Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 29409
What is Normal? Exploring Connotations and Denotations
The goal of this lesson is to give students the opportunity to explore the connotations and denotations of the word "normal" and its various
meanings. Through the use of "Us and Them," a personal essay by David Sedaris, students will explore the various beliefs and points of view of
"normal" based on the picture painted by Sedaris. Students will need to consider the emotional context of words and how diction reveals an author's
tone and message, as well as how the use of irony can impact the tone of a piece. Students will also read and analyze a Time article, "An In-Depth
View of America by the Numbers," by Nancy Gibbs. For the summative assessment, students will write an explanatory essay (several prompts are
provided) about normality using evidence from the texts studied in the lesson for support.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 8
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter, Computers for Students,
Internet Connection, LCD Projector, Overhead
Projector
Instructional Time: 4 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: denotation, connotation, irony, verbal irony, sarcasm, tone, David Sedaris, Us and Them, Time
magazine, normal
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Common Core Rubrics_Gr910.pdf
Time article student handout.docx
Us and Them Student Handout.docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Through an analysis of the Time article and the David Sedaris essay students will be able to cite appropriate textual evidence when answering questions about each
of these texts, including questions that require them to make inferences about the text.
Students will be able to analyze how each text makes connections among and distinctions between ideas, particularly regarding the concept of "normality."
Through the texts examined in this lesson, students will be able to determine connotative meanings of the word "normal."
In the Sedaris essay, students will be able to analyze the impact of word choices on meaning and tone, particularly regarding Sedaris's use of verbal irony.
In the Time article, students will be able to analyze specific word choices and figurative devices to determine the author's meaning for the text.
Students will be able to produce a clear and coherent explanatory essay on the concept of "normality" using evidence from the Sedaris essay and Time article for
support.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students should bring their own perspectives and definition of "normal" to the table, as well as the denotative meaning of the word.
A short discussion about when TVs became popular in the American household may assist in giving the student a basis for Sedaris's thoughts of the Tomkey's
"abnormality". Students may also use homework time to independently research the changes in household technology (in particular televisions), from the mid-1950s
page 1 of 5 to today. One site teachers may want to use is from USHistory.org.
Students should understand that the term connotation (or connotative) means the secondary meaning of a word, not its direct definition. It is an association or idea
suggested by the word. Dictionary.reference.com uses this example: "The word 'modern' strictly means belonging to recent times, but the word's connotations can
include such notions as new, up to date, or experimental." Students should know the direct definition is the denotative meaning.
Students should understand that tone is the author's attitude toward a subject. The author reveals his (or her) attitude through the selection of words he uses to
describe the subject. The tone can also be determined by analyzing not only the word choice (also called diction) but the author's use of imagery, details, and
sentence structure (syntax).
Students should know that one kind of tone is ironic tone. This is where the author uses a word (or words) to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal
meaning. This includes sarcasm where what is said is not what is meant, and often it is said in a way to mock or insult someone. Sometimes with sarcasm, an
ironic tone emphasizes a perceived truth. Ironic tone words students might find helpful for the Sedaris essay: humorous, amused, mock-serious (jokingly serious),
condescending, critical, and disdainful.
Students should know that in fiction and nonfiction writing there are different types of irony; one type they would find useful for this lesson is verbal irony. For
verbal irony: the contrast between what is meant and what is said; sarcasm. Another type they would find useful for this lesson is situational irony. This is where a
situation is strange or funny because things happen in an opposite way from what the reader expected.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
Essential Question: Who and what is truly normal?
Note: Comprehension questions for the Sedaris essay have been attached as a UsandThemStudentHandout.docx, as well as Timearticlestudenthandout.docx for the
Time article.
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
Hook:
1. Ask students to individually create their own dictionary entry based on their prior knowledge and experiences for the word "normal". Their entries will include
pronunciation, part of speech, and a short list of examples--focusing on a "normal" family.
2. Students will then use dictionaries to compare their definition with the denotative meaning of the word. Students should write down the denotative meaning.
3. Come together as a class and ask students to share how their preliminary definitions compared to the actual definitions provided in the dictionary for the word
"normal". Then ask students to share their ideas on criteria they listed to describe a "normal" family. Allow students to add to their notes based on the class
discussion.
4. Help students create an overall class definition of "normal". This definition will contribute to the creation of the text-marking code to be used during the reading of
the Sedaris essay.
Next Steps:
1. Pass out a copy of the David Sedaris essay "Us and Them" to each student. Pass out a copy of the "Us and Them" UsandThemStudentHandout.docx to each student.
2. Review the objectives for the lesson and the essential question with students and explain to them that at the end of the lesson they will be writing an explanatory
essay on one of the following prompts:
What is your final definition of the word "normal"? Using this definition, which person from the Sedaris essay would you deem the most "normal"? Why? Which
person do you consider the most unusual? Why?
What would the younger version of David Sedaris say is his definition of the word "normal"? Does his adult self agree or disagree with that definition?
