1. What is Mood?
Grade 6, Unit 4 - Text used by permission of unit author, C. Webb

2. What is mood?
Mood is one of the many literary devices used by writers to create a literary work.

3. What is the definition of mood?
Mood: the prevailing emotional attitude in a literary work
Prevailing = most important
Emotion = feelings
Therefore, the prevailing emotional attitude is the main feeling of the passage

4. What kinds of “feelings” can a passage have?
The mood of a passage can be happy, sad, scary, hopeful, worried, adventurous, etc.

5. Can I see an example of mood in a passage?
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I watched from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships in the harbor pulling against their confining ropes.”
What “emotional feeling” does
this passage have?

6. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

7. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

8. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

9. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

10. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

11. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

12. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

13. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

14. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

15. How does the author create mood?
Find the specific words the author uses
to create a scary mood:
“A dark mist drifted slowly in from the sea. As I peeked from behind the skeleton of a wrecked boat, the moonlight dimmed and darkness closed in around me. I could hear the moans of the ships pulling against their confining ropes.”

16. Look at the mood words the author uses!
dark
mist
drifted
slowly
peeked
behind
skeleton
wrecked
moonlight
dimmed
darkness
closed in
moans
confining

17. Remember:
Mood is the prevailing emotional attitude (main feeling) in a literary work.
An author uses “mood words” to create a particular feeling.

18. Copyright
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