Mood, Comprehension Practice on Mood, Tone and Purpose for SS 1

Class: SS 1
Term: First Term
Week: 10
Age: 15 years
Duration: 60 minutes
Subject: English Language
Curriculum Theme: Reading
Focal competence: Identifying a writer’s mood, tone and purpose
Key competencies/values: Communication; ICT and Digital Competencies; Digital Competencies; Collaboration
Skills:

• Reading and comprehending texts

Previous Lesson: Idioms About Success, Failure and Money, Appropriate Use in Context
Topic: Comprehension: Reading To Identify The Writer’S Mood, Tone And Purpose And The Relationship Between Purpose And Tone: Comprehension Practice Using A PublisherNeutral Passage On Mood, Tone And Purpose
Subject Matter: meaning of mood, meaning of tone, meaning of writer’s purpose, differences among mood tone and purpose

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils/students should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• read passages to identify the writer’s mood, tone and purpose.
• differentiate between mood, tone, and purpose in a given text.

Affective Domain

• appreciate the importance of identifying mood, tone, and purpose for deeper text comprehension.
• develop an interest in critically analysing literary and non-literary texts.

Psychomotor Domain

• effectively read and interpret passages to extract relevant information about mood, tone, and purpose.

Social Domain

• collaborate with peers to discuss and agree on the mood, tone, and purpose of a passage.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

• 2025 New Revised Senior Secondary Education Curriculum (SSEC)
• Relevant State Unified Scheme of Work
• New Concept English for Senior Secondary Schools 1
• The HeadTeacher Scheme of work For The New Revised Senior Secondary Education Curriculum (SSEC)

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

• Course books
• Reading passage (prepared by the teacher)
• Standard dictionary
• Online sources
• Selected passages from newspaper and magazine clippings
• Radio and television extracts
• Recorded materials to reflect aspects of moods, tones and purpose
• Whiteboard and markers

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson is essential for students to develop advanced reading comprehension skills. Understanding a writer’s mood, tone, and purpose allows students to grasp the deeper meaning and intent behind texts, moving beyond surface-level understanding. This skill is vital for academic success, critical thinking, and effective communication in various real-world contexts.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Students should have basic reading comprehension skills and be able to understand the literal meaning of texts. They should also have a general understanding of different types of emotions and attitudes.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Comprehension: Reading To Identify The Writer’S Mood, Tone And Purpose And The Relationship Between Purpose And Tone

Meaning of Mood

Mood in a text refers to the atmosphere or feeling that the writer creates for the reader. It is the emotional response the text evokes in the audience. Mood can be described using words like joyful, sorrowful, mysterious, suspenseful, calm, or anxious.

The mood is often established through:

1. Setting and imagery: Descriptions of places, objects, and sensory details.
2. Word choice (diction): The specific words and phrases used by the writer.
3. Figurative language: Metaphors, similes, personification that contribute to the atmosphere.

Meaning of Tone

Tone refers to the writer’s attitude towards the subject matter or the audience. It is how the writer feels about what they are writing about. Tone is conveyed through word choice, sentence structure, punctuation, and the overall style of writing.

Examples of tone include:

1. Formal or informal
2. Serious or humorous
3. Optimistic or pessimistic
4. Critical or admiring
5. Sarcastic or sincere

Meaning of Writer’s Purpose

The writer’s purpose is the reason why the writer chose to write a particular text. It is the goal the writer aims to achieve with their writing. Common purposes include to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to describe, or to explain.

The main purposes of writing are often categorised as:

1. To Inform: To provide facts, data, or instructions (e.g., news articles, textbooks, recipes).
2. To Persuade: To convince the reader to agree with a particular viewpoint or take action (e.g., advertisements, editorials, speeches).
3. To Entertain: To amuse or engage the reader (e.g., stories, poems, plays).
4. To Describe: To create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind using sensory details (e.g., descriptive essays, travel guides).
5. To Explain: To clarify a concept or process (e.g., scientific papers, how-to guides).

Distinguishing Mood, Tone, and Purpose

It is important to understand the differences between mood, tone, and purpose, as they are distinct but often interconnected elements of a text:

1. Mood vs. Tone: Mood is the feeling *the reader* gets from the text, while tone is the *writer’s attitude* towards the subject. The writer’s tone can influence the mood created in the reader. For example, a writer with a critical tone might create a mood of unease in the reader.
2. Purpose and Tone: The writer’s purpose often dictates the tone they adopt. If the purpose is to persuade, the tone might be urgent or authoritative. If the purpose is to entertain, the tone might be light-hearted or humorous.
3. Purpose and Mood: The writer’s purpose also influences the mood. A text meant to inform about a tragedy will likely create a sombre mood, while a text meant to entertain might create a joyful mood.

