CCRA.R.4: Word Meanings, Word Choice and Tone

Overview

Lesson Procedure

55-60 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5 minutes
2. Direct Instruction15-20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5 minutes

1. Warm-Up5 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Read three versions of one sentence: 'The old man walked down the street.' 'The old man shuffled down the street.' 'The old man strolled down the street.' Each verb means moving on foot. What different picture, and what different feeling, does each one give you?"

   Take answers. "Shuffled" suggests slow, dragging steps, perhaps weakness or tiredness; "strolled" suggests a relaxed, pleasant walk. The dictionary meaning is nearly the same, but the connotation, the feeling the word carries, changes the picture and the tone, the attitude the writing conveys. Today students look at three kinds of meaning and at how word choices shape a whole passage.

2. Direct Instruction15-20 minutes

   Three kinds of meaning, one question. The question is always "What does this word mean here?"

   • Technical meaning: the precise meaning a word has in a subject or trade. In chemistry, "solution" is a mixture, not an answer.
   • Connotative meaning: the feelings and associations a word carries beyond its dictionary definition (its denotation). "Thrifty" and "stingy" both mean careful with money; only one is a compliment.
   • Figurative meaning: a meaning beyond the literal, as in metaphor, simile and personification. "The classroom was a zoo" is not about animals.
   • Tone: the writer's attitude toward the subject, built from word choices: joyful, bitter, formal, playful.

   How the anchor grows. Every grade-level standard below carries CCRA.R.4.

   Progression of CCRA.R.4 in grades 6-12

   Grade-level standard	Band and text type	What this band adds
   RL.6.4	Grade 6, literature	Figurative and connotative meanings, and the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone
   RL.7.4	Grade 7, literature	Adds the impact of rhymes and repeated sounds, such as alliteration, on a stanza or section
   RL.8.4	Grade 8, literature	Adds the impact of analogies and allusions to other texts
   RL.9-10.4	Grades 9-10, literature	The cumulative impact of word choices, such as language that evokes a time and place or sets a formal or informal tone
   RL.11-12.4	Grades 11-12, literature	Words with multiple meanings and language that is fresh, engaging or beautiful, including Shakespeare
   RI.6.4	Grade 6, informational text	Figurative, connotative and technical meanings as used in the text
   RI.7.4	Grade 7, informational text	Adds the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone
   RI.8.4	Grade 8, informational text	Adds analogies and allusions to other texts
   RI.9-10.4	Grades 9-10, informational text	The cumulative impact of word choices, for example how a court opinion's language differs from a newspaper's
   RI.11-12.4	Grades 11-12, informational text	How an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text
   RH.6-8.4	Grades 6-8, history/social studies	Vocabulary specific to history and social studies
   RH.9-10.4	Grades 9-10, history/social studies	Vocabulary for political, social and economic aspects of history
   RH.11-12.4	Grades 11-12, history/social studies	How an author uses and refines a key term over a text
   RST.6-8.4	Grades 6-8, science and technical	Symbols, key terms and domain-specific words in a scientific or technical context
   RST.9-10.4	Grades 9-10, science and technical	The same work with grades 9-10 texts and topics
   RST.11-12.4	Grades 11-12, science and technical	The same work with grades 11-12 texts and topics

   Model text. Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was an American poet. "God's World" appeared in her first book, Renascence, and Other Poems, in 1917. The speaker addresses the world directly on an autumn day. Old forms to gloss: thee and thy (old forms of "you" and "your"), stretcheth (stretches), Thou'st (you have), prithee (please). Also: a crag is a steep, rough rock face, and a bluff is a high, steep bank or cliff. Read the poem aloud twice.

   1O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
   Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
   Thy mists, that roll and rise!
   Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
   5And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag
   To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
   World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

   Long have I known a glory in it all,
   But never knew I this;
   10Here such a passion is
   As stretcheth me apart,--Lord, I do fear
   Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year;
   My soul is all but out of me,--let fall
   No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

   • Word choice and tone

     How do lines 2-3, "Thy winds, thy wide grey skies! / Thy mists, that roll and rise!", help set the tone of the poem?

