I still remember the summer we built the treehouse: the long afternoons, the sticky lemonade, the feeling that summer would never end. I miss those days.
Grade 7 Tone & Mood worksheet
from Gradelings · Name: ______________________
How to explain it
- 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
Question 1
Which word best describes the writer's tone?
- Nostalgic
- Fearful
- Angry
- Sarcastic
Nostalgic
Hint: The writer looks back fondly and misses the past. That longing is called nostalgia.
Question 2
Which sentence would best create an eerie mood?
- A parent gently pushed a toddler on a swing.
- The swings were freshly painted bright yellow.
- Children laughed as they raced to the swings.
- Fog curled around the empty swings, and they swayed though there was no wind.
Fog curled around the empty swings, and they swayed though there was no wind.
Hint: Eerie means strange and a little unsettling. Which sentence has something that can't be easily explained?
Question 3
Sort the words by connotation. Does each word sound positive or negative?
Sort into: 👍 Positive · 👎 Negative
- 🔒stingy
- 😤arrogant
- 🎯determined
- 😎confident
- 😌relaxed
- 🛋️lazy
👍 Positive: determined, confident, relaxed · 👎 Negative: stingy, arrogant, lazy
Hint: Pairs like confident/arrogant mean almost the same thing, but one is a compliment and one is a put-down.
Question 4
How does the feeling of this passage shift?
For weeks, Jay bragged that he would win the chess tournament easily. He barely practised. Then, in the first round, a quiet younger player checkmated him in eleven moves. Jay stared at the board for a long time.
- From sadness to joy
- From anger to silliness
- From fear to boredom
- From cocky confidence to stunned humility
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 5
Which description of the same person sounds the most admiring?
- Lena is determined and never gives up on an idea.
- Lena is stubborn and never lets go of an idea.
- Lena is obsessed with her own ideas.
- Lena is pushy about her ideas.
Lena is determined and never gives up on an idea.
Hint: Compare the describing words: determined, stubborn, pushy, obsessed. Which one is a compliment?
Question 6
Which word best describes the mood of this passage?
The hallway lights flickered. Behind a closed door, a phone rang and rang. Maya held her breath and reached for the handle.
- Bored
- Playful
- Tense
- Relaxed
Tense
Hint: Flickering lights and a held breath make readers wonder what will happen next.
Question 7
Which word would make this sentence feel the most peaceful?
The river _____ past the cabin.
- drifted
- raged
- crashed
- roared
drifted
Hint: Read the sentence with each word. Which one sounds slow and gentle?
Question 8
What is the difference between tone and mood?
- Tone and mood both mean the topic of a text.
- Tone is the setting; mood is the plot.
- Tone is the reader's feeling; mood is the writer's attitude.
- Tone is the writer's attitude; mood is the feeling the reader gets.
Tone is the writer's attitude; mood is the feeling the reader gets.
Hint: Tone comes from the writer (like a tone of voice). Mood is the atmosphere the reader feels.
Question 9
A story describes a long, hard winter. Which final sentence would leave readers feeling most hopeful?
- The snow kept falling, and no one remembered what spring looked like.
- On the windowsill, the first green shoot pushed up through the soil.
- The furnace rattled once and went silent.
- Everyone stayed inside, staring at the grey sky.
On the windowsill, the first green shoot pushed up through the soil.
Hint: Which detail suggests that something new is beginning?
Question 10
Which sentence has the most formal tone?
- Can we move the meeting? Thursday's way better.
- We respectfully request that the meeting be moved to Thursday.
- Ugh, fine, Thursday works, I guess.
- Thursday, yeah? Let's just do that.
We respectfully request that the meeting be moved to Thursday.
Hint: Formal writing avoids slang and contractions and sounds polite and serious.
Answer key
- 1. Nostalgic
- 2. Fog curled around the empty swings, and they swayed though there was no wind.
- 3. 👍 Positive: determined, confident, relaxed · 👎 Negative: stingy, arrogant, lazy
- 4. From cocky confidence to stunned humility
- 5. Lena is determined and never gives up on an idea.
- 6. Tense
- 7. drifted
- 8. Tone is the writer's attitude; mood is the feeling the reader gets.
- 9. On the windowsill, the first green shoot pushed up through the soil.
- 10. We respectfully request that the meeting be moved to Thursday.
Want more than 10 questions?
In Gradelings the questions change every time and adjust to your child, with hints and kind feedback.