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7th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 20

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.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 7R4; 7L5 · 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 New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 2 of 20 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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

    Writer A: “Rain drummed cozily on the roof as we read by the fire.” Writer B: “Rain hammered the roof, and the cold crept in through every crack.” How do their moods differ?

    • Both feel joyful.
    • A feels harsh; B feels cozy.
    • Both feel neutral and factual.
    • A feels cozy; B feels harsh and uncomfortable.

  2. Question 2

    A writer calls a new skate park “a noisy concrete eyesore.” What tone does this word choice create?

    • Neutral
    • Disapproving
    • Admiring
    • Joyful

  3. Question 3

    Sort the words by connotation. Does each word sound positive or negative?

    Sort into: 👍 Positive · 👎 Negative

    • 🎯determined
    • 👃nosy
    • 🛋️lazy
    • 😤arrogant
    • 🔍curious
    • 😌relaxed

  4. Question 4

    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
    • Urgent
    • Sarcastic
    • Nostalgic

  5. Question 5

    Which description of the same person sounds the most admiring?

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

  6. Question 6

    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.

    • Furious
    • Formal
    • Humorous
    • Tragic

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