Author’s Tone and Reader’s Mood

Posted on February 27, 2015 by MrsLeonardo

My classes learned about tone and mood for six days nearly two weeks ago. We learned

Tone is the author’s attitude towards the audience, the subject and the character. Tone is shown through dialogue (talking) and descriptions (author’s word choice). When I discussed tone, I always pointed to my head to indicate the author’s thoughts.
Mood is the feeling the reader gets from a story, poem, passage, video, etc. Mood is shown through setting (location) and atmosphere (everything in the the setting). Since I had a little hand movement for tone, I had to have one for mood! Mood was simply two hands in the shape of a heart over the heart.

We started off watching a series of videos and writing down the tone and mood for each video. First up was the original 1964 Mary Poppins trailer. Ohhhh, everyone made fun of the “old-school” Mary Poppins graphics and special effects. We noted words like pride, sparkling new motion picture, the world’s most delightful heroine, and magical and wondrous ways transform each member of the family. We took a look at this handout I created to determine the author’s tone. Students discussed in pairs which words best described the author’s tone, and they came up with optimistic, cheerful, and informal. We also spent some time discussing mood (light-hearted, humorous, and warm).

After watching the original Mary Poppins trailer, we watched Scary Mary trailer. THAT one definitely got everyone’s attention! Nearly everyone pointed out that the author’s word choice helped them to determine the tone, while the atmosphere helped determine the mood.

When students had some free time, they were able to access my Blendspace account to watch a few more videos on their own and write down the tone and mood for each video and explain how they determined the tone and mood.

Students also added an easy drawing to our notebooks, and wrote the definition for tone and mood in their own words.

After analyzing several passages and excerpts, my first period class was given an assignment that required them to read an excerpt from a book, box words that helped them to determine the author’s tone, and then draw a picture over the words to help explain the mood. Finally, they had to answer three questions about tone, mood, and their drawing.

Going forward:

Students will analyze tone and mood in poetry and literature.
Students will explain how figurative language plays a major role in tone.
Students will write paragraphs and essays that analyze the author’s tone.

Next year:

Teach author’s tone and reader’s mood earlier in the year and complete short projects about author’s tone throughout the year.

Good Readers Flag with a Purpose

Posted on October 9, 2014 by MrsLeonardo

Who’s ready to start a brand new unit? I am! We’re wrapping up The Great Fire and preparing to start reading Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief.

Here’s what we’ve covered with Jim Murphy’s The Great Fire:

How to build/activate prior knowledge before reading a text
Theme (message)
Infer (a logical guess based on information from the text and we know)
Collaborative Discussions
Close Reading

As we start our new unit, we should be active readers. Here’s the game plan:

SOURCE

1. Be sure to bring sticky flags or markers to class on Monday.

2. We will label our flags similar to the image above.

3. When we read, we will make sure we are active readers; let’s engage with the text!

Reading Log Update

Posted on October 5, 2014 by MrsLeonardo

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

If you’re on my email update list, this information might not be new for you. If you’re not on my email update list, you need to make sure you get added to the list!

My reading log format and procedures have been changed. Here are the details:

In an effort to encourage students to read for personal enjoyment and not for “homework”, students will now log the book title, author, and number of pages read. A parent signature is required.
This is the new form for period one students, and this is the form for periods three, five, and six.
Period one students must read 250 pages by November 14.
Students from periods three, five, and six must read 150 pages by November 14.
I will still check reading logs on Mondays, but I will not collect the final log until November 14 (end of the first trimester).
Students can log ANYTHING they read.
Completed books and books and texts read in class can be added to the new reading log.
Because we are in the middle of the trimester, the number of required pages to be read has been adjusted to make sure students have a chance to meet their reading target.
Students will set personal reading goals for trimester two (a minimum of 500 pages for period one and a minimum of 300 pages for periods three, five, and six).

If your child needs some book suggestions, check out this list from Good Reads!

Information on Reading Logs and Spelling Homework

Posted on September 6, 2014 by MrsLeonardo

Back to School Night was a success! Thank you to all parents and guardians that took the time to visit room B-5.

As the title to this blog post suggests, this post will cover important information regarding reading logs and spelling homework.

Reading Logs:

Reading logs are due every Monday.
The first reading log will be due Monday, September 15.
Students will be required to make sure their book is at or slightly above their reading level.
Visit www.lexile.com to verify the Lexile level of a book.
Don’t your child get behind! Verify that their reading log is being completed. Check their work on Wednesday and Friday. Sunday night will be too late!

Spelling:

We will review our spelling focus this coming Wednesday.
Night one begins on Wednesday, September 10; night seven ends on Monday, September 22.
Our spelling focus: Notice and use vowel patterns that appear in multisyllable words: -ice (novice, licorice, disservice, etc.)
Nights 1-4 will be collected September 17; nights 5-7 will be collected September 23.

As always, email me with any concerns or questions. Happy Homeworking!

5 Reasons Why You Need a Library Card

Posted on August 19, 2014 by MrsLeonardo

SOURCE

It’s that time of year again! School starts next week, and by now you might have had some time to visit Target and Wal-mart to nab some nifty new school supplies. You might have even scored some awesome new shoes and clothes from your favorite store at the mall. Do you want to know what you need to be 100% ready for school? A library card!

If you already own a library card, give yourself a pat on the back! If you don’t have a library card, what are you waiting on? Yes, the library is a great place to check out books, but the library offers several other perks.

The library offers a quiet place to study. If you need a nice quiet space to finish your homework or complete a research project, the library is the perfect place for you to do that. You will have minimal distractions and more time to complete your tasks.
There are numerous benefits to owning a library card. You can use your library card to check out DVDs and CDs. You have access to computers, homework help, newspapers, family movie nights, free classes, and magazines! If you own an e-reader, you can also checkout e-books! During the summer the library offers contests and really awesome reading programs for you to join.
The library offers free Wi-Fi. If you already have your own laptop or tablet, you can access Wi-Fi at the library.
Library cards can save you money. Rather than pay $12-$15 for a brand new book, you can check out the book and save yourself some money. Remember to return your books on time to avoid late fees! Your library card can also get you into local museums and events for free or at a discounted rate!
Library staff can offer you help. Librarians are your friends! They can help you find the perfect book, assist you with finding classes, and guide you with your research projects.

Redwood City students, check out these helpful links for the Redwood City Public Library: