Athor's Style athor's se of... descriptive langage in a variety of text, identifying how word choice is sed to appeal to the reader's senses and emotions, providing evidence from texl. IIIIIIIIIIIIII. ~ 00.= g: U "3.;: 3 o In this lesson, yo will learn abot style, tone, and mood. Style is the niqe way a writer ses words. Tone is the attitde the writer has toward a sbject. Mood is the overall feeling or atmosphere of a story. A writer's tone is his or her attitde toward the sbject, characters, or adience. Think of tone as being similar to yor tone of voice when yo speak. Tone reflects the writer's attitde-it may be hostile, embarrassed, joyfl, serios, or hmoros, for example. The tone can also be objective, or withot emotion. Newspapers often have an objective tone. An athor's tone can also be ironic. Irony is a contradiction between what is sa id or expected and what is meant or actally happens. If a character is described as Sitting on a coch playing video games for hors and his mother comes in and says, "My, what a prodctive day yo're having," she is being ironic, or saying the opposite of what she really means. The mood of a story is the overall feeling or atmosphere that an athor creates. An athor creates mood by sing words and details that create an emotional response in the reader. To identify the mood of a story, pay attention to yor own feelings as yo read. Does the athor create a feeling of peaceflness, fear, or sspense? The mood can be almost any feeling yo can imagine. Noticing how an athor chooses words to create tone and mood can help yo nderstand the athor's style and enjoy reading even more. For example, a writer might se sond devices sch as alliteration, or the repetition of initial consonants, to create a certain tone. "The dark, dank dngeon reeked of danger" has a threatening or ominos tone, while 'The cat clawed the coat with crios abandon" indicates a playfl mood. Alliteration is meant to appeal to or senses and engage or imagination. Writers se style, tone, and mood in all kinds of materials. Being aware of these elements makes reading more enjoyable. Use this chart as a gide. Style Tone Mood the niqe way a writer ses words the writer's attitde toward a sbject the overa ll feeling an athor creates -------------------------~-------------------------~ NGSSS LA.S.2.l.7
Read these e-mails abot a stock car race. Look for style, tone, and mood to answer the qestions below. 1 Hi Brittany: Yesterday Deanna and I went to a stock car race with my parents. It was one of the most exciting and nail-biting experiences of my life. Those drivers are fantastic, racing arond that hot track at more than 100 miles per hor, inches [rom the bmper of other cars. Their control and nerve is incredible. 1 felt my adrenaline pmping whenever one car sqeezed past another at high speeds. -Kalina 2 Dear Brittany: Yesterday Kalina and I went to a stock car race with her parents. I' I seriosly do not nderstand the appeal of watching ca rs go arond and arond the same track all day. The engines whined lodly, the track was so hot that the air above it shimmered, and the harsh smell o[ gasoline and brnt rbber made me gag. It was nice of Kalina to invite me, bt I think I'll decline next time. -Deanna What is Kalina's tone in the first e-mail? ~ Reread the first e-mail. Look for words that reveal Kalina's attitde toward the stock car race. ~ What cles do yo find in the e-mail.kalinasesthewords exciting. nail-biting. fantastic, and incredible to describe the experience. She says I felt my adrenaline pllmping. ~ What do these cles tell yo abot Kalina's attitde toward the race? She enjoyed the race and thoght it was very exciting. ANSWER: In the first e-mail, Kalina's tone is excited and enthsiastic..~ o U What is Deanna's tone in the second e-mail? NGSSS LA.S.2.l.7
I.I) Read the tall tale. Use the Think Abot It to gide yor reading. Then answer the qestion. Use the Hint to help yo. Think Abot It What is the moodthe overa ll feeling or atmosphere-of the story? How does the story make yo feel? Hint Pay attention to yor feelings as yo read. Do yo feel sad? Angry? Amsed? Yong Pecos Bill Now, little Pecos Bill was the yongest of nineteen children, born to a cowboy and his misss while they was a-travelin' west to Texas ('cept at the time the baby was jst called Bill on accont of the family had already sed p all the good names). As the wagon was fording the Pecos River, it hit a bmp while Bill was a-napping, and Bill got bonced ot and swept off by the crrent. Bt that didn't faze little Bill none. He woke p nderwater three miles downstream, taght himself to swim, and swam pstream to his famil y, what sat sobbing and wailing on the riverbank. From then on, the little tyke was called Pecos River Bill, or Pecos Bill for short. In this story, the athor creates a mood of A grief. B anger. C seriosness. D hmor. CORRECT ANSWER SUPPORTING DETAILS INCORRECT ANSWERS Answer choice D is correct. The athor's folksy style and the nbelievable events that happen in the story create an overall feeling of hmor and amsement. A is not correct becase, althogh the family in the story experi ences some grief, the story does not have an overall feeling of grief. B is not correct becase the mood is lighthearted and fnny, not angry. C is not correct becase this is not at all a serios story, bt rather an exaggerated story that cold never be tre.. ", if 's:. 0. o U NGSSS LA.S.2.l.7
