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Grade 6 · English Language Arts · Unit 4 of 10

Connotation & Tone

Word choice changes meaning

What your child practises

Words can share a dictionary meaning (denotation) but carry different feelings (connotation), like “cozy” and “cramped.” Students choose words for effect and identify a writer's tone.

Yukon Curriculum learning standard: Language features: word choice, connotation and denotation; how language shapes tone and meaning

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Sort each word: positive or negative connotation?

    Sort into: 😊 Positive · 😒 Negative

    • 🔤nosy
    • 🔤relaxed
    • 🔤bold
    • 🔤pushy
    • 🔤stingy
    • 🔤determined

  2. Question 2

    What is the tone of this comment?

    Pool fees went up again this year, and once again nobody asked the families who actually use the pool.

    • grateful
    • amused
    • joyful
    • frustrated

  3. Question 3

    Which word has the most negative connotation?

    • young
    • childish
    • youthful

  4. Question 4

    Which sentence makes the room sound unpleasant?

    • The room was cramped and dim.
    • The room was small and had one lamp.
    • The room was cozy and softly lit.

  5. Question 5

    A travel website wants its cabin to sound appealing. Which word fits best? “Our _____ cabin sleeps four.”

    • cramped
    • small
    • cozy

  6. Question 6

    What is the tone of this message?

    Please be careful near the edge. The rocks are slippery, and the water is deeper than it looks.

    • playful
    • cautious
    • bored
    • furious

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