1. …to support the author’s purpose
Tone and Mood
…to support the author’s purpose

2. Objectives
Understand and recognize tone in a variety of mediums

3. Take 30 seconds… Round 1
Think back on the past week. What different “moods” have you experienced?
Consider
what mood are you in right now?
What mood were you in yesterday?...etc.
Write your answer(s) in the brainstorming-mood box on your handout.

4. Take 30 Seconds… Round 2
If you were to tell a student “watch your tone”, or “that tone is not appropriate” or “don’t use that tone with me”… what are you really referring to?
Write your answer in the brainstorming-tone box on your handout.

5. TONE TONE is simply the author’s attitude toward the subject.
-You can recognize the tone/attitude by the language/word choices the author uses. Their language will reveal their perspective/opinion (that is, whether it is positive/negative) about the subject.
Tone must be inferred through the use of descriptive words.

6. Tone Example #1
  The girls were playing in the pond, splashing each other and trying to catch fish with their hands. They were having fun, but kept looking over their shoulders at the looming forest. The long grass of the field kept moving and they sort of felt like they were being watched… About a half hour passed and still the girls kept checking the field for movements. It seemed like a pair of dark eyes was on them. They even considered going back inside, but that would mean homework time. So they continued splashing, but with caution now. Their eyes hardly left the field.
What is the overall tone of this passage?
What words helped you to figure out the tone?
- Write your answer in the Tone/Mood Practice Box.

7. TONE
A possible tone of this passage is ominous, suggesting a little bit of fear or foreboding.
Words like "caution, dark, and looming“ lead readers to the tone.

8. TONE EXAMPLE #2 What is the overall tone of this passage?
Finally, one of the girls pointed to the grass and giggled. "Meow!" A cat sat on the edge of the field and licked its paw. They did indeed have company. The girls ran over to the cat and pet his belly. They laughed and the cat sauntered back to the field.
What is the overall tone of this passage?
What words helped you to figure out the tone?
- Write your answer in the Tone/Mood Practice Box

9. TONE
The tone of this passage is happy/playful as there was a successful, happy resolution to the problem. Words like, “belly” and “giggled” were used.

10. TONE
Identifying the TONE is all about knowing the definitions of many descriptive vocabulary words. Without this large vocabulary, it’s difficult to describe outside of “good” and “bad.”
For reference, you are receiving a handout with a list of common tone/mood words to help expand your vocabulary.

11. Tone: “A Gift in His Shoes”
Donovan and Larry were early for baseball practice. They decided to run up and down the bleachers to exercise before the rest of the team arrived.
Larry was first to the top. He whispered to Donovan, “Look over there.” He pointed to a man sleeping on the highest, narrow bench of the bleachers. His pants and shirt were faded, worn, and too large for his thin frame. One big toe stuck out of a huge hole in his sock. His scraped-up shoes sat a few feet away.
Donovan whispered, “We should help him out. Let’s hide something good in his shoes. Then, when he wakes up, he will have a nice surprise.”

12. Tone: “A Gift in His Shoes”
How would you describe the tone [attitude] of this author? Write your answer in the Tone/Mood Practice Box on your handout.
Angry
Detached
Sympathetic
Evidence?

13. Let’s now practice with some movie clips
Let’s now practice with some movie clips. We are going to watch 2 trailers for the same movie. To stay organized use the Mary Chart on your handout (on the back).
Mood or atmosphere
Evidence of mood
Tone or attitude
Evidence of tone
MARY #1
MARY #2

14. Helpful Hints….
As we watch the movie be sure to write down the mood and tone, but include lots of evidence to prove your point.
For example if the mood is cheerful, explain why. Maybe there are flowers everywhere and the sun is shining. If this is the case, the tone will also be happy. People may be smiling and laughing to show their happiness.

15. HERE WE GO…MARY #1

16. MARY #2

17. Let’s test your knowledge
On the bottom of your practice handout, use the blank space to answer the following questions.
1. The mood of a story is….
a) the attitude b)the emotional feeling created
c) always happy d) none of the above
2. The tone of a story is…

18. Let’s test your knowledge- ANSWERS
On the bottom of your practice handout, use the blank space to answer the following questions.
1. The mood of a story is….
b)the emotional feeling created (in the audience)
2. The tone of a story is…
a) the attitude (the author has towards a subject)

19. Let’s take it to the next level!
Now that you feel comfortable with tone and mood, we’re going to give you a chance to practice identifying the concepts with
TONE STATIONS