Name ______Date ______
RI4: Determine the meaning of words or phrases as they are used in the text; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone
MOOD, or atmosphere, describes the way that a text makes a reader feel; it describes the emotions that the subject, and the tone in which that subject is described, evoked in the reader.
MOOD does NOT describe the way a character feels/acts or the way the narrator feels/acts or the way the author feels/acts. MOOD is about the feeling evoked in the reader. MOOD is conveyed through various details in the book.
The MOOD can change throughout a novel.
Positive Mood Words Negative Mood Words
Light-hearted
Playful
Tender
Enlightened
Optimistic
Liberating
Warm
Hopeful
Nostalgic
Peaceful
Welcoming
Harmonious
Trustful
Vivacious
Confident
Idyllic
Sympathetic
Joyous
Dignified
Ecstatic
Empowered
Inclusive
Foreboding
Painful
Threatening
Gloomy
Violent
Insidious
Confining
Terrifying
Cold
Hopeless
Haunting
Nightmarish
Barren
Vengeful
Heartbroken
Hostile
Suspenseful
Pessimistic
Desolate
Merciless
Tense
Lonely
1. Bouncing into the room, she lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on her face as she told about her fiancé and their wedding plans.
Mood ______
Context Clues ______
2. She huddled in the corner, clutching her tattered blanket and shaking convulsively, as she feverishly searched the room for the unknown dangers that awaited her.
Mood ______
Context Clues ______
3. Bursting through the door, the flustered mother screamed uncontrollably at the innocent teacher who gave her child an F.
Mood ______
Context Clues ______
4. Drawing the attention of his classmates as well as his teacher, the student dared to experiment with his professor’s intelligence by interrogating him about the Bible.
Mood ______
Context Clues ______
5. He furtively glanced behind him, for hear of his imagined pursuers, then hurriedly walked on, jumping at the slightest sound even of a leaf crackling under his own foot.
Mood ______
Context Clues ______
6. Gently smiling, the mother tenderly tucked the covers up around the child’s neck, and carefully, quietly, left the room making sure to leave a comforting ray of light shining through the opened door should the child wake.
Mood ______
Context Clues ______
7. The laughing wind skipped through the village, teasing trees until they danced with anger and cajoling the grass into fighting itself, blade slapping blade, as the silly dog with golfball eyes and flopping, slobbery tongue bounded across the lawn.
Mood ______
Context Clues ______