Read the passage. Use each Think Abot It to gide yor reading, Think Abot It What can yo tell abot the athor? What time period is he describing? What is the athor's attitde toward the swimming holes of his yoth? What words and phrases does the athor se to create a sense of playflness? How does the athor feel abot today's swimming holes? Swimming Holes of My Yoth 1 When 1 was a boy, the smmers were jst as hot as they are now, bt we didn't have any air conditioning. There was no better way to cool off than spending the day at a swimming hole-and we mst have tried everyone of them for miles arond. Times have changed, and many of the best swimming holes of my yoth are today srronnded by condos and other trappings of civilization. Bt when 1 was yong, yo felt li ke yo were in the contry when yo visited a swimming hole. 2 One of or favorite swimming holes was Flamingo Parle We'd swim and play arond in the cool water all day when the temperatre seemed to be in the 100s. Sometimes when we wanted a big change of pace, we'd hi ke along the riverbank or along a trail. Bt mostly, we spent or sweltering days in the cool, refreshing water. 3 We also spent a lot of time at swimming holes p and down Dolphin Cree k. Dolphin Springs Pool was new back then, bt jst like today, its temperatre was always an invigorating 68 degrees. Nothing felt better after a long, sweaty walk to a sw imming hole than cannonballing into that cool water pon arriva l! There was also a small rapids pstrea m that we liked to wade into and look for tadpoles and fish. 4 On occasion, we went to Palm Frond Pool, which was a poplar swimming hole way back when my granddad was a lad. The pool is at the base of a 20-foot waterfall. We sed to stand in the waterfall and pretend we were taking a shower. Then we'd dive into th e spring-fed water and act like otters for the rest of the day. We'd sw im aronnd large bolders, see how deep we cold dive, and bask on the sandy beach. Once in a great while we'd hike the trails, bt the water was so cool and inviting we tended to stick close to it. 5 Many of the swimming holes of my yoth are sti II arond, bt I think they have changed. Today, the swimming holes are crowded and poplar, bt when I was yong we kept or favorite sw imming holes a secret. Often there were not too many other people there, and we felt like we were in the wilderness, even if the highway wasn't too far away. E.3 ~ 'C 3 o NGSSS LA.S.2.l.7
I IIII I.I I II I Hints Reread paragraphs 2-4. What is the overall feeling or atmosphere that the athor creates? Use the Hints to answer the qestions below. Circle the correct answers and provide spporting details from the passage. 1 In paragraphs 2-4, the narrator creates a mood that is A mysterios. B joyfl. C regretf l. D gloomy. Spportillg Detail s: Which of these phrases creates a feeling that is playfl and happy? 2 In paragraph 4, which words does the athor se to create a sense of play flness? A "at the base of a 20-foot waterfall" B "We sed to stand in the waterfall" C "act li ke otters for the rest of the day" D "Once in a great while we'd hike the tra ils" Spportillg Detai ls: What is the athor's attitde toward the swimming holes he describes? 3 Which word best describes the tone of this selection? A indifferent B confsed C annoyed D nostalgic Spportillg Details: "3 c 3 ~eair SAME' Witll yor partne,-, sham and discl/ss yor answers and sllpportijlg details. -----------------------------------"' _. 4I-------------------------~~~~~ NGSSS LA.S. I.I.7
Read the passage "German Shepherds: Friends and Companions" before answering Nmbers 1 throgh 6. GERMAN SHEPHERDS: Friends and Companions German shepherd dogs are one of the most poplar dog breeds in the world. They have been helping people for almost as many years as tbe breed has been in existence. People long ago realized that dogs cold be trained to help hmans. A painting fond in the rins of Pompeii (an ancient Roman city that was destroyed by a volcano in A.D. 79) shows a dog leading a blind man across a marketplace. A gide dog can help a person get arond more easily, help the person retain independence, and provide a loving friend and companion. The first gide dog in the United States was a German shepherd named Bddy. The dog helped a blind teenager, Morris Frank. Frank was so gratefl to his