Set-up Directions:
Create a transparency of the Deno-Connotation Station Comparison worksheet. Set up overhead projector and a half-filled glass of water. Make copies of the Deno-Connotation Station Comparison worksheet and the Vocabulary worksheet for each student. Have dictionaries available for student use.
Teacher Presentation & Motivation:
Have students tell you whether the glass of water is half-empty or half-full, then discuss how there are usually two or more ways to look at things in life. Today you’ll compare the positive and negative word choices we can make for understanding what we are reading and writing.
Activity 1 - Deno-Connotation Station
Ask if anyone can share the definitions for denotation and connotation. Have students help complete the first three entries on of the Deno-Connotation Station Comparison graphic organizer (without pairs of words) on the overhead and on the handouts they are using. Guide students to discover the definitions for denotation and connotation by comparing placement of pairs of words on the graphic organizer. They should write this definition on the back of the Deno-Connotation Station Comparison graphic organizer. Partners will then work together to complete their copies of this handout. Halfway through the lesson, check with the whole class to assess progress and comprehension. Finally, check all answers together. Verbally review the definitions of denotation and connotation.
Activity 2 - Vocabulary
Select a pair of words from the handout Deno-Connotation Comparision Station, which was used in the previous activity, and analyze the two self-selected words for numbers one and two on the Vocabulary handout. Select another pair of words related to your students’ current reading assignments or another pair of words from the first handout to analyze for numbers three and four on this handout. Students will think, pair, and share the last question on the handout and then complete it on their own in a brief constructed response.
Wrap Up:
Students will share their brief constructed responses to the last question on the Vocabulary handout. Students can share their brief constructed responses in small groups and/or by reading aloud as the culminating step in this study. The teacher will lead a class discussion that answers the class challenge question posed at the beginning of this lesson.