Comprehension Practice Passage

Read the passage below carefully and answer the questions that follow:

The old house stood silent and imposing on the hill, its windows like vacant eyes staring out at the stormy sea. A chill wind whistled through the broken panes, carrying with it the scent of decay and forgotten memories. Inside, shadows danced eerily on the peeling wallpaper, and every creak of the floorboards echoed like a mournful sigh. One could almost feel the weight of its lonely history pressing down, a silent testament to lives long past and secrets buried deep within its crumbling walls. The air was thick with a sense of abandonment, making any visitor feel a profound sense of melancholy.

Questions:

1. What mood does the passage create for the reader? Provide words or phrases from the text to support your answer.
2. Describe the writer’s tone in this passage. What attitude does the writer convey towards the old house?
3. What do you think is the writer’s primary purpose in writing this passage?

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Explanation, Question and Answer, Guided Practice, Pair Work, Reading Aloud

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Activating prior knowledge

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the students and asks them to recall what they understand by “comprehension” in English Language. The teacher then introduces the topic by explaining that good comprehension involves understanding more than just the literal meaning of words.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to the teacher’s questions and listen attentively to the introduction.

Learning Point: Importance of comprehension

Step 2: Introducing Mood

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Illustration

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains the meaning of “mood” as the feeling a text creates in the reader. The teacher provides simple examples of texts (e.g., a scary story, a funny poem) and asks students what feelings they evoke. The teacher also highlights how word choice and imagery contribute to mood.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, ask questions, and suggest feelings evoked by different types of texts.

Learning Point: Meaning of mood

Step 3: Introducing Tone

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Comparison

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains “tone” as the writer’s attitude towards the subject or audience. The teacher uses examples of how the same sentence can have different tones depending on how it’s said (e.g., “That’s great!” said sarcastically vs. sincerely) and how writers achieve this through word choice.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to explanations and participate in discussions about different tones.

Learning Point: Meaning of tone

Step 4: Introducing Writer’s Purpose

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Categorisation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains “writer’s purpose” as the reason for writing. The teacher introduces common purposes like to inform, persuade, entertain, describe, or explain, giving examples of text types for each purpose.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils identify different purposes and corresponding text types.

Learning Point: Meaning of writer’s purpose

Step 5: Distinguishing Mood, Tone, and Purpose

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Clarification/Differentiation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explicitly discusses the differences and relationships among mood, tone, and purpose, using a simple analogy if necessary to make the concepts clear. The teacher emphasises that tone is the writer’s feeling, mood is the reader’s feeling, and purpose is the writer’s goal.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils ask clarifying questions and discuss the distinctions.

Learning Point: Differences among concepts

Step 6: Guided Practice with Passage

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Reading/Application

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher distributes the prepared comprehension passage to the students. The teacher guides students to read the passage in pairs and identify the writer’s mood, tone, and purpose, discussing their findings and reasons. The teacher moves around, offering support and feedback.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils read the passage, discuss in pairs, and identify the mood, tone, and purpose, providing textual evidence.

Learning Point: Identifying mood, tone, purpose

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

1. What is the difference between mood and tone?
2. How does a writer’s purpose influence their tone?
3. Based on the passage we read, what was the writer’s primary purpose?
4. What mood did the passage create for you as a reader?

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Understanding mood, tone, purpose

Step 8: Note-Taking

Time: 10 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Writing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils/students to copy the essential Board Summary notes, including the definitions and the practice passage with answers, into their notebooks.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils/students copy the notes carefully into their notebooks.

Learning Point: Recording key concepts

Step 9: Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Reinforcement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher summarises the key learning points, reiterating the importance of identifying mood, tone, and purpose for effective comprehension. The teacher encourages students to apply these skills when reading other texts.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen and ask any final questions.

Learning Point: Consolidating lesson understanding

Continuous Assessment/Further Study

Type: Homework

Instruction: Read a short story or an article from a newspaper/magazine and identify the following:

1. The overall mood created by the writer.
2. The writer’s tone towards the subject.
3. The writer’s main purpose for writing the text.
4. Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the text to support each of your answers.

Lesson Keywords

• Mood – The atmosphere or feeling a text creates for the reader.
• Tone – The writer’s attitude towards the subject or audience.
• Purpose – The reason why the writer wrote a particular text.
• Comprehension – The ability to understand and interpret what is read.

Differentiation

For students who struggle, provide simpler passages with more obvious mood, tone, and purpose, and offer sentence starters for their answers. For advanced learners, challenge them with more complex texts that have subtle shifts in mood or tone, and encourage them to analyse the relationship between purpose and tone in greater depth.

Suggested Lesson Videos

YouTube search for “identifying mood tone purpose SS1 English”