It has been my observation that students cannot identify tone, identify whether or not their writing reflects tone, or understand the importance of what they are saying and how they are saying it. Let's take care of that problem right now.
After teaching students how to write for an audience and with a purpose, how to effectively evaluate point of view, and how to maintain personal voice, I felt good about myself. I called my dad and told him what a smart son he had. Then I realized my students had no idea how to effectively use tone in writing. In shock, I called my dad, advised him to uninvite me to Thanksgiving dinner, and cancelled the appointment with my spiritual advisor. I was way too stressed.
I had work to do. I had to devise a lesson plan that helped students use tone in writing. Here's what I came up with.
Lesson Plans: Fine Tune Your Writing Focus
Writing that lacks focus confuses readers. Student writing lacks focus because they rarely have a purpose, do not know how to make a point, and write to an imaginary, non-existent audience. End their pointless meanderings with these simple lesson plans.