     Result: The repeated "Thy" heaps up one part of the world after another, and each line ends with an exclamation point, so the speaker sounds breathless and overflowing. The old, formal "thy" makes the address feel like a prayer or a hymn. The tone is rapturous: joy so strong it is hard to contain.

   • Figurative meaning

     What does line 6, "To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!", mean literally and figuratively?

     Result: Literally, no one can crush a crag or lift a cliff. Figuratively, the verbs show a physical longing to grab hold of the landscape: looking is not enough for her. The impossible actions express how strongly she wants to take the world in.

   • Figurative meaning of a feeling

     In line 11, the speaker says such a passion "stretcheth me apart." What does the phrase suggest?

     Result: The feeling is described as a physical force pulling her in two directions, as if her body cannot hold it. Read literally, the phrase would describe pain, and that is part of the point: the beauty is so intense that delight begins to feel like strain.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Technical meanings. Fannie Merritt Farmer (1857-1915) directed the Boston Cooking-School, and her cookbook, first published in 1896, became known for exact, level measurements. This excerpt comes from the revised 1910 edition. Everyday words such as "level," "beat" and "fold" have precise kitchen meanings here, and Farmer defines most of them in the text itself. Paragraph 7 is a heading.

   1Measuring Ingredients. Flour, meal, powdered and confectioners’ sugar, and soda should be sifted before measuring. Mustard and baking-powder, from standing in boxes, settle, therefore should be stirred to lighten; salt frequently lumps, and these lumps should be broken. A cupful is measured level. To measure a cupful, put in the ingredient by spoonfuls or from a scoop, round slightly, and level with a case knife, care being taken not to shake the cup. A tablespoonful is measured level. A teaspoonful is measured level.

   2To measure tea or table spoonfuls, dip the spoon in the ingredient, fill, lift, and level with a knife, the sharp edge of knife being toward tip of spoon. Divide with knife lengthwise of spoon, for a half-spoonful; divide halves crosswise for quarters, and quarters crosswise for eighths. Less than one-eighth of a teaspoonful is considered a few grains.

   3Measuring Liquids. A cupful of liquid is all the cup will hold.

   4A tea or table spoonful is all the spoon will hold.

   5Measuring Butter, Lard, etc. To measure butter, lard, and other solid fats, pack solidly into cup or spoon, and level with a knife.

   6When dry ingredients, liquids, and fats are called for in the same recipe, measure in the order given, thereby using but one cup.

   7How to Combine Ingredients

   8Next to measuring comes care in combining,—a fact not always recognized by the inexperienced. Three ways are considered,—stirring, beating, and cutting and folding.

   9To stir, mix by using circular motion, widening the circles until all is blended. Stirring is the motion ordinarily employed in all cookery, alone or in combination with beating.

   10To beat, turn ingredient or ingredients over and over, continually bringing the under part to the surface, thus allowing the utensil used for beating to be constantly brought in contact with bottom of the dish and throughout the mixture.

   11To cut and fold, introduce one ingredient into another ingredient or mixture by two motions: with a spoon, a repeated vertical downward motion, known as cutting; and a turning over and over of mixture, allowing bowl of spoon each time to come in contact with bottom of dish, is called folding. These repeated motions are alternated until thorough blending is accomplished.

   12By stirring, ingredients are mixed; by beating, a large amount of air is enclosed; by cutting and folding, air already introduced is prevented from escaping.

