EDIS 5020 Lesson Plan Template

(Direct Instruction Model)

Name: Madeline Bishop Lesson Topic: Identifying Tone and Cultural Influence
Content Area: English Grade Level(s): 10th Grade

Lesson Content
Brief Overview / Background Information – Please be clear about how this particular lesson is situated within your unit and be explicit about
how you will convey the relevance and significance of this lesson to students.

This lesson will take place on the second day of the unit after we have discussed the definition of
socio-cultural context and the background of our first author, Sherman Alexie. We read through
Alexie’s “Superman and Me” the previous day and discussed elements of sociocultural influence.
This lesson will cover the identification of tone and tone shifts in a text, and how the context of an
author can be seen in the tone of their writing. The foundational skills and concepts developed in
this lesson will help students to apply their knowledge about socio-cultural context to their
interpretations of authorial tone in text. We will practice with a couple isolated examples, and then
with the beginning of Alexie’s “Superman and Me.” Students will then have time to explore and
identify tone in the rest of the piece. They will mark up and annotate their copies of the text (skills
taught in a previous unit), and I will collect these at the end of the lesson. Students will be provided
with a graphic organizer for tone analysis that they will complete either during or after reading.

Students will be asked to understand that each of these elements are tied to the background from
which an author is writing, and will be very important for their success in the unit as a whole. At the
end of the lesson, students will complete an exit ticket where they will show their progress towards
the UKD’s listed below (See formative assessment). This is relevant to students’ lives because they
will be gaining skills of close analysis of text, culture, and author. Through this they will gain a
greater understanding about the cyclical influence of sociocultural context and writing, which will
help them to examine the sources from which they read and discover the social and cultural power
of texts--helping them to see the power they hold within their own writing as well. This lesson
provides opportunities for students to engage with the cultural and textual aspects of the unit, and
practice skills they will later be asked to show on the performance task.

Concept(s) – Include only the concepts Essential Question(s) – Include only the questions addressed by this particular lesson
addressed by this particular lesson
EQ1. How do authors’ specific backgrounds influence the content
Voice, Influence and tone of their writing?

Relevant VSOLs/CCSSs – Include only the standards addressed by this particular lesson

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative
and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning
and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or
informal tone).

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Lesson Objectives (UKDs)

As a result of this lesson, students will…
Understand THAT: Know: Be skilled at (Doing):

K3. How narrative voice shapes D1. Explaining how an author’s

U2. Authors’ literary voices and
rhetoric, as displayed through
tone and theme, are influenced
by their sociocultural context,
and serve the social function of
representing aspects of their
culture for a range of readers
and shifts tone and meaning in
a text.
K5. How the sociocultural
context (Time, Place, Region)
surrounding the following
authors can be seen in the tone
and tone shifts of their writing:
b. Sherman Alexie
sociocultural background
influences his or her narrative
voice. (Understanding)
D9. Identifying tone and tone
shifts in a narrative nonfiction
text. (Applying)

Steps in Lesson – PLEASE USE A SEPARATE ROW FOR EACH STEP.

Should follow the Direct Instruction model and include strategies read about and introduced in class.
There should be a combination of whole class, small group, and individual work.

STEP 1. REVIEW PREVIOUSLY LEARNED MATERIAL

Hello everyone, happy Wednesday! As you come in please find your seat quietly and get started on your
‘Do Now.’ The questions are listed up on the screen (Appendix A: Lesson Slides – Slide 1), if you need
paper there is some in the basket at the front of the room.
Questions listed on ‘Do Now’:
1. What is sociocultural context when it comes to language? Define.
2. Based on our lesson yesterday, what are some elements of Sherman Alexie’s sociocultural
context?
3. In at least two sentences, describe how an author’s sociocultural context might influence his
or her writing.

Okay, so let’s take a few minutes to talk about these questions and remind ourselves about what we
talked about yesterday. Who would like to share their answer for number one? [Call on a few students
to hear some variation in what they remember, and make sure that the gist of “the idea that
language, rather than existing in isolation, is closely linked to the culture and society in which it is
used” is covered. If they seem to be struggling, I will review the content with probing questions
about region, social class, and social atmosphere.]

How about number two? Would someone like to share some interesting things they remember about
Sherman Alexie? [Call on multiple hands in order to cover enough points to jog their memories about
the previous class. I’ll be looking for them to cover that he is Native American, grew up on the
Spokane Indian Reservation in Seattle, he was born with hydrocephalus, had alcoholic parents, six
siblings, low socio-economic status, etc.)