dog and the services the dog provided that he spent the rest of his life working to advance the case of gide dogs. German shepherds have been trained not only to help the blind, bt also to alert deaf or hearingimpaired owners to alarms and noises. Some German shepherds have been trained to pll wheelchairs or pick p things that were accidentally dropped. In addition, German shepherds have been helping law enforcement officers, the military, and search-and-resce teams since the 1900s. Few dogs are as capable as German shepherds. A German shepherd gide dog or service dog is, however, mch more than jst a helper. The dog is a friend and companion that doesn't care abot a person's abilities. Having a dog also ensres that the owner gets ot freqently, as dogs need to be walked and exercised. And walking a dog is a social experience since people will talk to dog owners abot their dog, its looks, and its traits. German shepherds are extremely social dogs and they like to be with others. For this reason, they can make great pets for an active family. It is important not to leave a German shepherd in isolation all day becase it will be nhappy and bored, and get into mischief. However, German shepherds tend to like every member of a family, and as long as they can be with someone, they will be happy. Did I mention that they make great family pets? German shepherds that are raised with small children are sally tolerant abot being grabbed and poked (after all, pppies treat adlt dogs this way, too). And don't forget, they make great family pets. Becase German shepherds are smart, loyal, energetic, and easy to train, they are often sed as search-and-resce dogs, as bomb- or drg-sniffing dogs, as gide dogs, police dogs, military dogs, or gard dogs. However, the vast majority of German shepherds worldwide are sed in a different capacity-as family friends and companions. What is life like for a German shepherd? Read the short story on the next page to find ot. NGSSS LA.S.2.l.7
I Tonya the Helper Dog When T was jst a tiny pppy, I left the warm companionship of my litter and went to live with the Soto family. The noisy chaos of the Soto hose was very different from the cozy crate where I had lived with my mother and littermates. At first, I felt lonely and disoriented. Bt I soon grew to enjoy living with the Sotos. I had a new mother and father, two teenaged brothers, and an eight-year-old sister named Maya. I was the baby of the family, and the Sotos took me everywhere-to Little Leage games, hikes in the woods, car trips, visits to the vet, and cookots in the yard. I enjoyed all of it (except the visits to the vet). I was srronded by people all day long, and I became sed to lots of activity, noise, people of all ages, and obeying all kinds of rles. In the two wonderfl years I spent with my new family, I grew to love them as my own. Bt one day, Mrs. Soto came to me looking very sad. As she scratched my ears, she tried to explain that it was time for me to go away to school. She told me that I had an important job to do, and that I needed to learn how to do it. I didn't really nderstand, bt the ear-scratching felt really nice. The day I left the Sotos was a very sad one-both for me and for the Sotos. Bt after a little while, I started to think abot how mch fn it had been to live in a new place. I had enjoyed many interesting experiences, and now I wold have the chance to learn even more new things, meet lots of new people, and eventally become an important helper and friend to someone who needs me. Now I nderstand what Mrs. Soto was trying to explain, and I can't wait to become a helper dog! NGSSS LA.8.2.1.7
o What is the tone of paragraph 1 when the athor describes the history of German shepherds? A. fearfl B. objecti ve C. hmoros D. disapproving., Read this sentence from the passage. Few dogs are as capable as German shepherds. The athor ses these words to express a feeling of F. fear. G. hope. H. disinterest. 1. admiration.., In paragraph 5, which words does the athor se to create a lighthearted tone? A. "they can make great pets for an active family" B. "Did r mention that they make great family pets?" C. "German shepherds tend to like every member of a family." D. "after all, pppies treat adlt dogs this way, too".,., In the story "Tonya the Helper Dog," what is the mood of paragraph 7 when Tonya goes to a new home? F. sad G. joyfl H. angry 1. sspensefl In the story "Tonya the Helper Dog," what is the tone of paragraph 8 when Tonya adjsts to her new life? A. peacefl B. energetic C. dobtfl D. embarrassed In the story "Tonya the Helper Dog," what is the mood of paragraph 10, when the athor has Tonya say, "r can't wait to become a helper dog!"? F. mildly interested G. happy and hopefl H. anxios and fearfl 1. weighed down by despair Answer Form 1 @ 2 CD 3 @ Nmber 4 Correct CD 5 @ 0 6 CD NGSSS LA.S.2.l.7