   1. "Level" (paragraph 1). Ask: "In everyday speech, 'level' can mean flat or a stage, as in 'level 3.' What does it mean in 'A cupful is measured level'?" Teacher note: the next sentence explains the procedure: fill the cup, "round slightly, and level with a case knife." Level here means scraped flat with the rim, so the cup holds exactly one cupful and no more.
   2. "A few grains" (paragraph 2). Ask: "Is 'a few grains' a vague amount in this text?" Teacher note: no. Farmer defines it: "Less than one-eighth of a teaspoonful is considered a few grains." A phrase that is vague in everyday speech becomes a defined quantity.
   3. "Sifted" and "settle" (paragraph 1). Ask pairs to explain why mustard and baking powder "settle" and what "stirred to lighten" fixes. Teacher note: the powder packs down "from standing in boxes," so a packed cupful holds more than a loose one; stirring loosens it before measuring.
   4. Tone from word choice. Ask: "What kind of voice do 'should be sifted,' 'is measured' and 'care being taken' create?" Teacher note: impersonal and exact. Farmer uses rule-like statements and passive verbs, which makes the text sound like a manual of fixed rules rather than friendly advice.
4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Students read the two original reports below, which describe the same invented game. On their own, they (1) highlight every word or phrase in Account B that carries a feeling Account A does not; (2) for three of them, write the connotation and a neutral replacement; (3) write one sentence describing the tone of each account. Grades 9-12 add: (4) explain how the word choices in Account B shape not just tone but the meaning of the facts, since both accounts report the same score. Quiz questions 14-18 check this work.

   1Account A, from the school newsletter:

   2On Saturday, the Westfield Hawks lost to the Riverside Comets, 2-1. Riverside scored first, in the twelfth minute. Westfield's Ana Ruiz tied the game with a header just before halftime. In the 78th minute, a Riverside shot bounced off a Westfield defender and into the net. Westfield took nine shots on goal and Riverside took six. The teams meet again on October 21.

   3Account B, from a Westfield fan's blog:

   4Westfield was robbed on Saturday. Our Hawks battled for every inch of that field, and Ana Ruiz's thunderous header before halftime should have been the turning point. Instead, a fluky bounce off a Hawks defender handed Riverside a 2-1 win they hardly earned. Nine shots to their six: the numbers tell the real story. The rematch is October 21, and this time the bounces will go our way.

5. Closure5 minutes

   Exit ticket: (1) Write one word from today that has a technical meaning different from its everyday meaning, and give both meanings. (2) Write two words with the same denotation but different connotations, and use each in a sentence.

   Teacher note: "God's World" addresses God directly in line 11. Treat this as a form of address common in poetry, and keep discussion on the language rather than on belief.

   For homework: students read the poem below, also from Millay's 1917 book. Its lines are numbered for citation.

   1I will be the gladdest thing
   Under the sun!
   I will touch a hundred flowers
   And not pick one.

   5I will look at cliffs and clouds
   With quiet eyes,
   Watch the wind bow down the grass,
   And the grass rise.

   And when lights begin to show
   10Up from the town,
   I will mark which must be mine,
   And then start down!

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A writer describing an old house wants readers to admire it. Which word carries the most positive connotation?

   Arundown Bshabby Chistoric Ddecrepit

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The speaker of "God's World" says twice, "I cannot hold thee close enough" and "I cannot get thee close enough" (lines 1 and 7). What does this figurative statement mean?

   AShe cannot take in enough of the world's beauty. BShe is too weak to hug the people she loves before they go. CShe wants to move closer to the town that lies below the hills. DShe is holding a globe of the world that is too large to lift.

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The woods "ache and sag / And all but cry with colour" (lines 4-5). What does this personification suggest?

   AThe trees are dying from a disease that has spread all autumn long. BThe speaker is crying because summer has come to an end. CA strong wind is bending the branches toward the ground. DThe trees are so full of bright color they seem about to weep.

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In line 5, the speaker calls a rock face "That gaunt crag." What connotation does "gaunt" give the crag?

   ASmooth, round and welcoming to the eye BBare, bony and harsh, like a starved face CSmall, low and easy for anyone to climb DGreen and soft with a covering of moss

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In lines 11-12, the speaker says, "Lord, I do fear / Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year." What tone do these lines create?

   AAn angry complaint about the cold of the season BA calm boredom with a scene she has seen many times CAwe so strong that it begins to feel like fear DWorry about the storms that winter will soon bring

6. Question 6 of 20 · Short Answer

   The poem ends, "let fall / No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call" (lines 13-14). Explain the figurative meaning of "burning" and why the speaker asks that no leaf fall and no bird call.