Great, so then moving on to question three, how do we think elements like what we just said about
Sherman Alexie can influence a piece of writing like “Superman and Me” which we read right at the end
of the lesson yesterday? [Hold a short discussion about the possible influences on text and write
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student responses up on the board. Collect the ‘Do Now’ (Formative/Diagnostic Assessment 1 – see
explanation)]

STEP 2. HOOK (optional) / CLARIFY OBJECTIVES FOR THE LESSON

Awesome responses, guys, I love how deeply you all seem to be thinking about how different elements
of an author’s background can influence texts in different ways. This is going to be really important for
the rest of this unit, and its something to always keep in mind as you continue reading throughout high
school and throughout your lives. Make sure to keep all your notes, and I’ll be passing back your Do
Nows tomorrow so you can reference those as well throughout the unit.
[Flip to Appendix A: Lesson Slides – Slide 2]

Today we are going to be looking at how the influences we’ve just been talking about manifest
themselves in the tone and tone shifts present in a piece of writing. A lot of us have experience
identifying tones, which is great, but we can all use a refresher because now we are looking for and at
tone through a sociocultural lens—more than just identifying, we can trace it back to see the influence
of an author’s background. This will be a crucial skill for our final assessment, so we’re going to get lots
of practice identifying and analyzing.

Before we jump in, let’s take a look at our objectives for the day. First, we are going to talk about the
definition of “Tone” to make sure we’re all starting on the same page. We’re then going to talk about
tone shifts and how to identify them, and we will finish with reading through “Superman and Me”
again with our tone detective hats on. I know from our reflections yesterday that some of us are still a
little bit hazy on the specific elements of authors’ contexts, so this lesson is also a way to reinforce our
understanding about that as we analyze the text, this whole unit is going to ask us to be constantly
thinking and rethinking they ways texts are influenced by their authors.
STEP 3. PRESENT NEW MATERIAL
[Pass note sheets (Appendix x: Note Sheet), around circle of desks]
In order for us to be able to identify tone in a text, we first need to understand what tone is. Please
follow along and fill in your note sheets as we go through the material. Similar to the tone of voice you
speak with, tone is the attitude with which an author is writing. We can’t actually hear them, so we
have to infer from the words they use. Remember, tone is not something you read directly in a text, the
author almost never directly says “I feel _____ about this subject,” so it’s implicit and we have to
interpret based on the context of the piece and the author.

Write on board:
Tone: the attitude an author has towards their writing
Implicit: implied, but not plainly expressed

Remember that Tone does not equal Mood, which we talked about a couple of weeks ago as how the
reader is supposed to feel—tone is the way the narrator feels.

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Write on board:
Mood: the way a reader feels while reading a text, an effect of tone
Tone =! Mood (use a crossed through =)

Take about a minute to brainstorm on your note sheet some possible tone descriptors we can identify
—words we could use to describe the tone of a piece. Think back to Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451,
or one of the other works we’ve read so far this year—what words could describe the tone of those
pieces? [Circulate around the room while they brainstorm and make sure they are writing their
thoughts down]. Alright, who would like to share what they came up with? [Call on a few students,
reinforcing strong examples and clarifying on incorrect examples. Good examples could be: anxious,
excited, cynical, foreboding, grateful, jealous, hopeful, resentful, wise, fearful, innocent, curious, etc.
Lord of the Flies, for example, has tones of innocence, curiosity, fear, and deceit to name a few].

Great examples! One of the really cool things about tone is that it does not have to stay consistent
throughout an entire text, in fact, tone frequently changes as a piece of writing progresses and creates
new effects. Tone is created by the author’s voice, developed throughout as the voice shifts attitudes
and feelings towards the subject matter.

Write on board:
Tone shift: the tone of a work may change or shift as the speaker or narrator’s perspective or
attitude changes

So identifying tone and tone shifts requires us to read a piece with the author’s perspective in mind. We
worked with perspective in our last unit, and now we are adding the sociocultural background
information to our interpretations of perspective and attitude. In order to identify shifts in tone, we
have to be constantly thinking and keeping in mind the tones we identify as we read. In order to do
this, it is helpful to annotate the text, circling words that give insight into the tone, and writing in the
margins when we identify the tone in a particular place. We learned a bunch of skills for annotation in
our last unit, so let’s pull those out while we work today.