3. To help them prepare to write their essay, explain to students that in addition to answering comprehension questions about the Sedaris text, they will also textmark his essay as they read. They will text-mark the essay by coding unusual instances with a "U" and each normal instance with an "N". These notes will help
them identify which people in the Sedaris text exhibit more unusual behaviors and which exhibit more normal behaviors. Students should base their determination of
what is "normal" vs. "unusual" based on their notes from the hook activity.
4. To model fluency, the teacher can read aloud the first four paragraphs of the Sedaris text. The teacher may want to display the text on an overhead or document
camera. Either during or after the read aloud, the teacher can conduct a think-aloud to show students what might be text-coded with a "U" or an "N" for these
passages. The teacher can mark these codes on the text while it is being displayed and verbally explain why he/she coded what he/she coded. Examples might include
(there is wide room for interpretation on what is normal versus what is unusual, these examples are provided merely as a possible guide):
"U": His mother only made an attempt to acquire one friend because they were going to move in a year and she didn't want to have to say goodbye to a bunch of
friends. What is ironic though is they were going to move only a mile from where they were living. She could have easily kept all her friends with moving such a short
distance. It is unusual that she seems to mostly want to keep to herself.
"U": David walked around his new neighborhood hoping to see a murder. This is unusual behavior as most people want to avoid seeing someone get killed. (Of
course, there is the distinct possibility he is being sarcastic and just wants to see something different from what he saw in the country).
"N": The interaction between David's mom and her one friend seems normal. They are gossiping about the neighbors and her friend brought the family a basketful of
okra. Friends often share food and neighbors can frequently be the source of gossip based on their actions.
"U": The Tomkeys are the center of gossip because they are different from other families in that they do not watch television. Mr. Tomkey goes even farther in his
differences from his neighbors by saying he doesn't believe in television. He sticks by this belief by not even owning a television. With the rest of the neighborhood all
seemingly owning and watching television, this sets them apart.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
Part One:
page 2 of 5 1. Have students work as partners or in small groups to read from the last paragraph (paragraph five) on page one of the Sedaris essay to the end of page three
(finishing with the paragraph that ends "So, well, I guess we're trick-or-treating now, if that's okay," Mr. Tomkey said.).
2. Have students take turns reading the text aloud, coding the text with a "U" or an "N" as they read.
3. After students have read this section, ask them to stop and discuss with their partner or group what they coded and why.
4. Students will then work together (each answering the questions on their own paper) to answer questions #1-7 on the student handout.
5. When students have completed the questions, bring the class back together. Have students report out on what they text-coded for these pages and why. The
teacher can provide feedback as needed and provide examples on any additional behaviors that might have been coded a "U" or an "N" that students did not think of.
Have students share their responses to the questions and the teacher can provide verbal corrective feedback as needed. Allow students to make written corrections to
their work as they will use these notes and answers to help them with their essay.
6. Now proceed to the Independent Practice section.
Part Two:
1. Explain to students that they will examine one more informational text to help them prepare for their summative assessment essay. This text is an article by Nancy
Gibbs from Time magazine titled "An In-Depth View of America by the Numbers". (Note: To access the article, users need to have a subscription to Time magazine or
they can purchase a one week digital pass for $4.99. If teachers do not have an account with Time or do not wish to pay for a one week pass, the teacher can
substitute another informational text that describes the vast differences in American society. Or, teachers can have students proceed straight from the Sedaris piece to
writing their summative assessment essay).
2. Pass out the UsandThemStudentHandout.docx for the Time article. Review the questions in advance of reading the text so students have an idea of what details
they should be paying closer attention to. The teacher and strong readers can take turns reading the article aloud.
3. Have students work with a partner to answer the questions on the student handout. The teacher can either collect students' work and provide written feedback or
have students report out so the teacher can provide verbal corrective feedback when needed.
4. Now proceed to the Summative Assessment section of the lesson.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
1. Have students individually complete the reading of the rest of the Sedaris essay. They should continue to text-code as they read using "U" or "N". Then, have
students answer questions #8-13 on the student handout.
2. The teacher can collect students' answers for these questions and provide written feedback or the teacher can have students verbally share their responses. The
teacher can provide verbal feedback where needed and allow students to correct their work. Students should also share out their text-coding for these final pages and
the teacher can add to the coding examples if needed.
3. Ask students to conduct a think-pair-square-share for these questions: Now that you have closely read David Sedaris's essay, what would you say is the meaning
behind his title "Us and Them"? How might his title tie to the concept of "normal" versus "unusual." Use evidence from his essay to support your answer.
4. Now go to the Guided Practice Section Part Two to conduct the next step of the lesson.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
Using an exit ticket, have students respond to the questions below. Collect the tickets, examine their responses, and provide feedback if desired.
Tell students: Using the information you have acquired throughout this lesson (through the reading of the texts, text-coding, answering questions, class discussion, and
writing the essay) respond in writing to the following questions:
1. Who and what is truly normal?
2. Has your definition of what is normal or who is normal changed at all based on this lesson? If so, how? If not, why not?
Summative Assessment
1. The teacher will present the students with writing prompts based on their annotative and guided notes. Students will be able to choose from the following prompts:
What is your final definition of the word "normal"? Using this definition, which person from the Sedaris essay would you deem the most "normal"? Why? Which
person do you consider the most unusual? Why?
