Today's Class and Tonight's Homework - 12/19/14

AGENDA
Objective:  Students will learn the difference between the denotation of a word and its connotation in order to be able to select the best words while writing to set the mood and tone of a piece they compose.

1.) Long overdue word work
2.) Denotation vs. Connotation song and notes (if you were absent, take a piece of paper and take notes on what denotation is and what connotation is and put this in your binder.  When you come back to school on Monday, I will give you the graphic organizer to put your notes on)
3.) A little word work on our own
4.) Sentences
5.) Agenda Books

HOMEWORK
1.) Finish your character assignment (due Monday)
2.) Illustrated sentences

ILLUSTRATED SENTENCE ACTIVITY
IF YOU WERE IN SCHOOL TODAY:  You worked with your group on a silly little story.  Then you rewrote the story changing the words' connotations.  After that, you broke up the story so that everyone in the group had a piece (1-2 sentences).  I gave you blank computer paper.  On one piece of paper, you wrote the positive connotation sentence your group came up with.  On the second piece of paper, you wrote the negative connotation sentence your group came up with.  Then you illustrated them appropriately to show the meaning of each sentence.  On Monday, we will put them together so each group has a connotation book and we will share stories.

IF YOU WERE ABSENT TODAY:  Rewatch the denotation vs. connotation Flowcabulary video linked above.  Pay particular attention to the part about the story of the old man.  Did you notice that they first told about the old man in a positive way and then the next slide they retold it in a negative way?  Did you notice that they did that with all parts of the story?  What I want you to do is to write a creative, 8th grade quality sentence about whatever you want.  Do that on one piece of computer paper.  Illustrate it completely and appropriately.  Then, rewrite that sentence changing some words' connotations so that the sentence now evokes a different image and feeling.  Write that on a second piece of computer paper and illustrate that appropriately.