Sometimes it can be tricky to pick up on the tone of a particular moment in writing, so we’re going to
follow these steps to identify the tones in “Superman and Me.”
[Flip to Appendix A: Lesson Slides – Slide 3 and go through these four tactics]

On Slides:
Step 1: Look at the sentence structure—lots of short sentences might create a different tone from
long and complex sentences. How do they flow? What is their content?
Step 2: Notice the word choice and language—diction is often a big way to determine how an
author feels. Look for adjectives and words that jump out at you.
Step 3: Look for imagery or other figurative language—often times these can more clearly show
how an author feels during a particular point in the text.
Step 4: Notice when tone shifts and take note of where and how—we will come back to this later.

It’s easy to lose sight of some of these things while we’re reading, but there is an acronym that can help
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us remember. Take a moment to write this down. We can use SWIFT as work through a passage to
determine elements that help us identify the tone.

Write on board:
S – sentence structure
W – Word choice
I – Imagery
F – figurative language
T – Tone shifts

We will be adding an extra step after we identify the tone of relating it back to the sociocultural
context of the author—why might they have this attitude towards this subject? What influences might
be at play in this piece of writing? Let’s work through this with the beginning of “Superman and Me”.
These first couple of passages are listen on your notes sheet (Appendix D: Notes Sheet). I’m going to
work through my reasoning using SWIFT, but we might not need to use every letter each time, and
that’s okay. It’s also good to remember that if you read a paragraph and feel the tone really strongly
through elements on included in SWIFT, you can absolutely use those in your analysis as well [SWIFT
serves as a scaffold for struggling students to take advantage of it. It is presented to all students,
but more advanced thinkers can explore their thoughts in other ways as well.]

[Model Thinking for identifying the tones and the shift between them on my copy of the notes sheet
projected on the document camera so they can see. Show strategies for marking each letter of
SWIFT. I will model the active annotation I do as I identify tone in the first couple of sentences
(noted in example with underlining and sentence breaks). I will think aloud as I read through and
circle the words I think give me insight about the tone—I will follow the steps I previously laid out
for them in the context of this text.]

[On note sheet (Appendix D: Note sheet)]

Moment in text (quote/context) Tone Identified Reasoning

“What I can remember is this: I was 3
years old, a Spokane Indian boy living
with his family on the Spokane Indian
Reservation in eastern
Washington state. | We were poor by
most standards, but one of my
parents usually managed to find some
minimum-wage job or another, which
made us middle-class by reservation
standards. | I had a brother and three
sisters. | We lived on a combination of
irregular paychecks, hope, fear and
government surplus food.”
Reminiscent, S – varied sentence length, with lots of
Reflecting, details in each one
Gloomy W – Spokane Indian, reservation, poor,
minimum-wage, middle-class, hope,
fear
I – (explain that sometimes these are
left blank)
F–
T – no tone shift in this, but establishing
a feel for the beginning of the story
All written in past tense, so we know he
is remembering. It gives us clues into
his sociocultural context!
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[Model Thinking]
Influence of Sociocultural context: This passage gives the reader a lot of details about Alexie’s
background and the culture that he comes from. In this retelling and setting the scene of his past, he
is influenced by the place that he lived, the siblings he had, and the financial situation of his family.
We see that the fact that he lived on a reservation made what is usually considered “poor” to qualify
as “middle-class,” and we get a sense of his everyday life in the last sentence with “irregular
paychecks, hope, fear…”. The word choice and juxtaposition here create an uneasy feeling about
the stability of his life. [Continue to break down the elements of sociocultural influence, pausing for
questions along the way and taking the time to make sure they are grasping how this analysis
works]

STEP 4. GUIDE PRACTICE, ASSESS PERFORMANCE, AND PROVIDE CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK

So now let’s do this next one together, thinking through it in the same ways I just did on the first one.
[After modeling my thinking through the first paragraph, I will read the next example out loud and
call on students to model their own thinking about what the tone of this passage might be. Provide
sufficient wait time while the navigate their new annotations and decide what they think. Follow up
with questions about how they arrive there and which elements of SWIFT they used.
 Why did you pick out those words specifically? How did they inform your thinking?
 How did the length of the sentences play into your decision?
 So you didn’t see any figurative language, what else helped you arrive at your conclusion?
 Do you see a shift between the previous passage’s tone and this one? How so?

The complete chart will likely look something like this.]

