Connotation and Denotation

Start with Connotation and Denotation to set up the two terms. Then use the sorting sheet, and finish with Choose the Word With the Right Feeling, which asks students to explain three choices.

Mark the positive and the negative word in 10 pairs that share a meaning, like curious and nosy. Thrifty and cheap both mean careful with money (denotation), but thrifty feels positive and cheap feels negative (connotation). The directions on the page read: Both words in a row share the meaning at the right. In the boxes, write + by the word with a positive connotation and − by the word with a negative one. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade shades of meaning, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with connotation vs denotation. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

It is a word whose feeling is unpleasant, like nosy, scrawny or stench. Its positive partner, like curious, slender or aroma, has the same basic meaning.

A neutral word has no strong feeling, like house, smell or thin. Positive, Negative or Neutral Words puts five words in each column.

Look for clue words that show how the writer feels. In Choose the Word With the Right Feeling, the writer admires Jin, so thrifty fits better than stingy.