Idea Transcript
Tools for Instruction Identify Mood and Tone Readers who can perceive mood and tone gain a richer understanding of a text. However, these concepts are easily confused and, because of their abstract nature, often difficult for students to grasp. Mood refers to the atmosphere an author creates by using words that carry emotional connotations. Tone, also established through word choice, refers to the attitude that an author conveys about a character, situation, or subject matter. The ability to perceive mood and tone is highly dependent on students’ language skills, and students may need extra support with shades of meaning to detect nuances in an author’s words. To help students distinguish mood and tone, provide frequent modeling and practice with varied texts, and have them point to details that support their ideas.
Step by Step
30–45 minutes
1 Review mood and introduce tone. • Display the words mood and tone, and read them aloud. Point to mood and say, Mood is the feeling the author creates through his or her choice of words. The reader senses the mood by thinking about how words and details make them feel. • Give an example of mood, such as a description of a mysterious scene. Each and every hair on Mary’s arms stood at attention as she slowly reached for the doorknob. She felt her fingertips grip the icy cold brass. She could hear every beat of her heart thumping as she twisted the creaky knob. She closed her eyes, unsure of what she might find behind the door. • Ask students to identify the mood and give examples of words and details that convey it. Mention that because mood is something that readers interpret, there can usually be more than one possible answer. • Then say, Tone is closely related to mood. In fact, the tone sometimes helps us to figure out the mood. Tone refers to the attitude of the author or speaker, and it is also created by word choice. Many times, we can think about tone in writing the same way we think about the tone of someone’s voice. • Ask students to listen again as you repeat the previous description. Alter your voice to emphasize a tense tone. Help students to name your tone. • Display a chart such as the following, and say, These are some examples of words that commonly describe mood and tone. Read each word with students, and review or clarify meaning as necessary. Mood: The feeling created by words or details hopeful excited anxious
Tone: The attitude of the author or speaker pleading disapproving hopeful
carefree
gloomy
mysterious
firm
humble
sarcastic
desperate
grim
tense
boastful
persuasive
tense
eerie
happy
peaceful
proud
playful
sympathetic
2 Explore and practice identifying tone. • With a neutral tone, say the following sentence: I want to go to the store now. Ask students how they might deliver the sentence differently if they were feeling upset, impatient, excited, or determined. • Point out that the difference in each delivery is related to the tone. Say, Because readers cannot hear an author’s tone in this same way, authors must use details and punctuation to help show the intended tone. www.i-ready.com ©2012 Curriculum Associates, LLC
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i-Ready Tools for Instruction • Revisit students’ sentences, and display an example of how an author might have conveyed the tone. For example, I want to go to the store, NOW! conveys an impatient tone, whereas to convey an excited tone, the author might have added a line about the subject jumping up and down and tugging on a friend’s arm. • Repeat this exercise with different examples to help students become familiar with identifying tone. Encourage them to suggest details an author might include if punctuation was not sufficient.
3 Guide practice identifying mood and tone. • Select a text with a clearly apparent mood and tone, such as Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: Address to Parliament on May 13th, 1940.” Display the text or distribute copies to students. • Invite volunteers to read the passage aloud. Discuss the meaning with students to be sure they understand what is taking place, and clarify any unfamiliar vocabulary. Then guide students to identify the mood and tone. Provide question prompts such as these. • Does the author/speaker have a positive or a negative attitude? Which words or details tell you so? • What is the author/speaker’s goal? • How does the passage make you feel? Which words or details make you feel that way? • If you read the passage aloud, what word best describes the way the author/speaker sounds?
4 Provide independent practice with mood and tone. Connect to Writing Have students work in small groups to choose precise words and details that convey a mood or tone. • Write different moods or tones on individual slips of paper. Use words from the class chart to be sure students will understand. Label each word as a mood or a tone. • Have each group randomly select a slip of paper and write a paragraph that conveys the mood or tone listed on the slip. Provide writing prompts as necessary for additional support. • Prior to writing, direct each group to brainstorm words and descriptions associated with their mood or tone. Encourage them to consult a thesaurus as needed to find more precise word choices. • Before each group shares, ask them to specify whether the class should listen for mood or tone. Have the class listen and identify the mood or tone, pointing out particular words or details that helped to convey it.
Check for Understanding If you observe… difficulty finding tone
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Then try… explaining that neutral is a kind of tone that means the author or speaker does not show emotion at all. Newspaper columnists, for example, are supposed to have a neutral tone so they do not sway the readers’ opinions. Show examples of texts with a distinct tone and a neutral tone, and discuss the difference.
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