“In a fit of unemployment-inspired
creative energy , my father built a set
of bookshelves and soon filled them
with a random assortment of books
about the Kennedy assassination,
Watergate…. | My father loved
books, and since I loved my father
with an aching devotion, I decided to
love books as well.”
Inspired, admiring, S – Long sentences with lots of specific
pained but examples
hopeful W – creative, books, loved, devotion,
inspired, aching
I – the bookshelves piled with books
F–
T – still reminiscent, but is shifting more
towards being about how his
admiration of his father lead to his love
of books

[After sufficient time spent with this guided passage, push students thinking back towards the
influence and incorporation of sociocultural context]
It’s a little trickier to see the sociocultural influence in this one, so let’s really dig into it and see what we
can find.

Influence of Sociocultural context: [Allow students to answer this with their own interpretations—
provide adequate wait time for them to do so. Answers will likely follow the lines of his ability to find
good in his troubled childhood and being drawn to books as a type of escape. Though his father was
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an alcoholic, he used books as a way to find a connection with him. The tone shifts from the
melancholy circumstances to an opportunity to make light of something in a troubled time. We
know that due to his upbringing and experiences with bullying that Alexie commonly uses sadness
as a vehicle for humor in his writing. Build in time to address misconceptions if they arise]

[Next, make sure students have their copies of Appendix B: Copy of “Superman and Me,” and have
them work through the next couple of sentences on their own and then turn to an elbow partner to
discuss their findings. Call on a couple of students at random to share (Because they were in pairs
they should all be prepared with something to share).
[Pass out check in sheets (Appendix C: Check in Sheet) while they are sharing in pairs. ]

STEP 5. ASSIGN INDEPENDENT PRACTICE

[Flip to Appendix A: Lesson Slides – Slide 4] Now I’d like for you to work through the rest of this piece
on your own, annotating on the text as you go and pausing after each paragraph to identify the tone.
Sometimes paragraphs might have the same or similar tones, and sometimes they might change.
Writing your thoughts in the margins of your paper after each one will make it easier for you to track
the shifts. Use SWIFT to help get a better sense of the tone if it doesn’t pop out at you immediately. I’ll
be circulating around so just raise your hand if you have a question about something.

As you’re reading, mark the moments where you feel very strongly about the tone and complete the
two tables on the Check In sheet with the moments you feel are the strongest in terms of tone or tone
shift. You can pick any passages you like as long as you can explain your reasoning. Only complete parts
1 and 2 or the sheet for right now. Go ahead and start reading.

[Circulate around the room as students read and take not of their annotations and explanations they
are writing on their sheets. Keep an eye out for misconceptions about tone, surface level
explanations, or totally off answers. These will then be addressed when we review at the end of
class (INFORMAL FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT).]

[Give time warning when two minutes are left, then call class back to attention] Now, the next step is to
apply these tones and shifts in tones to what we have been talking about with sociocultural context—
how that context influences an author, and how those things show up in the text. Take the next 10
minutes or so to respond to the questions on Part 3 of the check in sheet. You’ll be analyzing and briefly
describing the insights the passages you chose give you into Alexie’s culture.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Okay, let’s get started.
STEP 6. REVIEW / FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT / CLOSURE
After students have completed their check in sheets, collect them. These will be reviewed to identify
which students may need further assistance with identifying tone, tone shifts, or connecting tone
back to the author’s context. I will provide written feedback on their evidence for why they
identified a particular tone and return the sheets the following day so they can incorporate that
feedback into later reading. (FORMAL FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT)

To review, ask students to recap the difference between tone and mood, as well as the elements of
SWIFT that help us pick out elements that help us find the tone. Use this time to address any issues
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noticed during the previous informal assessment.

 Who can describe for me the difference between tone and mood? How do we identify the
difference?
 What are some of the tactics we’ve been using today to help identify tone and tone shifts?
 Can someone name the different pieces of the SWIFT acronym and talk a little bit about how
they helped you in identifying tone?
 What does this process show us about how culture influences authors’ voices?
 How does this help us see the social and cultural power of text?

[In closing, encourage students to read through the piece again tonight and see if they can find
stronger evidence of the influence of Alexie’s background on the text, as we will be digging further
in to those connections the following day. If there is time, give a brief overview of Amy Tan as an
author.

I will be continuing to monitor student understanding of tone and the role it plays in the function of
the piece as a whole. Students will have multiple upcoming opportunities to practice these
strategies with the other authors in the unit.]

