Omelas Coaching and Tone

Starter 12

1. Quote the passage from the story that most makes you think.
2. Freewrite on your thoughts about that line

Tone Notes and Activity

1. Tone = the mood of a piece of writing, how the author expresses their attitude, intonation.
2. How do we set tone?
• Sentence length and structure
• Actions portrayed
• Word choice
• Level of formality (contractions, slang, sentence length)
• Settings
• Types of comparisons (similes and metaphors)
• Imagery
3. Take list of different tones, choose one.
4. Write a 4-8 sentence paragraph about unicorns or monkeys in the tone you choose
5. Share writings with class, guess at tones, discuss methods and strategies

Omelas Coaching

1. Paragraph by paragraph
• Address group confusions
• Discuss vocab
• Identify and label tone shifts
2. Literary Devices
• Each person teaches group their literary device
• Show group members where it is in story
• Discuss why she would use those devices, how the combo of devices affects tone and meaning
3. Discuss the Following
• What does this story mean?  What's the message?
• Make a connection between this story and 2 other texts we've read
• Talk about anything else you need to talk about to be ready for seminar tomorrow!

Omelas Seminar Prewrite

These should be 3 short paragraphs.  Can be typed or handwritten.  You MUST have this with you to participate in seminar tomorrow.  No prewrite, no participation (which would mean an ugly zero!).

1. Why does the author think the readers don't believe her description of the city of Omelas?  (lines 40 and 95)
2. Choose two literary devices (could include setting and tone), and discuss how those literary devices affect you as a reader, and influence how you read the story.  Give at least one specific example.
3. Why do some people walk away?  Where do they go?  (You might take a close look at the last paragraph- it won't give you a definite answer, but it may give you clues to spark thought!)

HWK: Finish seminar prewrite

DUE: Literary devices poster, annotations