Tone, and

Mood
…to support the author’s purpose
 Objectives
 Understand and recognize mood in a
variety of medium
 Understand and recognize tone in a
variety of medium
 Directions
 Today, we will be reviewing the
differences between tone and mood as it
relates to a variety of medium (literature,
songs, and film).
 I suggest the guided review activities be
completed in small groups; however, (as
always) you can work individually if you
prefer.
 Record all answers and observations on
the “Tone and Mood Review” handout you
receive today.
 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.
 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.
 TONE
TONE is simply the author’s attitude
toward the subject.
-You may want to write this definition on your
handout.
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.
 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.
 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.
 TONE EXAMPLE #2
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
 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.
 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.
 TONE
So, let’s TONE our brain muscles with
some words of tone.
 Bitter  Tasteful/distasteful
 Serious  Nonchalant
 Witty  Angry
 Playful  Attached/Detached
 Tender  Innocent
 Sympathetic  Poignant
 Haunting  Compassionate
 Mysterious  Humorous
 Suspenseful  Gore-y
 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.”
 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.
a. Angry
b. Detached
c. Sympathetic

Evidence?
 MOOD
MOOD is the overall feelings or emotions
that are created IN THE READER.
-You may want to write this definition on
your handout.
The “power of the pen” can move
mountains.

Authors “move” their readers’ moods

through their choice of words and level of
detail.
 MOOD EXAMPLE #1
During the holidays, my mother's house glittered with
decorations and hummed with preparations. We ate
cookies and drank cider while we helped her wrap
bright packages and trim the tree. We felt warm and
excited, listening to Christmas carols and even singing
along sometimes. We would tease each other about
our terrible voices and then sing even louder.

What is the mood of this passage?

What clues helped you to determine the
mood?
- Write your answer in the Tone/Mood
Practice Box on your handout.
 MOOD EXAMPLE #1
Mood: Content, happy.

How do we know? Words like "warm,

excited, glittered” are used by the author.
 MOOD EXAMPLE #2
After New Year's the time came to put all the
decorations away and settle in for the long, cold
winter. The house seemed to sigh as we boxed up its
finery. The tree was dry and brittle, and now waited
forlornly by the side of the road to be picked up.

What is the mood of this passage?

What clues helped you to determine the mood?
-Write your answer on the Tone/Mood Practice
Box on your handout.
 MOOD EXAMPLE #2

Mood: Dreary, depressed.

How do we know? "cold, sigh,

brittle, forlornly"
 MOOD
Again, identifying the mood of a piece of
writing will depend on the number of
descriptive words you know to answer the
question: How did this paragraph, this
passage, this story make the character or
make you feel?
 MOOD
Brain Muscle Work-out, Volume II!
 Cheerful  Furious
 Relieved  Disappointed
 Gloomy  Dreamy, foggy
 Bleak  Content
 Uncertain  Satisfied
 Bittersweet  Angry
 Relaxed  Motivated
 Lazy  Inspired
 Hopeless  Confident
 Tense  Eerie
 Mood: “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.”
 Mood: “A Gift in His Shoes”
How would you describe the mood of this
passage?
a. Angry
b. Detached
c. Sympathetic

Evidence?
 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 Evidence of Tone or Evidence of
atmosphere mood attitude tone

MARY #1

MARY #2
 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.
HERE WE GO…MARY #1
MARY #2
 Let’s try this with music!
 Again, use the song chart on your handout. Be sure to
not only use the lyrics, but the beat of the song.
Mood or Evidence of Tone or Evidence of
atmosphere mood attitude tone

Song #1

Song #2

Song #3

Song #4
Let’s start with an easy one
first!
Song #2
Song #3 (sorry guys, but it is such a good
example for tone and mood!)
This one may be challenging
 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…
a) the attitude b)the emotional feeling created
c) always happy d) none of the above
 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)
 Let’s take it to the next level
 Now that you feel comfortable recognizing
tone/mood in music and film, you will
recognize these devices in literature!
 You are going to be reviewing tone words by
creating a TONE BOOK!!!
 Think of your favorite movies, TV shows, and
books in order to complete this activity. OR
You can be creative and create your own
examples.
 The directions are included on the following
slide
 Tone Book Directions
1. Brainstorm a list at least 20 Tone Words
2. Have the list OK’d to make sure they are tone words and not emotions!
3. Requirement: Using any visual media at your disposal (magazines, clip art,
pictures, etc) find 5 visual representations of 5 tone words from your list.
4. Requirement: Using any written material at your disposal (books, magazines,
or even movie quotes) find 5 written representation of 5 different tone
words
5. Requirement: You must have a quizzing mechanism in your individual Tone
Books. You should do this by having the representation of the tone word on the
front, and on the back the actual tone word and any possible explanation you
would like to include.
6. Use your creativity to put this together. Construction, tissue and card stock
paper will be provided, as well as crayons, markers, and glue.
7. You should only have one picture/ text per page. The only exception to this is if
you have two pictures that clearly represent the same tone word and will not
lead to confusion.
8. Put these together in whatever creative method you choose, and cite any
sources that you borrow material from.