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.
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.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: Reading 7; Language 5 · tone and mood
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Tone is the writer’s attitude toward the subject: enthusiastic, nostalgic, objective, sarcastic.
- Mood is the feeling the reader gets: tense, peaceful, gloomy, cheerful.
- 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 Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, 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.
- 7th grade guide for Maine parents
- Printable 7th grade English Language Arts sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine Department of Education
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
How does the feeling of this passage shift?
- From cocky confidence to stunned humility
- From anger to silliness
- From sadness to joy
- From fear to boredom
From cocky confidence to stunned humility
Hint: Compare the beginning (bragging) with the ending (staring at the board). The word “Then” marks the turn.
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.
- Formal
- Furious
- Tragic
- Humorous
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 meters away and call 911 right away.
- Playful
- Sarcastic
- Urgent
- Nostalgic
Urgent
Hint: Words like “carefully” and “right away” show the writer wants quick, serious action.
Question 4
Which word has the most negative connotation?
- frugal
- economical
- stingy
- thrifty
stingy
Hint: All four describe someone careful with money. Which one sounds like an insult?
Question 5
Which word best describes the writer's tone?
Oh, wonderful. The bus is late again. I just love standing in the rain for twenty minutes.
- Joyful
- Sincere
- Sarcastic
- Fearful
Sarcastic
Hint: Does the writer really love standing in the rain? Saying the opposite of what you mean, with an edge, is sarcasm.
Question 6
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.
- Sentimental
- Objective
- Outraged
- Sarcastic
Objective
Hint: The writer only reports facts, with no feelings or opinions. That's an objective tone.