each person a letter: A, B, and C. Imagine if a character or event was described using the words on the negative end versus the positive end. 2. Read the word list. How can an author shape your view with word choice? 3. Organize the words from most How does strong word choice and considering connotations negative to most positive. make you a powerful reader and speaker? 4. Letter B records.

Susan Carmody, 2012

4 3 MINUTES

Check for Understanding

D for Denotation / C for Connotation
HOME
1.

The place where one lives permanently, esp. as a member of a family or household Comfortable and safe

2.

Susan Carmody, 2012

Check for Understanding

D for Denotation / C for Connotation
NIGHT
1.

Unknown; bad things happen

2.

The period of darkness in each twentyfour hours; the time from sunset to sunrise: "a moonless night".

Susan Carmody, 2012

Check for Understanding

D for Denotation / C for Connotation
FLAG
1.

A piece of cloth or similar material, typically oblong or square, attachable by one edge to a pole or rope and used as the symbol

2.

Freedom

Susan Carmody, 2012

Check for Understanding

1.

Squandered his money Spent his money Easygoing Lazy

5. 6. 7. 8.

Aroma Stink Nosy Curious

2. 3. 4.
Susan Carmody, 2012

In the Text
Passage 1

What words carry positive or negative connotations?

How do the connotations impact the readers understanding? Passage 2

As I walked through the gates of the waterpark, I felt the warmth of a bright sun shining down from a cloudless sky. The sounds of laughter and happiness filled the air, as mothers helped their young children put sunblock on and groups of friends found a place to claim for the afternoon. I spotted my friends, arranging a group of lounge chairs in a circle in our favorite spot, next to the wave pool. I grabbed a cool, cherry slush and skipped over to them with a smile on my face.
Susan Carmody, 2012

After waiting in line for what seemed like hours, I walked through the gates of the waterpark with the sun beating down on me. The sweltering heat felt unbearable. Immediately I heard kids screeching at the top of their lungs. Teenagers were all around, snatching up the good areas. I spotted my friends, fighting over the last lounge chairs, in a terrible spot between the bathrooms and hot dog stand. As I trudged toward them, I slipped in a slimy, cherry slush.

In the Text
From Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldnt Howhard. would you feel if the think about it very Hazel had perfectly government created laws limiting average intelligence, which meant she couldnt think your in brain power? about anything except short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was very above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from Think taking unfair Write Pair Share advantage of their brains. How does the narrator of this story want us to
feel about the laws that limit the characters brain power?
Susan Carmody, 2012

In the Text
Read the text, rotating reader by paragraph. Circle or underline the words and phrases that have positive or negative connotations that impact the readers understanding of or feelings about the sound handicaps. Use a smiley face or a frown face to indicate the connotation. Answer two questions:

1. 2.

3.

Considering the connotations of the words and phrases she uses, how does Hazel feel about the sound handicap others experience? Considering the connotations of the words and phrases he uses, as well as how the narrator describes his experience, how are readers beginning to feel about the sound handicaps?

Susan Carmody, 2012

10 MINUTES