Minds On

Choosing a sentence

Imagine you are starting a Welcoming Committee at your school. Your first task is to choose a sign for the front door that lets new students know where they should go first. Your principal has given you two options:

  1. For the safety of our students, please check in at the office upon your arrival.
  2. Upon arrival, we love to welcome all guests, so please come say hi at the office!

Choosing a Sentence

Student Success

Think-Pair-Share

Think about the following:

What message is each sentence trying to give to the reader? Are they the same or different?

What feeling is the author trying to communicate in each sentence? How do you know that?

How would each sign make you feel if you were a new student? Why?

Which one would you choose for the front door of your own school? Why?

Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.

Action

Ways to express yourself: tone and voice

Although the two sentences are saying very similar things, the difference in their tone and voice makes one seem very formal and the other seem very friendly!

Tone usually refers to how an author uses certain words in a specific way to convey thoughts and observations about specific ideas. Not only does tone help to deliver facts, but it can deliver them with attitude, emotion, or a personal perspective.

Voice is the distinct personality, style or point of view of a piece of writing or other creative work. Since each of us has a unique personality, each of us has a unique voice, making our work distinctive. A strong voice helps us express ourselves.

Sentence structure and punctuation

Tone and voice can be expressed using different types of sentences and punctuation.

Explore the following video where Teacher Wynne shows how punctuation can affect the tone and voice of the writer. Listen carefully when she reads each sentence. What does she do differently with her voice?

Let’s have some fun changing the meaning of sentences based on the punctuation and emphasis we use.

For example:

“I can’t wait to go to school today.”

Try reciting this out loud like you are excited. Now try nervous. And mad. What did you change to reflect these different emotions? Did you change the pitch of your voice? Did you change the punctuation? Isn’t it interesting how the same sentence can take on different meanings just based on the emotions you are using when talking?

Now, recite the sentence out loud emphasizing the word “I.” Next try emphasizing “school.” And “today.” How does the meaning of the sentence change when you emphasize different words?

You can also change tone and voice in your work. By using different types of sentences (exclamatory, interrogative, imperative, declarative) along with punctuation and word choice you can affect the tone and voice of your message.

Authors choose their voice and tone based on who their audience may be. For example, when a teacher writes a letter home to parents, they may use a more serious tone or voice, especially if they are trying to communicate important information. On the other hand, a comedian wants to entertain his/her audience, so they use a more humorous approach when writing their dialogue.

Student Success

Think-Pair-Share

Let’s try this out ourselves! Recreate the following sentences so that they express the tone written in brackets. Record your thoughts using a method of your choice.

Example: Sarah happily jumped over the colourful garden. (serious)

Press the ‘Answer’ button to know more.

Sarah quickly and carefully jumped over the wide garden.

  1. The boy ate the piece of cake. (humorous)
  2. Did you put the book on the table? (command)
  3. This is my favourite book. (questioning)
  4. This trip is good. (exciting)
  5. I am going to French class. (command)

Reflect on your work. How did you change the tone/voice of the original sentence? Did you just change the punctuation, or did you add in adjectives and adverbs or take certain words out? If possible, share your thoughts with a partner.

Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.

Consolidation

A school trip

A teacher in your school is searching for adults to volunteer on an upcoming school trip. They have written this letter to send home with the students:

Brainstorm

Recreate a letter

Help this teacher recreate the letter to have a more fun and inviting voice and tone. When you have finished, reflect on these questions:

  • What type of sentences/punctuation did you use in the paragraph? How did it change the voice and tone?
  • What word changes did you make? What words changed the voice and tone?
  • Do you think the fun and inviting paragraph is still appropriate for an adult audience? Why or why not?
  • If you were the teacher, which paragraph do you think you would use? Why?

How you can adjust your voice and tone? Revise your work to include any necessary changes.

Reflection

As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel...

Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.

Press ‘Discover More’ to extend your skills.

Create two paragraphs with the same content but different tone, one humorous and one more appropriate. Feel free to choose a silly topic! You can choose from the following topics or make up your own.

  1. Giving your parent/guardian an excuse why you were late coming home.
  2. Give an excuse why you didn’t get a good mark on your test.
  3. Explain to your parent/guardian why you let a lot of friends into your home while no one was home and it was left as a disaster.