CONNOTATION & DENOTATION: FUN WORD SORT ACTVITY (Common Core Aligned)

This fun, hands-on, Common Core aligned word sort activity will teach your students the difference between a word’s connotation and denotation, demonstrate the importance of word choice, allow them to analyze the nuances in meanings of words, as well as provide the opportunity to consult reference materials to verify their determinations.

Working in small groups, students are given a deck of word cards that they must first sort by their denotations. (For example: words related to “confident.”) They may consult dictionaries for any challenging, unfamiliar words in this round. Next, the students categorize each word within the word clusters by their connotation—whether positive, negative, or neutral. (For example: “confident” vs. “poised” vs. “conceited.”) In this round, students may use a thesaurus for any unfamiliar words.

Once finished, the class then reviews the results together. Because words may have multiple connotations depending on the context in which they are used, students may provide example sentences to show the reasoning for their choices.

It is so important that our student writers learn to choose their words carefully to paint a colorful, precise picture for their readers. This collaborative, game-like activity will help them learn how words with related denotations can carry vastly different connotations—and how a single word can instantly shed either a radiantly favorable or dreadfully unfavorable light on any given subject.

Created for high school as well as advanced middle school students. Includes answer key.

Common Core State Standards Covered:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.4c Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.4d Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5b Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.

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This product is also sold as part of the popular Vocabulary Activity Pack: 20+ Games, Printables and More. You can find it here:

Vocabulary Activity Mega-Pack: 20+ Games, Printables and More

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KEYWORDS: Common Core vocabulary activities, connotation and denotation, word sort, high school vocabulary lessons, word choice, CCSS vocabulary, shades of meaning, word nuances