Bellwork Look at the following sets of sentences and decide which is

the most positive, the most negative, and the most neutral:

1. My best friend is svelte.My best friend is scrawny.My best friend is thin.

2. There are over 2000 bums in the city.There are over 2,000 people with no fixed address in the city.There are over 2,000 homeless in the city.

The difference is in the CONNOTATION of the words.

Denotation and Connotation Denotation: The most specific or direct

meaning of a word. The dictionary definition of the word.

Connotation: The idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing. This term deals with the feeling that a word provoke.

Loaded Words

Loaded Words are words (or phrases) which have strong emotional overtones or connotations and which evoke strongly positive (or negative) reactions beyond their literal meaning.

With your partner, find 3 examples of loaded words in the article “Kids are Kids – Until they Commit Crimes” and explain what their connotation is.

Focused Questions about the articles1. Do you think that sentencing juvenile killers to the

death penalty is a “cruel and unusual” punishment? Use “constitutional” or “unconstitutional” in your answer.

2. Should juveniles be punished less harshly than adults? Use “leniently” in your answer.

3. Describe the demeanor of a teenager that you know. Do you think that demeanor would cause a jury to be lenient?

4. Do you think execution should be banned for some age groups of juveniles? Which ones?

More Focused Questions5. What factors do you think juries should take into

account when they sentence juveniles?

6. Do you agree with Lundstrom that it’s inconsistent to deny privileges like voting and drinking to teenagers but then sentence them as adults? Why?

7. Do you think juveniles should be tried as adults if they commit especially bad crimes? Use the word “heinous” in your answer.

8. Do you agree with Lundstrom that the media perpetuates the stereotype of violent youth?