Author's Tone Task Cards in Print and Digital: 24 Practice Passages

Author's Tone Task Cards: This set of 24 task cards will give your upper elementary and middle school students an opportunity to practice reading a passage and identifying the author's tone. Each task card consists of an engaging passage and four multiple-choice options. The answer choices consist of words often associated with mood and tone, giving your students an authentic opportunity to interact with these terms and expand their vocabulary.

Students will complete the following steps as they work through each task card:

1. They will read the short note that is written from one person to another.
2. They will read the following question: Which word best describes the tone of this note?
3. They will read the answer choices and select the word that best reflects the author's tone.
4. They will record the answer on their recording sheet.

An answer key and a recording sheet are also included. Like most of my task card sets, the resource contains a bonus game-like answer sheet in addition to the more traditional recording sheet. Many teachers report posting the task cards around the room to give their students an opportunity to get up and walk around the room. Others say that they use these as a whole class formative activity where they place a task card under their doc cam, and then have students write their chosen answer on whiteboards. Both activities provide an engaging alternative to a traditional worksheet activity!

********This resource is available in three formats:

1. Traditional Printables- Print the PDF and distribute paper task cards and recording sheets.
2. Easel Activity- With this digital format, there is one task card per slide. Students can complete this activity on a device. Students read each passage and select the word that best reflects the author's tone. This has a multiple-choice format, and students push the button that displays the correct answer. No checking is necessary! When your students turn it in, you will see their score and the number of attempts they made on each card.
3. Easel Assessment- Students complete this self-grading quiz on a device, as well. After reading each passage, students select the correct answer from a list of four possible answer choices. With this option, the teacher chooses whether or not his or her students receive immediate feedback.

***If you would like to have a Google Slides and/or Google Forms version of this activity, click on these links to access the digital version or the bundle.

Here's what teachers like you had to say about using these task cards with their students:

⭐️ Susan L. said, "This was a fun, engaging, and very helpful resource to use with my students as we were working on author's tone. I used it as partner work, hung the task cards around the classroom, and had the kids walking around to each. They really enjoyed this activity, and it was a great addition to my tone lessons!"

⭐️ Sarah W. said, "These task cards were a great fit for my extended resource ELA class. I put one card at a time under the document camera, and my students and would discuss it together."

⭐️ Katelynn G. said, "I loved this station work. It was low prep; I just had to print, cut, and paste around the room the task cards and print the student sheet. Students were engaged and able to move around the room as they practiced identifying author's tone."

⭐️ Kayla K. said, "I love using these task cards! Not only are they good for teaching tone, but I also used them to teach vocabulary, as my students struggle significantly with higher-level vocabulary. It was also good to reiterate grammar skills for writing letters."

⭐️ Jill P. said, "My students used this to practice identifying tone during centers. They were able to complete the activity with little support. I will definitely use this again."

If you are looking for additional tone and mood activities, check out my related resources:

Mood and Tone PowerPoint

Mood Ring Craftivity

Tone Craftivity

Mood Task Cards

Copyright by Deb Hanson

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