Objectives
Students will be able to:

Copies of speeches that are primary source documents (see www.americanrhetoric.com or www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases)
Highlighters (2 different colors)
Chart paper
Markers
Chart paper
Markers

Differentiated Strategies
These strategies are used to meet the varied needs of all learners:

• Explain to students that words can do much more than provide a dictionary definition (denotation). Some words can create a feeling within a person.
• Ask students to raise their hands to volunteer words that create good feelings inside of people. Write students’ responses on the board.
• Ask students to raise their hands to volunteer words that create bad feelings inside of people. Write students' responses on the board.

• Explain to students that what they have listed – words that evoke emotion - is called connotation. Words that evoke good feelings are called positive connotation and words that evoke bad feelings are called negative connotation. Use these terms to label the words on the board.
• Write the word propaganda on the board. Explain that propaganda is a technique a speaker or author uses to spread information to help or hurt a cause. One technique used in propaganda is the use of connotation to evoke feelings in the listener/reader.

• Place students in groups of three to four, based on ability. Distribute to each group copies of a primary source document that is chosen based on their reading level.  Next, provide each group with two different colors of highlighters
• Have each group read its speech together. Using the first color of highlighter, students highlight any words in the speech that contain positive connotation.
• Using the second color of highlighter, students highlight any words in the speech that contain negative connotation.

• Give each group a piece of chart paper and a marker. Have the group create a “t chart” and list the words in their speech that contain positive connotation (left side of the t) and negative connotation (right side of the t).
• Groups present their findings to the class and explain how these words are types of propaganda for this speaker – evoking feelings to help or hurt the cause being discussed. 

• Explain to students that one way to persuade someone to agree with them is to get the listener’s feelings involved.
• Applied learning: The next time students need to persuade a teacher, a coach, or a parent, ask them to try using words that contain connotation.