What changes in eighth grade?

The kinds of words. Seventh grade pairs are mostly adjectives, like frugal and miserly. Eighth grade adds nouns and verbs, such as ally and accomplice or persuade and manipulate, closer to what a student reads in editorials and history.

Are some of these words neutral?

A few are mild rather than strongly warm, such as leisurely or secluded. Each one still reads warmer than its twin, and that difference is what the sort is about.

How do I use this in writing?

Have your student describe the same event twice, once as a fan and once as a critic, changing only a few words. A team that collaborates in one version colludes in the other. The opinion flips, and colludes also slips in a claim, that the team did something secret and wrong. Spotting that extra claim is the point.

8th grade connotation and denotation

8th grade connotation and denotation worksheets

Denotation is a word's dictionary meaning; connotation is the feeling it carries. Eighth grade takes the sort past adjectives to nouns and verbs. An ally and an accomplice both help, collaborate and collude both mean working together, and a buddy and a crony are both close friends, but the cold word in each pair also hints at wrongdoing. Students sort each word by its feeling, which is what CCSS L.8.5.c asks for.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.8.5.c.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of words you'll sort

Write each word from the bank in the correct column.

stuffycollaboratedaringnotoriousprudentdesolatefoolhardylean

Columns: warm glow and cold glow. "prudent" belongs under warm glow; "foolhardy" belongs under cold glow.

Every print pulls a new set of words at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on an 8th grade sheet

8th grade sheets draw from 72 words, 14 to a page. None of these words are on 7th grade sheets.

Some of the words:

renownedcomplimentfragranceprincipledtactlessfaintheartedflatterydatedmousycrony

Sorting. Write each word from the bank in the correct column. 14 words per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

The eighth grade list is still built in pairs, and many of the twins are nouns and verbs, which are harder to hear than adjectives. Put each word in a short sentence about a person: she is my ally, she is my accomplice. The sentence makes the feeling obvious. Then ask who would use each word. A friend says ally and a prosecutor says accomplice. In reading, connotation often tells you whose side the writer is on, and this sort practices noticing it.

Watch for: The words in each pair share a core meaning, and the sort is about their glow. Some cold words also add meaning of their own: collude means working together in secret, for a bad reason, which collaborate never says. Notice when a word changes the facts as well as the feeling. Neither glow is bad to use: writers need cold words for cold moments. The skill is knowing the temperature before you serve the word.

Common questions about 8th grade connotation and denotation

What changes in eighth grade?: The kinds of words. Seventh grade pairs are mostly adjectives, like frugal and miserly. Eighth grade adds nouns and verbs, such as ally and accomplice or persuade and manipulate, closer to what a student reads in editorials and history.
Are some of these words neutral?: A few are mild rather than strongly warm, such as leisurely or secluded. Each one still reads warmer than its twin, and that difference is what the sort is about.
How do I use this in writing?: Have your student describe the same event twice, once as a fan and once as a critic, changing only a few words. A team that collaborates in one version colludes in the other. The opinion flips, and colludes also slips in a claim, that the team did something secret and wrong. Spotting that extra claim is the point.

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Aligned to Common Core L.8.5.c. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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