Activities

1. Identify what type of figurative language is being used in a text.
   
   
2. Define “allusion” and identify allusions used within the text.
   
   
3. Recognize words that are related by being synonyms, antonyms and denotative/connotative meaning of words (“shades” of meaning). 

4. Identify the differences between denotative/literal and connotative meaning in a text and identify their meaning in a text.
   
   
5. Determine how allusions are used to provide meaning to a text. 
   
   
6. Show an understanding of words that are synonyms, antonyms, and connotative language that demonstrate an understanding of how the words are different and similar.

7. Analyze how figurative languages, word relationships, and nuances shape the meaning and tone of a text.
   
   
8. Analyze how allusions add dimension and meaning to a text.
   
   
9. Recognize the differences in synonyms, antonyms, and connotative meaning and use the correct word to share meaning.

Answer Key/Rubric

1. Student correctly identifies similes, metaphors, personification, allusions, and other figurative language found in a text.

• Simile - A simile compares two unlike things using “like” or “as” to compare them.
• Metaphor - A metaphor compares two unlike things by saying that one thing “is” another.
• Personification - Personification gives human characteristics to a non-human object.  All personification is metaphor.
• Allusion – a reference to a well-known cultural piece of literature, art, or experience.  For example, if a text mentions a “glass slipper”, those who are familiar with the story, Cinderella, will know what that reference means. Those unfamiliar with the story will miss that meaning.
• Diction – the deliberate, purposeful choice of words an author makes in a text.

2. Student correctly defines and identifies allusions within a text.

• Allusion – a reference to a well-known cultural piece of literature, art, or experience.  Students will then identify allusions within the text and, using their cultural knowledge, build meaning from that allusion in reference to the text.

3. Student correctly identifies synonyms, antonyms, and literal (denotative) and connotative meanings within a text.

• Synonym - a word or phrase that means nearly the same as another word or phrase.
• Antonym - a word or phrase that means exactly the opposite as another word or phrase.
• Denotative/literal meaning – the meaning of a word that is found by looking it up in the dictionary.
• Connotative meaning – the meaning of a word we determine by “reading between the lines” and making inferences.

4. Student demonstrates an understanding of the difference between a literal/denotative word and a connotative meaning. Students will look up a word in a dictionary to determine its literal/denotative word.  They then brainstorm the different possible meanings based on experiences or use within a text.  For example, “apple pie” as defined by the dictionary is “a pie made with apples”; this is its denotative/literal meaning.  However, when reading the word for its connotative meaning, students may acknowledge family relationships, holidays, feelings of comfort, etc.
   
   
5. Student demonstrates an understanding of how allusions advance the text’s meaning.  When reading a text with an allusion, ask students to discuss what the reference means.  Then, ask them what the text must mean with the use of that allusion.  Similarly, students can be asked to remove the allusion from the text to understand how the meaning changes without it in the text.
   
   
6. Student demonstrates an understanding of diction through the use of synonyms, antonyms, and literal/denotative and connotative meaning. When the student encounters synonyms, antonyms, and words that can be read with a connotative meaning in a text, he/she can determine the meaning of the word.  When using the connotative meaning reading, students demonstrate an understanding of the nuance and subtle change in language based on its use.
   
   
7. Student analyzes how figurative language shapes the meaning and tone of a text. The student considers:

• why the author chose to include figurative language
• why the choice of the chosen figurative language was made

8. Student analyzes how allusions shape the meaning and tone of a text. The student considers:

• why the author chose to include the language they did
• why the choice of the chosen words was made
• what the allusion adds to the meaning
• what the text would mean without the allusion including in the text

9. The student recognizes the nuances between words that are synonyms, antonyms, and literal/denotative and connotative meaning. The student can explain:

• why the chosen word was selected
• how it affects the meaning of the text
• how altering word choice can change the meaning in a text, even subtly