Identifying Mood in Children's Literature

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  General Lesson Plan

• Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?

  
  

  Students will be able to describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events and the themes of the story.

  Students will be able to explain how specific illustrations convey aspects of the text, such as character development and mood.

• Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?

  
  

  Students should have some exposure to lessons regarding higher order thinking skills, such as, main idea, details, predictions, inferences, story elements (character, plot, setting).

  Students should be able to follow at least 2-3 step directions.

  Students should have exposure to cooperative learning structures.

  Students should have an understanding of the purpose of a response journal.

  Students need to be able to identify the elements of a story.

  Students need to be able to recall events in a story in a sequential manner.

• Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?

  
  

  How do you feel when it's your birthday or Christmas?

  How do you feel when you don't understand something in school?

  How do you feel when someone believes in you?

  How do you feel when you are reading a scary story about a haunted house?

  How do words or illustrations help the reader understand the character or setting better?

  How does the author use words to create a mood in a story?

  What did the actions of the character tell the reader about the mood of the story?

  What did the words of the character tell the reader about the mood of the story?

  Why did the author use the words ______________ to describe ____________?

• Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?

  
  

  Day 1 - Mini Lesson on Mood

  1. Teacher will introduce MOOD and students will participate in a cooperative group to explore the meaning of MOOD. Teacher says: Today we are going to learn about the MOOD of a text by thinking about the characters and the setting in the story. The MOOD of the story is the feeling you have when listening to or reading a text (refer to definition already displayed). Think about how you feel when it's your birthday or how you feel when you read a scary story. That is the MOOD - how you feel about something. When we read, we react and have feelings about the characters or setting based on the text or illustrations.
  2. Explanation: Teacher will review cooperative group structures. Today I am going to review how we work together with partners and or in small groups.
     • "When you are given a task (already in groups of 4 students with varying abilities) in which there are multiple responses, us the think time to generate ideas for yourself."
     • "There are no put downs and everyone's answer is equally important".
     • "Everyone should praise the responses in the group or ask appropriate questions to generate discussions."
     • "Only one person speaks at a time."
  3. Before we start I wanted to review this list of words that could describe a mood. There are other words that describe mood as well, but perhaps this list can help us to get started thinking about words that describe mood. (Project attachment MoodWords.docx so all students can see). Teacher will read the words from the list and review meanings of words students are unsure of.
  4. Teacher shows students various pictures that depict different people, animals or settings that would reflect the mood of the picture (be sure it's common things they can relate to, such as a birthday party, stormy night, kittens/puppies playing, sports pictures, etc).
  5. Teacher shows the first picture and tells students: Look at this picture carefully and think about how you feel when you see this picture. What feeling do you think the illustrator is trying to create with this photograph? Look at that list of Mood Words. (teacher provides think time). Now, in the group discuss how you feel when you look at this picture. Make sure each person has a chance to share their ideas about the mood. Teacher can monitor student discussions.
  6. Teacher repeats this same process with 3 more photographs.
  7. Teacher summarizes purpose of activity: These words that you described are ways that an author creates the mood of the story. The MOOD of the story is the feeling you have when listening to or reading a text. The mood helps us helps us visualize or imagine the text better (refer to definition).

  DAY 2: Vocabulary for "Giraffes Can't Dance":

  1. Vocabulary:

     Before we begin reading our story, we need to go over some new words and phrases: (refer to sentence strips). We are going to "act out" some of these meaning!

     "shoots of the tree"-that is the part of the tree where the flowers or leaves grow.

     Now stand up and pretend your body is the trunk to a tree; reach your arms up above you like the branches on a tree and wiggle your fingers. Your fingers are the shoots of the tree where flowers or leaves grow. Now, stay standing and put your arms to your side. Listen to this next word (read word & definition)

     buckled- to bend or give way due to something being inflexible. Pretend you are carrying 100 pounds of candy and you just can't carry them anymore. Bend your knees and fall to the ground. That is what buckled means.

     sneered- to laugh or tease someone. Who can give me an example when someone might sneer at someone else?

