Tone and Attitude

Tone and Attitude Lesson Plan

Grade: 10 Dates: October 26 & 28 Duration: 2 sessions, 45 minutes each

Objectives:

• Students will be able to define tone and attitude in writing.

• Students will be able to identify the tone and attitude in a given text.

• Students will be able to differentiate between various tones and attitudes.

• Students will be able to explain how tone and attitude affect the reader's perception of a text.

Day 1: Saturday, October 26

Warm-Up:

1. Summer Feelings: Start by asking students whether they generally like or dislike summer. Have each student express their feeling about summer in one sentence. The goal is for other students to guess whether the speaker likes or dislikes summer based on their sentence.

2. Transition to Tone: Lead a discussion on how different words and phrasing can convey different feelings, even when discussing the same topic. Explain that this is similar to the concept of "tone" in writing.

Procedure:

1. Introduction to Tone and Attitude:

   • Explain that tone is the author's attitude toward the subject matter, while attitude is the writer's overall feeling or perspective.

   • Tone is conveyed through word choice, sentence structure, imagery, and other stylistic elements.

   • Refer to section A of the provided material: "When two or more individuals interact verbally, what one says is as important as how one says it."

   • Give examples of how the same information can be presented with different tones (e.g., a news report versus an opinion piece).

2. Examples of Tone and Attitude:

   • Provide examples of texts with different tones (e.g., humorous, serious, sarcastic, optimistic, pessimistic).

   • Discuss how the tone affects the reader's understanding and emotional response to the text.

   • Use the Tone/Attitude Bank from the provided material as a reference.

     

   • Refer to section C of the provided material: "The possible tones are as boundless as the number of possible emotions a human being can have."

   • Analyze the quote by Arthur C. Clarke: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Discuss how the tone is admiring and appreciative.

3. Video Illustration: Show a short video clip demonstrating how tone of voice affects the meaning of spoken words.

Practice (Guided):

1. Tone Guessing Game:

   • Prepare sentences on a single topic (e.g., school cafeteria food) with varying tones (e.g., positive, negative, neutral, sarcastic).

   • Read each sentence aloud and have students guess the tone. Discuss the clues that led them to their conclusions.

Wrap-Up:

1. Review: Briefly review the definitions of tone and attitude.

2. Preview: Announce that the next session will focus on identifying tone and attitude in more complex texts.

Day 2: Monday, October 28

Warm-Up:

1. Quick Recap: Briefly review the definitions of tone and attitude from the previous session.

2. Example Recall: Ask students to provide examples of different tones they remember from the previous session's activities.

Procedure:

1. Analyzing Excerpts:

   • Distribute copies of excerpts from texts (e.g., news articles, opinion pieces, short stories).

   • Have students read the excerpts individually and identify the tone and attitude.

   • Refer to section B of the provided material: "As a reader, identifying the tone of a text helps you understand the attitude of the writer toward his or her subject."

2. Group Discussion:

   • Divide students into small groups to discuss their findings.

   • Encourage them to support their answers with specific evidence from the text (word choice, imagery, sentence structure).

3. Class Discussion:

   • Bring the class back together for a whole-group discussion.

   • Have each group share their analysis of one excerpt.

   • Facilitate a discussion about the nuances of tone and attitude and how they can be interpreted differently by different readers.

Practice (Independent):

1. Textbook Exercises:

   • Have students work individually on exercises from the textbook (refer to the provided pages).

   • Focus on excerpts 1-5 from section E (Technology excerpts) and questions 1-3 from section C.

   • Also, work on question D, focusing on describing the writer's overall attitude.

     

   • Circulate around the room to provide assistance as needed.

Wrap-Up:

1. Summary: Summarize the key points of the lesson, emphasizing the importance of understanding tone and attitude in reading and writing.

2. Q&A: Allow time for students to ask any remaining questions.

Assessment:

• Observe student participation in discussions and activities.

• Collect and review student responses to the textbook exercises.

• Assess students' ability to accurately identify tone and attitude in the excerpts.

Homework:

• Assign students to find a short article or blog post online.

• They should identify the tone and attitude of the writer and provide evidence from the text to support their analysis.

• They should write a brief paragraph explaining how the tone and attitude affect their perception of the text.