Walk in Work Turn to your next A and B page and label them: Literature Circles Continued Short story
Connotation vs. Denotation Denotation – Dictionary definition of a word Connotation – implied meaning of a word in context (positive and negative) Ex: Butcher and Slaughter Both have the same denotation (To kill and dismember) One feels more appropriate in certain contexts… Would you rather have your steak butchered or slaughtered? Which has a more negative connotation?
Group Practice Decide which of the two following words have a more positive and negative connotation: Thin, lanky Aggressive, assertive bright, cunning
Close Reading for Tone - Discovery 1. Re-read the paragraph, annotating for word choice the author uses to convey the speaker’s opinion on the subject 2. Use the word choice (evidence) to identify a tone (Use the thesaurus to find the best fitting word) 3. Argue this tone shift in a paragraph that includes evidence and reasoning.
Example: “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury- Discovery C: Ray Bradbury starts with a solitary tone when describing the nursery but it shifts to wondrous in his short story, “The Veldt.” E: The solitary tone is illustrated through specific word choices like “silent,” “empty” and “blank” (Bradbury 1). R: The word silent usually means that there is no noise or talking, which implies limited interaction between people. When something is empty, it has a negative connotation that something is missing. Similarly, when something is blank, it has usually been untouched or left alone. All these words contribute to the solitary tone because they show how a person is alone. E: The tone then shifts to wondrous and is shown through the word choice of “crystalline,” “deep sky,” and “color.” R: Crystalline means sparkling or crystal clear which has a positive connotation. Deep sky is associated with looking up at the sky in wonder and curiosity. Color is directly opposite of blank and signals the shift from something untouched to something that has been changed creatively.