   Show model answer

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Farmer writes in paragraph 1 that "A cupful is measured level," and in paragraph 3 that "A cupful of liquid is all the cup will hold." How does she refine the key term "cupful"?

   AShe gives it one meaning for dry ingredients and one for liquids. BShe uses the word only for measuring butter, lard and other solid fats. CShe says that a cupful is always less than eight spoonfuls. DShe leaves it undefined so that each cook can decide.

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What does "To beat" mean as Farmer defines it in paragraph 10?

   ATo strike the mixture hard and fast with the back of a wooden spoon BTo mix with a circular motion, widening the circles each time CTo defeat another cook in a contest of speed and skill DTo turn the mixture over and over, bringing the bottom to the top

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In paragraph 11, what does "cutting" mean?

   ASlicing an ingredient into small pieces with a sharp knife BA repeated downward motion of a spoon through the mixture CRemoving part of the mixture from the bowl before baking DReducing the amount of one ingredient in the recipe

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In paragraph 12, why does Farmer distinguish stirring, beating, and cutting and folding?

    AEach method needs a different kind of spoon or whisk. BEach method takes a different length of time to finish. CEach method has a different effect on air in the mixture. DEach method may be used for only one particular kind of food.

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Paragraph 8 says that care in combining is "a fact not always recognized by the inexperienced." What tone does this phrase give the passage?

    AAn expert's mild criticism of the habits of beginners BA joke that the writer shares with old friends CFury at cooks who ignore the rules of the kitchen DDoubt about whether her own advice is correct

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Paragraph 6 ends, "measure in the order given, thereby using but one cup." What does "but" mean in this phrase?

    AHowever BExcept CNevertheless DOnly

13. Question 13 of 20 · Short Answer

    In everyday speech, "fold" means to bend something flat, like a letter or a towel, over on itself. Explain what "folding" means in paragraph 11, and why a cook who used the everyday meaning would get the recipe wrong.

    Show model answer

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Account B (paragraph 4 of "Two Accounts of the Same Game"), the writer says "Westfield was robbed." What does "robbed" suggest here?

    ASomeone stole money or equipment from the Westfield team. BThe loss was unfair, as if the win had been taken from them. CWestfield played badly and fully deserved to lose the game. DThe referee left the field before the end of the match.

15. Question 15 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Account B says a bounce "handed Riverside a 2-1 win they hardly earned." What does the word choice "handed" suggest?

    AThe Riverside players carried a trophy off the field. BThe Westfield coach gave free tickets to Riverside fans. CRiverside clearly played better for most of the game. DThe win was given to Riverside by luck, not earned.

16. Question 16 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which statement best compares the tones of Account A (paragraph 2) and Account B (paragraph 4)?

    AA is neutral and factual; B is one-sided and indignant. BBoth are neutral reports that differ only in their length. CA is angry about the loss; B is calm and objective. DBoth celebrate Westfield as the better team that day.

17. Question 17 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Account B calls Ana Ruiz's goal a "thunderous header." What does this figurative description suggest?

    AThe header happened during a loud thunderstorm. BThe crowd fell silent when Ruiz scored the goal. CThe header was powerful and dramatic, like thunder. DThe header missed the goal and hit the crossbar.

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Account A says a Riverside shot "bounced off a Westfield defender and into the net." Account B calls the same moment "a fluky bounce off a Hawks defender." Explain how the word "fluky" changes the meaning of the same fact.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In the sentence "Each cell in a leaf contains chloroplasts, which capture light," what does "cell" mean?

    AA small room in a prison or a monastery BThe basic unit that living things are made of CA mobile phone that someone carries around DOne box in the grid of a spreadsheet

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Grades 9-12 focus: explain how the word choices of "God's World" work together to build its tone from line 1 to line 14. Cite at least three words or phrases from different parts of the poem.

    Show model answer

These are the grade-level standards that carry anchor CCRA.R.4 in grades 6-12, plus closely related anchors.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.