Shades of Meaning

Presentation

•

English

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8th - 10th Grade

•

Practice Problem

•

Medium

•

CCSS

RI.9-10.4, RI.8.4, L.1.6

+25

Standards-aligned

Angela Kislal

Used 31+ times

FREE Resource

4 Slides • 23 Questions

Shades of Meaning

I can understand that synonyms may have positive, negative, or neutral connotations.

Multiple Choice

What is a synonym?

words with opposite meanings

words with different meanings

a spice I sprinkle on oatmeal

words with similar meanings

Synonyms have similar meanings, but the words are not always interchangeable. The words have different shades of meaning.

cackle
laugh

Multiple Choice

A cackle is ...

a smile

a loud, noisy laugh

a quiet laugh

Connotation is the feeling that the word carries with it.

There are words that carry positive connotation and words that carry negative connotations. Some words are neutral. Is the word "cackle" positive, negative, or neutral?

Multiple Choice

The synonyms "hurried" and "charged" are actions. Read the following sentences. Betsy hurried to catch the popcorn as it emerged from the popper. Leo charged to catch the popcorn as it emerged from the popper. Which word has a negative connotation?

hurried

charged

Multiple Choice

The synonyms "reached for" and "grabbed" are also actions. Read the following sentences. Simon reached for the salt. Sam grabbed the salt. Which word has a negative connotation?

reached for

grabbed

Multiple Choice

What word has the positive connotation?

impatient

enthusiastic

Open Ended

Use the word "enthusiastic" in a sentence.

Type response here

Multiple Choice

What word has the negative connotation?

curious

nosy

Open Ended

Use the word "nosy" in a sentence.

Type response here

Multiple Choice

What word has a negative connotation?

trusting

gullible

Open Ended

Gullible is someone who believes everything - even things they should not believe. Write a sentence with the word gullible.

Type response here

Multiple Choice

What word has a positive connotation?

unique

weird

Open Ended

"Unique" means special or one of a kind. Write a sentence with the word "unique."

Type response here

Multiple Choice

Which word has a positive connotation?

cheap

thrifty

Multiple Choice

Which word has a negative connotation?

determined

stubborn

Multiple Choice

The following three words have positive, neutral, and negative connotation. Which word has a neutral connotation?

lazy

inactive

relaxed

Multiple Choice

The following three words have positive, neutral, and negative connotation. Which word has a neutral connotation?

careful

timid

cowardly

Multiple Choice

The following three words have positive, neutral, and negative connotation. Which word has a neutral connotation?

proud

conceited

self-confident

Multiple Choice

The following three words have positive, neutral, and negative connotation. Which word has a negative connotation?

thin

scrawny

slender

Multiple Choice

The following three words have positive, neutral, and negative connotation. Which word has a neutral connotation?

steals

takes

borrows

Multiple Choice

The following three words have positive, neutral, and negative connotation. Which word has a positive connotation?

poor

underprivileged

impoverished

Connotations and Bias

Bias is "a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly." Bias is exposed through word choice, in other words people who influence people's ideas and beliefs, choose words with positive or negative connotations on purpose! The next time you listen to the news, pay attention to the words newscasters or journalists use to describe people or events. Do they have positive or negative connotations? That will expose their bias.

Multiple Choice

Which news article uses negative connotation to show bias against Iraq?

Iraq forces suspension of U.S. surveillance flights.

U.N. withdraws U-2 planes.

Multiple Choice

Which article uses connotation to make the headline more interesting?

The Red Wings played the Flyers last night in a hockey game, and they won 4-3.

The Red Wings executed a decisive win (4-3) over the tempered Flyers, in last night's heated game of ice hockey.

Multiple Choice

Both news articles use words with different connotations to show bias. They are about the same event. Look at the words in red. Which article was probably written by Iraqi sympathizers?

The Red Cross, one of the few aid groups with staff operating in Iraq, hopes to negotiate access to the main power station, which is said to be under control of U.S. led coalition forces.

Iraq said its troops were battling U.S. led invasion forces.

Shades of Meaning

I can understand that synonyms may have positive, negative, or neutral connotations.

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