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7th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 13

Tone & Mood

How writing feels and sounds

What your child practices

Telling the writer's attitude (tone) apart from the reader's feeling (mood), and seeing how word choice and connotation shape both.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 7.4 · tone and mood

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Tone is the writer’s attitude toward the subject: enthusiastic, nostalgic, objective, sarcastic.
  2. Mood is the feeling the reader gets: tense, peaceful, gloomy, cheerful.
  3. Look at word choice and connotation. Words like creaked and shadows build a tense mood.

Example: “I still remember those summer evenings at the lake. Those were the best days.” What is the tone? The writer is looking back fondly at the past. Warm longing for the past is nostalgia. Answer: Nostalgic

Tone & Mood in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 2 of 13 in 7th grade English Language Arts, after Literary Devices and before Persuasive Power.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which word best describes the writer's tone?

    The city council voted 6 to 3 on Tuesday to extend library hours. The change will take effect next month.

    • Outraged
    • Objective
    • Sarcastic
    • Sentimental

  2. Question 2

    Which word has the most negative connotation?

    • economical
    • frugal
    • stingy
    • thrifty

  3. Question 3

    Which word best describes the writer's tone?

    Please read this carefully. If you see a fallen power line, stay at least ten meters away and call 911 right away.

    • Nostalgic
    • Playful
    • Sarcastic
    • Urgent

  4. Question 4

    How does the feeling of this passage shift?

    For weeks, Jay bragged that he would win the chess tournament easily. He barely practiced. Then, in the first round, a quiet younger player checkmated him in eleven moves. Jay stared at the board for a long time.

    • From fear to boredom
    • From sadness to joy
    • From anger to silliness
    • From cocky confidence to stunned humility

  5. Question 5

    Which description of the same person sounds the most admiring?

    • Lena is obsessed with her own ideas.
    • Lena is pushy about her ideas.
    • Lena is determined and never gives up on an idea.
    • Lena is stubborn and never lets go of an idea.

  6. Question 6

    A writer changes “The dog walked toward us” to “The dog bounded toward us.” What effect does the new verb have?

    • It makes the dog seem tired and slow.
    • It changes the setting of the scene.
    • It makes the dog seem energetic and excited.
    • It makes the sentence more formal.

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