Task

Tone is the author's attitude or feelings toward the audience, the subject, or the character. A piece of writing can have one or several tones. Tone is characterized by the setting, choice of vocabulary, and other details in the selection.

Has a parent or maybe a teacher ever told you to "Watch your tone"? Just like the tone of a person's voice, the tone of writing expresses the writer's feelings. You can usually describe the tone of the work with one or two adjectives. Example: "amused, playful, reminiscence, regretful, fearful." Play a quick word search game to view ten additional examples of words to describe tone.

Choose one Inaugural Address of one of the Presidents of the United States. As you read the speech, complete the graphic organizer in 8.04 Inaugural Poetry noting the tone of the speech.

Listen to "One Today" by Richard Blanco as he reads his inaugural poem at the 2013 inauguration. While listening, think of the tone of the piece.

Now, try your hand in writing an inaugural poem for the President's speech that you chose to read in Part A. Your task is to write a poem that will inspire America as well as speak to her past and future. Go to TV411 to "Tune in to Learning" about how to write a poem. You do not have to log in; just complete the activities before creating your own poem.

When you finish with Part A and Part B, submit your work to the 8.04 Inaugural Poetry Dropbox.

 

 

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