Same News, Five Tones: Diction and Connotation

SubstitutePlans.com
English Language Arts · English 9-12
SP-ELA912-007 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Same News, Five Tones: Diction and
Connotation
English Language Arts · English 9-12 · Grades 9-10 · 45 minutes
Time needed
45 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). No board work needed.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Individual work with optional partner talk.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet
Goal for today: Students will identify tone in short texts, explain how diction and connotation create it, and rewrite a
text in a different tone.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: DICTION = the words a writer chooses. CONNOTATION = the feelings a word carries.
TONE = the writer’s attitude.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. No English background is needed.
Say this to start
Good morning! Today you will see how the same news can sound completely different depending on the words
someone chooses. The news is that a school dance has been moved because of a storm warning. You will read five
different announcements, name the tone of each one, and find the words that create that tone. Then you will rewrite
one in your own voice.
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet and read the
three board definitions aloud.
Settle in and listen.
5–12
Read versions A and B aloud in two very different voices, if
comfortable. Ask, “What changed even though the news is
the same?”
Answer aloud.
12–25
Tell students to read all five versions and complete the
tone chart using the word bank.
Fill in the chart.
25–32
Tell students to answer questions 1–3 on their own.
Answer the multiple-choice questions.
32–42
Tell students to answer questions 4 and 5. Walk the room.
Rewrite a version and explain word choice.
42–45
Collect the worksheets and place them in a stack.
Hand in the worksheet.

SubstitutePlans.com
English Language Arts · English 9-12
SP-ELA912-007 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
If things go wrong
• If students say two tones fit one version, tell them to choose the best fit and underline the words that prove it.
• If a student wants to use a tone that is rude or inappropriate for school, ask them to choose a different tone
from the word bank.
• If a student finishes early, use the early finisher list.
Early finishers
• Write the dance announcement in an angry tone and then in a calm tone. Underline the key words in each.
• List three pairs of words that mean about the same thing but feel different, such as “home” and “house.”
Support and challenge
• Support: Provide sentence starters such as, “The word ___ makes the tone sound ___.”
• Challenge: Ask students to explain how the same news could be told in a tone that is both formal and warm.
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: