Choosing words to create a tone or mood

Vocabulary

CCSS L.7.5.CCCSS RL.7.4England: KS3 Writing (vocabulary for effect)England: GCSE English Language Paper 1 Q5

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Choosing words to create a tone or mood.

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Positive, neutral or negative connotation?

Leads to: Near-synonyms: strength and shades of meaning

Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Positive, neutral or negative connotation?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Does the word in capitals have a positive, neutral or negative connotation here? The hotel room was COSY, with a crackling fire. (positive / neutral / negative) → positivePrompt: Denotation is the dictionary meaning; connotation is the feeling the word carries.
Which word should the writer choose? A writer wants a child's questions to seem POSITIVE. (inquisitive / nosy / prying / meddling) → inquisitivePrompt: All the choices have similar dictionary meanings. Focus on the feeling.
Does the word in capitals have a positive, neutral or negative connotation here? He was too STINGY to buy anyone a birthday card. (positive / neutral / negative) → negativePrompt: Denotation is the dictionary meaning; connotation is the feeling the word carries.

Hook · 5 min

Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
Share the objective: Choosing words to create a tone or mood. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Choose the word that best creates the effect described in brackets. Grandma's kitchen was ___, full of the smell of fresh bread. (create a comforting mood)
Step 1: Tone and mood are built from word choice: verbs and adjectives carry strong connotations.
Step 2: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "Grandma's kitchen was warm, full of the smell of fresh bread."
Step 3: So the answer is: warm
Answer: warm
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Choose the word that best creates the effect described in brackets. Sunlight ___ across the meadow. (create a peaceful mood) (crashed / drifted / stabbed / slashed) → driftedPrompt: Think about the feelings each word brings with it (its connotations).
Which word best describes the mood created by this line? "Honestly, who decided that maths homework should be set on a Friday?" (sorrowful / fearful / reverent / exasperated) → exasperatedPrompt: Pick out the two or three strongest words in the line.

You do: independent practice · 10 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Choose the word that best creates the effect described in brackets. The market was ___ with colour and noise. (create a lively mood) (fading / dripping / bursting / drowning) → burstingPrompt: Think about the feelings each word brings with it (its connotations).
Which word best describes the mood created by this line? "Snow settled softly on the sleeping village, and everything was still." (threatening / frantic / calm / angry) → calmPrompt: Pick out the two or three strongest words in the line.

Watch out for

Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Positive, neutral or negative connotation?.
Use concrete materials: word cards.
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Near-synonyms: strength and shades of meaning.
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-7.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Choosing words to create a tone or mood

Name

Date

Score/ 8

1
Question 1
Which word best describes the mood created by this line? "The empty swings creaked in the fog; nobody had played there for years."
- A. excited
- B. cheerful
- C. comic
- D. eerie

Should Secondary Schools Try a Four-Day Week?

Imagine a school week that ends on Thursday afternoon. For students in a growing number of schools around the world, this is no longer a fantasy. I believe secondary schools should at least trial a four-day week. The strongest reason is wellbeing. Many teenagers report feeling exhausted by the end of the week, and a longer weekend could give them time to rest, exercise and pursue interests that school leaves no room for. Supporters also point to attendance. In one regional pilot involving twelve schools, attendance rose by three percentage points after the change. That may sound small, but across a year it adds up to thousands of extra lessons attended. Critics argue that working parents would struggle with childcare on the fifth day. This is a serious concern. However, schools could offer an optional supervised study day, run by staff and volunteers, so that no family is left without support. Others worry that students will learn less. Yet schools in the pilot lengthened each remaining day by forty minutes, so total teaching time hardly changed. A trial costs little and teaches us a lot. If it fails, we can change back. If it works, students will thank us for it.

2
Question 2
Read "Should Secondary Schools Try a Four-Day Week?". How would you describe the writer's tone?
- A. furious and insulting
- B. confident but reasonable
- C. sarcastic and mocking
- D. uncertain and confused

3
Question 3
Choose the word that best creates the effect described in brackets. The old ship ___ through the freezing waves. (create a sense of struggle)
- A. glided
- B. battled
- C. floated
- D. skipped
4
Question 4
Which word best describes the mood created by this line? "We giggled all the way home, splashing through every puddle."
- A. joyful
- B. tense
- C. mournful
- D. menacing
5
Question 5
Which word best describes the mood created by this line? "Snow settled softly on the sleeping village, and everything was still."
- A. angry
- B. threatening
- C. calm
- D. frantic
6
Question 6
Choose the word that best creates the effect described in brackets. The wind ___ around the abandoned house. (create a frightening mood)
- A. howled
- B. danced
- C. whispered softly
- D. sighed gently
7
Question 7
Which word best describes the mood created by this line? "She packed her grandfather's books into boxes, pausing over every faded note in the margins."
- A. furious
- B. wistful
- C. excited
- D. silly
8
Question 8
Choose the word that best creates the effect described in brackets. Grandma's kitchen was ___, full of the smell of fresh bread. (create a comforting mood)
- A. warm
- B. bare
- C. gloomy
- D. cold

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Answer key: Choosing words to create a tone or mood

1. D. eerie
2. B. confident but reasonable
3. B. battled
4. A. joyful
5. C. calm
6. A. howled
7. B. wistful
8. A. warm