What would the younger version of David Sedaris say is his definition of the word "normal"? Does his adult self agree or disagree with that definition?
2. Regardless of which prompt students select, they should be directed to cite evidence from the Sedaris essay and to use their notes and comments from discussion
as additional resources. Students can use evidence from the Time magazine article as well.
3. Teachers may wish to adapt this CommonCoreRubrics_Gr910.pdf (page 3) created by Turnitin.com to assess students' writing. The rubric is designed for grades 910 but can be easily adapted to suit the expectations of the 8th grade writing standards aligned to this lesson. **Teachers should review the rubric with students
before they begin writing.**
page 3 of 5 4. Teachers can provide students with a graphic organizer to help them organize and plan their writing. One organizer students could use is provided by
Teacherweb.com and is located at this link. For students that like a more interactive approach to planning, they might find this tool from ReadWriteThink.org helpful.
5. Teachers have the option of collecting students' drafts and providing written feedback on their work before formally assessing students' final product.
Formative Assessment
In Part One of the Guided Practice section, students will text-code a section of the Sedaris essay and answer the first seven questions on the student handout. As
students share out what they coded and why, and as they share their responses to the questions, the teacher can determine students' understanding of the first
section of the essay. Their responses will help the teacher determine if students understand the difference between connotative and denotative meanings, whether
they can use appropriate textual evidence to support their responses to the questions and inferences they make about the text, if they can analyze the impact of
word choices on meaning and tone, and if they can identify and explain how Sedaris uses irony in his writing. This will allow the teacher to provide corrective
feedback or additional modeling on any of these skills before students complete the reading of the essay on their own.
In the Independent Practice section, students will text-code the remainder of the Sedaris essay and answer questions #8-13 on the student handout. The teacher
can use student responses to this text-coding and the answers to these questions to determine if corrective feedback or additional modeling is needed before
students write the summative assessment essay.
Feedback to Students
For the Sedaris essay: Students will receive verbal feedback from the teacher on their text-coding and their responses to the questions on the student handout.
Teachers have the option of collecting students' individual work on questions #8-13 of the student handout and providing written feedback instead.
Students can apply the feedback on their text-coding and responses to the questions for the first part of the Sedaris essay to make corrections to their work and
increase their understanding of the essay to help them as they complete the reading of the rest of the text on their own.
Students can apply the feedback on their text-coding and responses to the questions on the remainder of the Sedaris essay to make corrections to their work and
apply it to the notes and resources they will use to help them write the summative assessment essay.
Students will receive verbal feedback from the teacher on their responses to the questions for the Time magazine article. Students can apply this feedback to make
corrections to their work and apply it to notes they will use to help them write their final essay.
Teachers have the option of providing written feedback on students' summative assessment essays to help students target areas of revision before they turn in their
final drafts for formal assessment.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Students may be placed in a group of mixed abilities in order to give each student an opportunity to scaffold upon the learning of others.
In addition, struggling readers may be presented with a more specific guided reading tool such as a chart or graphic organizer, which will help them evaluate the
different criteria for the word "normal."
The teacher could highlight examples in the text for struggling readers and then let them determine if what was highlighted should be classified as "normal" or
"unusual" behavior.
Struggling writers might find this handout from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) helpful for understanding the components of an explanatory (expository)
essay. This link provides tools to help students through the writing process.
Extensions:
As an extension of the lesson, students can conduct their own independent research. Students will research what is average/normal based on the United States
Census. A culminating project will be to create a presentation of modern day norms based on independent research.
Each group will be given an aspect of the average American household and will use the U.S. Census Bureau's website to create a presentation comparing the
characteristics of an average family today to the average family of 20 years ago, based on their findings.
Students will present an oral report as well as create appropriate charts and graphs as visual aides.
Students will present their findings to the class and will contribute to the portrait of an Average American Family: Then and Now wall.
Group topics may include but not be limited to the following: Family Make-Up, Education, Arts, Recreation and Travel, Health and Nutrition, Information and
Communication
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter, Computers for Students, Internet Connection, LCD Projector, Overhead Projector
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
The Time magazine article has a Lexile of 1090. The Sedaris essay has a Lexile of 1100.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Name of Author/Source: Anonymously Submitted
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
Description
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
page 4 of 5 LAFS.8.L.3.5:
LAFS.8.L.3.6:
LAFS.8.RI.1.1:
LAFS.8.RI.1.3:
LAFS.8.RI.2.4:
LAFS.8.RI.4.10:
LAFS.8.W.1.2:
LAFS.8.W.2.4:
LAFS.8.W.3.9:
a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context.
b. Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.
c. Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., bullheaded,
willful, firm, persistent, resolute).
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather
vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through
comparisons, analogies, or categories).
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and
technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to
other texts.
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6–8 text complexity
band independently and proficiently.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the
selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader
categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and
examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose,
and audience. (Grade­specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
a. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes,
patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including
describing how the material is rendered new”).
b. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific
claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize
when irrelevant evidence is introduced”).
page 5 of 5