They've Got Character
Tone Time
Five Words or Fewer (Central Ideas)
Figuratively Speaking
Choose Your Words Wisely
100
Jonathan invited a bunch of friends over to his house. He then talked to them for hours about all the trophies that he had won, his rare comic book collection, and how much money his dad makes. His friends never wanted to vist Jonathan's home again. Jonathan is... DISDAINFUL, ARROGANT, KNOWLEDGEABLE, EXUBERANT
ARROGANT- having an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.
100
And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I don’t know why they died, they just died. Something wrong with the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery wasn’t the best. We complained about it. So we’ve got thirty kids there, each kid had his or her own little tree to plant and we’ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these little brown sticks.
depressing; gloomy; melancholy
100
During World War II, on the dramatic day when Marines raised the American flag to signal a key and decisive victory at Iwo Jima, the first word of this momentous news crackled over the radio in odd guttural noises and complex intonations. Throughout the war, the Japanese were repeatedly baffled and infuriated by these seemingly inhuman sounds. They conformed to no linguistic system known to the Japanese. The curious sounds were the military’s one form of conveying tactics and strategy that the master cryptographers in Tokyo were unable to decipher. This perfect code was the language of the Navajo tribe. Its application in World War II as a clandestine system of communication was one of the twentieth century’s best-kept secrets.
Navajo language- a WWII code
100
Figuratively: Minnows dart at my feet glinting like switchblades.
Literally: Fish swim by quickly and reflect the light
100

Negative connotation: skinny/ Positive connotation:

What is thin? (Answers may vary.)

200
The teacher asked Khadija what the answer was to the problem on the board. Khadija wore a worried expression on her face for a moment and then put her head down on her desk. After the teacher moved on to someone else, Khadija whispered to her friend that the answer was 26. Khadija was right. Khadija is... HOSTILE, DELICATE, TIMID, or VINDICTIVE
TIMID
200
Your success in the ring this morning was, to a small degree, my success. Your future is assured. You will live, secure and safe, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now. These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, and the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur—this lovely world, these precious days…”
peaceful; calm; optimistic
200
In 2010 an Indiana couple posted that they would be out for the evening, and their home was burglarized while they were away. An investigation revealed that the burglar was an old acquaintance from whom the woman had recently accepted a friend request. It’s important for people to remember that when they let the social networking world know where they are, they may also be letting thousands of people know where they’re not.
Social Media leads to robbery
200
His face was arranged like a child’s face— his eyes were liquid and wild.
He is playful and dangerous.
200

Denotation: not typical; not ordinary/ Positive connotation:

What is unique? (Answers may vary.)

300
Jake is Cassie's older brother. One day they are walking home from school when a cold front rolls in and the temperature drops 20 degrees. Jake is dressed more appropriately for the weather than Cassie. He takes off his hooded sweatshirt and offers it to her. She gratefully accepts. Jake is now colder, but he is happier. Jake is... BELLICOSE, COOPERATIVE, ALTRUISTIC, or JUVENILE
ALTRUISTIC- showing a selfless concern for the well-being of others
300
It was A LOW, DULL, QUICK SOUND -- MUCH SUCH A SOUND AS A WATCH MAKES WHEN ENVELOPED IN COTTON. I gasped for breath, and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly, more vehemently but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased. Why WOULD they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men, but the noise steadily increased. O God! What COULD I do? I foamed -- I raved -- I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder -- louder -- louder!
fearful; desperate; frazzled
300
I can still remember the way my shabby tennis shoes looked as I stared down at them, dreading what was about to take place. It was time for the weekly fifth-grade volleyball game, an inevitable scene of mental anguish for me. It wasn’t that I ever expected to be chosen first. I knew I was clumsy and would never be the best player on any team. But every week, I stared at my shoes and simply wished that I wouldn’t be picked last. And yet I was last almost every time. No team wanted the girl who dropped the ball, tripped over her own feet, and misses the easy serves.
Shy/ clumsy girl picked last
300
My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods, as winter changes the trees.
My love will likely fade, becoming cold and dull.
300

Denotation: young in age Negative connotation:

Negative connotation: immature/ inexperienced

400
Eric's car broke down in the woods and his phone wasn't getting a signal. He used his car antenna as a spear and caught fresh salmon. He started a fire with sparks from his car battery, and he ate the cooked salmon while waiting for help. Eric is... CLEVER, BENEVOLENT, COMPLACENT, or POMPOUS
CLEVER- mentally quick and resourceful
400
There was a delay in the start of the project, attributable to circumstances beyond the control of all relevant parties. Progress came to a standstill, and no one was prepared to undertake the assessment of the problem and determination of the solution.
formal; serious; informative
400
Years later I realized how much those moments of rejection had affected me. It hadn’t been easy being the last one picked, the one the other team members “had” to take. I began to expect the worst in every situation, repeatedly telling myself that I just wasn’t good enough. I basically grew up staring at my shoes.
speaker has low self-esteem
400
The sun played hide and seek with the clouds.
The sun moves in and out of visibility.
400

Negative connotation: snoop/ Positive connotation: detect/ Denotation:

What is "investigate/look into"? (Answers may vary.)

500
Orson sat on the couch. He wanted to change the television station, but the controller was all the way at the end of the couch by his feet. Orson sort of scooted toward it and attempted to grab it with his feet. The controller fell and landed several feet away from him. Orson quit trying to change the channel and just watched whatever was playing. Orson is... DOUBTFUL, MANIPULATIVE, RASH, or LETHARGIC
LETHARGIC- characterized by laziness or lack of energy
500
There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it had roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none. A clammy and intensely cold mist, it made its slow way through the air in ripples that visibly followed and overspread one another, as the waves of an unwholesome sea might do. It was dense enough to shut out everything from the light of the coach-lamps but these its own workings, and a few yards of road; and the reek of the labouring horses steamed into it, as if they had made it all.
mysterious; chilling; foreboding
500
The wind pushed Kana so hard that she could barely walk. It took all the strength her thin bony arms had to keep her umbrella above her head. On windy days like today it felt more like she was living on top of a Japanese Alp rather than in a valley between them. Her umbrella slipped out of her hand for the third time and she jumped back to grab it. Over the top of the umbrella she saw a giant shape trudging up the sidewalk with huge, slow steps. She froze. She knew that he was a foreigner. Definitely a foreigner. And not the one that taught at her elementary school. This must be the new high school English teacher. There was no other reason for a foreigner to be in a town this small. Foreigners teach English. That’s why they come here. Kana tried to walk quickly, but the wind kept her movements slow. She could feel her very bones vibrate like wind chimes after each blast.
Kana afraid of newcomer Kana afraid of outsiders
500
Seeing the world through rose colored glasses
Not seeing things clearly; ignoring the bad in life
500

Negative connotation: brainwash/ Positive connotation:

What is persuade, convince? (Answers may vary.)

M
e
n
u