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Developing your explanation of quotations from 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'

Lesson details

Learning outcome

I can develop my analysis of quotations from Baum’s ‘The Wizard of Oz’ by zooming in on specific words and exploring their connotations.

Key learning points

  1. Language analysis means exploring how writers convey meaning through their language choices.
  2. Connotations mean the ideas or feelings that a word gives us.
  3. Connotations will vary depending on our individual experiences or memories.
  4. Explanations need to clearly show the reader how you have reached your conclusions.

Keywords

  • Connotation - a feeling or idea that is suggested by a word in addition to its basic meaning

  • Analysis - examine something closely so that you can understand it

  • Evokes - bring or recall (a feeling, memory, or image) to the conscious mind

  • Explain - to make something clear or easy to understand by describing or giving information about it

Common misconception

That we will all have the same response to certain words.

Our response to words depends on our own individual experiences and memories and therefore we are likely to all get different connotations from words.

Teacher tip

Once they have peer-assessed their explanation, you could ask the students to go back and rewrite their explanation based on the feedback.

Equipment

You will need an extract from 'The Wizard of Oz' which is available in the additional materials.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
(Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
What is an emerald?

Correct answer: a precious stone
a precious metal
a gaseous element

Q2.
What is a giant?

a mythical being who can fly
a mythical being who can breathe fire
Correct answer: a mythical being who is superhuman size

Q3.
In an analytical answer, quotations act as __________ for your ideas.

Correct Answer: evidence

Q4.
If you explain something then you...

Correct answer: make something clear and easy to understand
add in a language device
add in more ambitious punctuation
make something more descriptive

Q5.
If someone says something 'sharply' then we might think they are...

calm
confident
Correct answer: angry
sad

Q6.
To evoke means to...

describe something in a detailed and interesting way
use a language device to show a comparison
Correct answer: bring a feeling to your mind

6 Questions

Q1.
In L. Frank Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz', Oz is described as...

a regular man
Correct answer: an enormous, floating head
a small, floating head

Q2.
In L. Frank Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz', Dorothy finds Oz floating above a...

Correct Answer: throne

Q3.
A connotation is...

Correct answer: a feeling you get from a word
a clear explanation of your ideas
a word that has the same spelling but different meaning

Q4.
Match the word with the connotation.

Correct Answer:giant,intimidating

intimidating

Correct Answer:emerald,precious

precious

Correct Answer:throne,royalty

royalty

Q5.
To examine something closely in order to understand it is called...

Correct Answer: analysis, analysing

Q6.
Which of the following is an effective phrase for giving feedback to someone?

I didn't like it when you said...
Correct answer: I thought it was really effective when you said....
This reminds me of my idea...

To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Developing your explanation of quotations from 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...