Denotation: The literal "dictionary definition" of a word; what a word means (from image).
Connotation: The positive or negative feelings, emotions, or associations that "surround a word"; how a word feels (from image).
Tone: The author or speaker’s attitude toward his/her subject; how the author feels about the people, places, or events described in a text (from image).
Mood: The emotional atmosphere of a text (from image).
Diction: An author's choice of words, including their connotations (from image).
Figurative Language: Literary devices such as simile, metaphor, personification, and symbolism (from image).
Imagery & Sensory Details: "Word pictures" and descriptions of how things look, sound, taste, smell, and feel (from image).
This page introduces students to the concepts of word choice and tone. It begins with an activity to sort synonyms by their positive or negative connotations. Definitions of denotation and connotation are provided (📷 Image content: 'Word Choice & Tone'). The page further defines tone, distinguishing it from mood, and offers a word bank of tone examples (📷 Image content: 'DEFINING TONE'). It also outlines common mistakes to avoid in tone analysis and methods for identifying tone in both speech and text, including analyzing diction, figurative language, and imagery (📷 Image content: 'TONE IDENTIFICATION/ANALYSIS'). A CLEVR paragraph structure for tone analysis is presented (📷 Image content: 'TONE ANALYSIS PARAGRAPH (CLEVR)'). Students are instructed to prepare for a poetry analysis assessment by listening to a reading of "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins (📷 Image content: 'Introduction to Poetry') and answering multiple-choice and written questions. A Khan Academy video, "Analyzing tone through word choice," is linked for additional support (🎬 Video content: Analyzing tone through word choice | Reading | Khan Academy).
The page also includes the poem "Totally like whatever, you know?" by Taylor Mali, which explores the erosion of conviction in modern speech (📷 Image content: 'Totally like whatever, you know?').
Question: Instructions: for each "neutral" word provided below, sort the two synonyms (words that mean the same thing) into the appropriate boxes based on their connotation (either positive or negative).
Teacher Reference Answer:
Question: 1.What is the BEST theme of this poem (remember to think of the poem as a whole).
a. Just because poems are written on paper doesn't mean they are disconnected from nature.
b. Poems should be enjoyed rather than just "figured out."
c. What goes around comes around.
d. You should never judge a book by its cover.
Teacher Reference Answer: b. Poems should be enjoyed rather than just "figured out."
Question: 2.Which line BEST supports the theme of this poem?
a. "I ask them to take a poem / and hold it up to the light"
b. "I say drop a mouse into a poem / and watch him probe his way out,"
c. "…tie the poem to a chair with rope / and torture a confession out of it."
d. "I want them to waterski / across the surface of a poem / waving at the author's name on the shore."
Teacher Reference Answer: d. "I want them to waterski / across the surface of a poem / waving at the author's name on the shore."
Question: 3.Throughout the poem, the narrator's tone shifts. Review the poem and identify where the narrator's tone shifts. Select the BEST answer.
a. "or press an ear against its hive"
b. "or walk inside the poem's room"
c. "But all they want to do"
d. "They begin beating it with a hose"
Teacher Reference Answer: c. "But all they want to do"
Question: Which combination below BEST describes the tone shift that happens in the poem?
a. Enthusiastic to disappointed
b. Confused to sympathetic
c. Jealous to hopeful
d. Eager to furious
Teacher Reference Answer: a. Enthusiastic to disappointed
Question: 4.What is the purpose of stanza 2 ("or press an ear against its hive")?
a. To remind the reader about the importance of noticing the little things in life.
b. To show how the words in poems can be appreciated for their sound as well as their meaning.
c. To paint a picture of nature in the reader's mind.
d. To explain how all the words in a poem work together like the bees in a hive.
Teacher Reference Answer: b. To show how the words in poems can be appreciated for their sound as well as their meaning.
Question: 5.Write a paragraph to explain and evaluate the effectiveness of this figure of speech in the poem:
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
Your response should include the following:
Response: four sentences minimum.
Answered By Alan:
I think this poem is using personification because they are using the poem as a living thing. The poem is being tied up to a chair, a poem can't be tied to a chair because that is a human action. The author made the comparison of a poem and a chair by pretending that the poem was a human and beating it until we really know what the poem means. The word choices beating, torture, and confession reflect the tone of the poem because all of those words are violent and disappointing setting the tone of the poem.
Art Teacher Feedback:
Alan, you've done a fantastic job identifying personification and connecting the strong word choices like "beating," "torture," and "confession" to the poem's tone. Your explanation of how the poem is treated like a human is very clear. To make your analysis even stronger, consider elaborating on *why* the poet chose such violent imagery to convey the idea of over-analyzing poetry.
Revision Suggestion:
The author made the comparison of a poem and a human being tortured to emphasize the destructive and unfeeling way some readers approach poetry, trying to force a single meaning out of it rather than experiencing its beauty.