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Assessment Plan:
1. Do Now (Formal/Review)
This is included as a way for me to both remind students about the content covered they day
before, as well as getting an idea of where they are in terms of their understanding of
sociocultural context.
Feedback: provided during the small discussion following (short informal assessment), correct
misconceptions and deepen thinking
Informing instruction: This will inform my instruction by showing me how much of the
previous day’s material I need to review at the beginning of the next class as we begin
expanding on these same things with other authors. I can also compare their answers with
their responses to the Check in Sheet questions and see where misconceptions remain
steady, and where they changed over the course of today’s class.
2. Circulate and Listen (Informal/Formative)
This serves as a way for me to watch as students are reading and writing and see where it is
that they are really getting it and where they are struggling to find tone and make
connections.
Feedback: provided during review as I address misconceptions I noticed as a way of reviewing
with the whole class.
Informing Instruction: I will get an idea of what specifically needs to be addressed before we
move forward.
3. Check in sheet (Formal/Formative)
This is included as an opportunity for students to articulate their thinking about specific pieces
of the text in more depth. It provides them an opportunity to practice identifying the specific
aspects of text that are influenced by sociocultural context. It will inform me about how well
they are able to connect the background information about the author to the actual narrative
and identify 1. The tone of a piece and 2. The moments where tone shifts, what it shifts to, and
why they think that matters.
Feedback: These worksheets will be collected by the teacher, and feedback will be provided in
the form of notes written on the worksheet.
Informing instruction: I will have individual data for each student on how they performed on
the worksheet, and this will allow identification of both class-wide and individual
misconceptions and difficulties. For whole class difficulties, whole class review and expansion
can be implemented in the following class. For individual difficulties, we can have small
conferences during work time where I can address their specific misconceptions and
questions.

Materials Appendix:
 Appendix A: Lesson Slides
o Slide 1: Do Now
o Slide 2: Objectives
o Slide 3: Tone ID steps - SWIFT
o Slide 4: Independent Practice Instructions
 Appendix B: “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie
 Appendix C: Check in Sheet
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 Appendix D: Notes Sheet

Appendix A: LINK to Lesson Slides

Appendix B: LINK to PDF of “Superman and Me”

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Appendix C: Student Check in Sheet

Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________

Part 1 instructions: Define tone

TONE:

Part 2 instructions: choose two instances that you marked in the text that have different tones. Use
evidence from the text to back up your reasoning, and note if this moment was part of a shift in
tone.

Choice 1:
Moment in text (quote/context) Tone Identified Reasoning

Did this occur during a shift in tone? If yes, what was it shifting from and why is the shift impactful to
the piece?

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Choice 2:

Moment in text (quote/context) Tone Identified Reasoning

Did this occur during a shift in tone? If yes, what was it shifting from and why is the shift impactful to
the piece?

Part 3 instructions: in the space below respond to 3 of the following 4 questions: (you may respond
on a separate sheet of paper if you need more space, just make sure to attach it here)
1. How did what you know about the author impact the way you evaluated tone?
2. How has reading this piece affected your thinking about the influence of the author’s
background on tone?
3. Where can you see elements of the background influences we have discussed in the tones
and tone shifts of this piece?
4. Did the reading of this piece give you any further insights into the sociocultural background of
the author?

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Appendix D: Notes Sheet

Name: _______________________________ Date: _______________

Notes for Identifying Tone and Tone Shifts

Tone:

Implicit:

Brainstorm Tone Examples:

Mood:

MOOD != TONE

Tone Shifts:

Example 1:
Moment in text (quote/context) Tone Identified Reasoning
“What I can remember is this: I was 3
years old, a Spokane Indian boy living
with his family on the Spokane Indian
Reservation in eastern
Washington state. | We were poor by
most standards, but one of my
parents usually managed to find some
minimum-wage job or another, which
made us middle-class by reservation
standards. | I had a brother and three
sisters. | We lived on a combination of
irregular paychecks, hope, fear and
government surplus food.”

Influence of Sociocultural context:

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Example 2:
Moment in text (quote/context) Tone Identified Reasoning
“In a fit of unemployment-inspired
creative energy, my father built a set of
bookshelves and soon filled them with
a random assortment of books about
the Kennedy assassination,
Watergate…. | My father loved books,
and since I loved my father with an
aching devotion, I decided to love
books as well.”

Influence of Sociocultural context:

Extra Notes/Thoughts/Questions:

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