Oh, wonderful. The bus is late again. I just love standing in the rain for twenty minutes.
Grade 7 · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 10
Tone & Mood
How writing feels and sounds
What your child practises
Telling the writer's attitude (tone) apart from the reader's feeling (mood), and seeing how word choice and connotation shape both.
BC Curriculum learning standard: Story/text: literary elements (tone and mood); language features: word choice, connotation and formal vs. informal language
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which word best describes the writer's tone?
- Joyful
- Fearful
- Sincere
- Sarcastic
Show answer
Sarcastic
Hint: Does the writer really love standing in the rain? Saying the opposite of what you mean, with an edge, is sarcasm.
Question 2
Which word best describes the writer's tone?
My little brother's idea of “helping” in the kitchen is eating the chocolate chips before they reach the bowl. So far, he has helped with zero cookies and about four hundred chocolate chips.
- Tragic
- Formal
- Humorous
- Furious
Show answer
Humorous
Hint: The writer exaggerates and jokes about the “help.” What tone does that create?
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 metres away and call 911 right away.
- Nostalgic
- Urgent
- Playful
- Sarcastic
Show answer
Urgent
Hint: Words like “carefully” and “right away” show the writer wants quick, serious action.
Question 4
Which word best describes the mood of this passage?
The lake was still. A loon called once across the water, and the last light of evening turned the clouds pink.
- Angry
- Peaceful
- Frantic
- Silly
Show answer
Peaceful
Hint: Still water, one quiet call, soft pink light... The details are calm and gentle.
Question 5
Sort the words by connotation. Does each word sound positive or negative?
Sort into: 👍 Positive · 👎 Negative
- 🎯determined
- 😎confident
- 🔒stingy
- 😌relaxed
- 🛋️lazy
- 👃nosy
Show answer
👍 Positive: determined, confident, relaxed · 👎 Negative: stingy, lazy, nosy
Hint: Pairs like confident/arrogant mean almost the same thing, but one is a compliment and one is a put-down.
Question 6
Which word best describes the writer's tone?
The movie's plot was predictable, the jokes fell flat, and the ending dragged on for twenty minutes too long.
- Nostalgic
- Admiring
- Critical
- Fearful
Show answer
Critical
Hint: List what the writer says about the plot, jokes and ending. Is it praise or complaint?