Question: Tone Analysis Paragraph: three sentences minimum.
Answered By Alan:
The speakers tone was very loud and defiant. He was yelling out a lot when giving the speech which made it loud. He was also very defiant because in his speech he was very confident on what he was saying.
Art Teacher Feedback:
Alan, you've accurately identified "defiant" as a key aspect of the speaker's tone, which is a great start! You also tried to provide evidence for your claim. To elevate this, try to be more specific about *which* speaker and *what* speech you are analyzing, and then connect the "loudness" more directly to the speaker's *attitude* or message, rather than just the volume.
Revision Suggestion:
The speaker's tone in the video was very defiant, as evidenced by their confident and assertive delivery, which conveyed a strong belief in their message.
本义： 一个词的字面“字典定义”；一个词的含义（来自图片）。
引申义： “围绕一个词”的积极或消极感受、情感或联想；一个词给人的感觉（来自图片）。
语气： 作者或说话者对其主题的态度；作者对文本中描述的人物、地点或事件的感受（来自图片）。
氛围： 文本的情感气氛（来自图片）。
措辞： 作者的词语选择，包括其引申义（来自图片）。
比喻性语言： 诸如明喻、暗喻、拟人化和象征主义等文学手法（来自图片）。
意象与感官细节： “文字画面”以及对事物外观、声音、味道、气味和感觉的描述（来自图片）。
本页向学生介绍了词语选择和语气（tone）的概念。它首先通过一项活动，根据词语的积极或消极引申义对同义词进行分类。页面提供了本义和引申义的定义（📷 图片内容：《词语选择与语气》）。页面进一步定义了语气，将其与氛围（mood）区分开来，并提供了一个语气示例词库（📷 图片内容：《定义语气》）。它还概述了在语气分析中应避免的常见错误，以及在口语和文本中识别语气的方法，包括分析措辞、比喻性语言和意象（📷 图片内容：《语气识别/分析》）。页面展示了一种用于语气分析的CLEVR段落结构（📷 图片内容：《语气分析段落 (CLEVR)》）。学生被要求通过聆听比利·柯林斯（Billy Collins）的诗歌《诗歌导论》(Introduction to Poetry) 的朗读（📷 图片内容：《诗歌导论》）并回答多项选择题和书面问题，为诗歌分析评估做准备。页面还链接了可汗学院（Khan Academy）的视频《通过词语选择分析语气》以提供额外支持（🎬 视频内容：通过词语选择分析语气 | 阅读 | 可汗学院）。
本页还收录了泰勒·马利（Taylor Mali）的诗歌《完全就像随便什么，你知道吗？》(Totally like whatever, you know?)，该诗探讨了现代言语中信念的消退（📷 图片内容：《完全就像随便什么，你知道吗？》）。
问题： 说明：对于下面提供的每个“中性”词，根据其引申义（积极或消极）将两个同义词（含义相同的词）分类到适当的框中。
教师参考答案：
问题： 1.这首诗的最佳主题是什么（记住要从整首诗的角度思考）。
a. 仅仅因为诗歌写在纸上，并不意味着它们与自然脱节。
b. 诗歌应该被欣赏，而不是仅仅被“弄懂”。
c. 因果报应。
d. 永远不应该以貌取人。
教师参考答案： b. 诗歌应该被欣赏，而不是仅仅被“弄懂”。
问题： 2.哪一行最能支持这首诗的主题？
a. “我让他们拿一首诗 / 举到光下”
b. “我说把一只老鼠扔进一首诗里 / 看它如何摸索着出来，”
c. “……用绳子把诗绑在椅子上 / 拷问出它的供词。”
d. “我希望他们能滑水 / 划过诗歌的表面 / 向岸边作者的名字挥手。”
教师参考答案： d. “我希望他们能滑水 / 划过诗歌的表面 / 向岸边作者的名字挥手。”
问题： 3.在整首诗中，叙述者的语气发生了转变。回顾这首诗，找出叙述者语气转变的地方。选择最佳答案。
a. “或把耳朵贴在它的蜂巢上”
b. “或走进诗歌的房间”
c. “但他们只想做的是”
d. “他们开始用软管抽打它”
教师参考答案： c. “但他们只想做的是”
问题： 下面哪种组合最能描述诗中发生的语气转变？
a. 热情到失望
b. 困惑到同情
c. 嫉妒到充满希望
d. 渴望到愤怒
教师参考答案： a. 热情到失望
问题： 4.第二节（“或把耳朵贴在它的蜂巢上”）的目的是什么？
a. 提醒读者注意生活中小事物的重要性。
b. 展示诗歌中的词语不仅可以欣赏其意义，还可以欣赏其声音。
c. 在读者心中描绘一幅自然景象。
d. 解释诗歌中所有的词语如何像蜂巢中的蜜蜂一样协同工作。