Connotation and denotation Actually, we don’t like the term “cannibal.” We prefer to be called “homovores.”

Connotative and Denotative activities Before you begin, take a look at the number of terms and students in your class. The words in this PowerPoint are grouped by threes (one positive, one neutral, one negative of each denotative group). Add/pair/remove as necessary to have even groups. Each student is provided a slip of paper on which a term is written. (For best results, print this PowerPoint as a handout with 6 slides per page, then cut.) Students leave their seats to form a group with 2 others whose terms have the same DENOTATIVE meaning. These groups of three will have words like, “thrifty, frugal, and cheap,” which all have the same denotative meaning. Students then leave their group to create three new groups based on CONNOTATIVE meaning: positive, neutral, and negative. The positive group, for example, will have words like “enthusiastic, genius,” etc.

differently-abled

disabled

crippled

enthusiastic

active

fanatical

thrifty

frugal

cheap

genius

intellectual

nerd

aroma

smell

odor

experienced

mature

old

hobby

interest

obsession

scrawny

thin

slender

home

house

shack

weird

different

unique