     "froze up" - unable to respond due to fear or embarrassment. Who can describe what it means to play "freeze tag" in PE? Freeze tag is when you can't talk or move. The phrase "froze up" means the same thing, unable to talk or move BUT it's because you are afraid or embarrassed. Who can think of something that might cause you to freeze up? (Solicit student answer and have students model that reaction).

     "rooted to the spot"-unable to move; this is similar to the phrase "froze up", but it focuses specifically on not being able to move all! Now stand back up and dance. Let students dance for 10-15 seconds and say:"STOP! Show me how you are rooted to the spot!"

     Now sit down.

     clod -someone who feels foolish or embarrassed; I felt like a clod when I was learning to ski because I kept falling down and felt very uncoordinated; I was so embarrassed because there were so many people around! Who else has felt like a clod?

     entranced -completely focused on something with all of your attention. Think of a dog who is waiting for a treat. I know my dog is completely entranced,or focused, when I hold a treat up for her. It doesn't matter if there are squirrels, rabbits or other dogs around. Can you think a situation when YOU might feel entranced?

     shuffling -moving by dragging your feet; OK, now stand up and shuffle your feet back to your desks.

  2. Teacher says: Before we begin our story, I want you to discuss with your partner how you might tell the MOOD of the text.

     Teacher gives students 1 min each to share with partners and has groups share out; Teacher summarizes: Good readers often pause as they are reading and think about the text. They think about the mood, or how the words and illustrations make them feel. This helps to create a visual picture in your mind and helps you understand the text better. We are now going to get out our Reading Detective hats to look for clues about the MOOD in one of my favorite books (hand out detective hats).

  3. Teacher begins with the story text; Giraffes Can't Dance, written by GilesAndreae.
     1. Show students the cover and have them make predictions about the story.
     2. Read pages 1-4 to students, commenting on the beautiful illustrations.
     3. Read pages 5-6, and then ask students: With your shoulder partner, look at the illustrations on these 2 pages and discuss the mood at this point. What do you think when looking at Gerald? How can you tell he may be feeling this way? What do you think when looking at the other animals (allow several student responses). How would you describe the MOOD of the story at this point? What words would you use to describe the mood of the story at this point in time? What emotion words did you hear in the story as I was reading? How do those emotion words make you feel?
     4. Read pages 11-12; recount the events in the story thus far (check for understanding regarding recall, story elements): What were some things Gerald was good at doing? What were some things he didn't think he was good at doing? What problem is Gerald facing at the end of page 12? What motivates Gerald to act in a particular manner? How does this effect the mood of the story? -

     Thinking about the words and looking at the illustrations on both of these pages, what kind of mood do you think the author is trying to create? (mean-spirited, uncomfortable, nervous, humorous).

     1. Read pages 13-14 and ask students: What caused Gerald to freeze up? What was the effect of the animals sneering at him? Think about the MOOD of the story in regards to Gerald, how is he feeling? Discuss how the other animals are treating him affects how he is feeling and the MOOD of the story at this point.

• Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?

  
  

  DAY 3: Exploring MOOD:

  1. Review vocabulary strips, meaning of words/phrases, before you continue reading the text. Ask a student to summarize what has happened so far in the text.
  2. Re-read p.13-14 and review what caused to Gerald "freeze up" and the effect it had on him.
  3. Read p. 15-18. Teacher says: With your shoulder partner, discuss what you think Cricket might be trying to tell Gerald (solicit answers from groups – We are all different and learn in different ways).
  4. Read p. 19-20. Teacher asks students: I want you to think about this question; how has the mood of the story changed? How has author let us know that something has changed; how do you know this? I am going to give you some think time and then you will share with your face partner. Teacher allows 30 seconds think time, then students share answers for 2 minutes. Solicit answers from pairs, focusing on HOW they reached that conclusion. What in the text supports the mood change? (possible answers; "The mood has changed because now Cricket has played the violin and Gerald felt his body do the most amazing thing. Looking at the illustrations and thinking about the words, I think the mood is now hopeful and one of discovery for Gerald", etc.)
  5. Read p. 21-22 to students. Ask students: looking at the illustrations, how has this event changed the mood of the story? Teacher solicits answers from students.
  6. Teacher reads p. 23-26, then asks students: Think about the last few pages I just read and the illustrations. What is the mood of the story? How do things look for Gerald now? What details from the text and illustrations tells you so? (teacher solicits answers from students).
  7. Teacher reads p.27-28. Teacher asks students to think about the characters and how they developed in the story: How did the mood regarding Gerald change from the beginning of the story to the end? Discuss with your shoulder partner. Students share answers. Teacher then asks: What is the mood of the other animals in the jungle now? How do you know this? Again, students share with shoulder partners and share answers with the group.
  8. Teacher reads last page, 29.
  9. Teacher summarizes: By looking at the illustrations and thinking about the words in a text, we react and this creates the mood of the story and also helps us understand the mood of the story.

• Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the lesson?

  
  

  Students will independently complete Mood Assessment (attached) to evaluate their understanding of how the mood changes from the beginning to the end of the story Brave Irene by William Steig (Lexile Level 640).

  Teacher will read the story orally and students will then have an opportunity to complete their Mood Assessment Sheet.

  Students will focus on how the mood reflects the main character. This will done by thinking about words that describe the mood and creating a student illustration to support that mood.

  Grades for the assessment will be earned based on the points included on the Mood Assessment.

• Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?

  
  

  Students will discuss their Mood Assessments of Brave Irene by William Steig.

• Summative Assessment

  
  

  Students will independently complete MoodAssessment.docxto evaluate their understanding of how the mood changes from the beginning to the end of the story Brave Irene by William Steig (Lexile Level 640). Teacher will read the story orally and students will then have an opportunity to complete their Mood Assessment Sheet.

  Students will focus on how the mood reflects the main character. This will done by thinking about words that describe the mood and creating a student illustration to support that mood.

  Grades for the assessment will be earned based on the points included on the Mood Assessment.

• Formative Assessment

  
  
  1. Teacher will introduce MOOD and students will participate in a cooperative group to explore the meaning of MOOD. Teacher says: Today we are going to learn about the MOOD of a text by thinking about the characters and the setting in the story. The MOOD of the story is the feeling you have when listening to or reading a text (refer to definition already displayed). Think about how you feel when it's your birthday or how you feel when you read a scary story. That is the MOOD - how you feel about something. When we read, we react and have feelings about the characters or setting based on the text or illustrations.
  2. Explanation: Teacher will review cooperative group structures. Today I am going to review how we work together with partners and or in small groups.
  • "When you are given a task (already in groups of 4 students with varying abilities) in which there are multiple responses, us the think time to generate ideas for yourself."
  • "There are no put downs and everyone’s answer is equally important”.
  • "Everyone should praise the responses in the group or ask appropriate questions to generate discussions."
  • "Only one person speaks at a time."
  3. Before we start I wanted to review this list of words that could describe a mood. There are other words that describe mood as well, but perhaps this list can help us to get started thinking about words that describe mood. (Project attachment MoodWords.docx so all students can see). Teacher will read the words from the list and review meanings of words students are unsure of.
  4. Teacher shows students various pictures that depict different people, animals or settings that would reflect the mood of the picture (be sure it's common things they can relate to, such as a birthday party, stormy night, kittens/puppies playing, sports pictures, etc).
  5. Teacher shows first picture and tells students: Look at this picture carefully and think about how you feel when you see this picture. What feeling do you think the illustrator is trying to create with this photograph? Look at that list of Mood Words. (teacher provides think time). Now, in the group discuss how you feel when you look at this picture. Make sure each person has a chance to share their ideas about the mood. Teacher can monitor student discussions.
  6. Teacher repeats this same process with 3 more photographs.
  7. Teacher summarizes purpose of activity: These words that you described are ways that an author creates the mood of the story. The MOOD of the story is the feeling you have when listening to or reading a text. The mood helps us helps us visualize or imagine the text better (refer to definition).

• Feedback to Students

  
  

  The teacher will monitor discussions while students are discussing the mood of the photographs during the Formative Assessment. Questions a teacher might ask during this time include:

  Which mood word does not apply at all to that photograph? Why?

  Which mood word(s) could apply if ______________ was taken out of the photograph?

  Why would the author use ____________ to depict the mood of _______________?