Describing setting and developing tone
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can understand and apply how writers use setting and tone to reflect their characters.
Key learning points
- Descriptions of a setting can help reflect a character's personality, mood or emotions.
- Using sensory imagery to describe a setting creates a vivid description.
- Tone can be built through the description of a setting.
- You can combine the sensory description of a setting and an emotional state of a character to create tone.
Keywords
Tone - the overall mood or attitude conveyed through a text
Setting - the time and place (or when and where) of the story
Sensory imagery - the use of descriptive language that appeals to the reader's five senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell)
Vivid - producing strong, clear images in the mind
Reflect - to mirror or show something clearly
Common misconception
Pupils might think that descriptions of setting only serve as background and do not contribute to character development or tone of a piece of writing.
Settings are integral to storytelling as they can reflect and enhance a character's emotions, personality, and the overall tone of the scene. For example, a gloomy, rainy setting can mirror a character's sadness or create a foreboding atmosphere.
Teacher tip
You may want to prepare further concrete examples to illustrate how the choice of setting can significantly impact the reader's perception of the characters and the mood of the story.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is tone in literature?
Q2.Which sense is used in the following description? "The sweet scent of roses filled the air"
Q3.Which of the words in the following sentence is an adverb? "He spoke quietly to avoid waking anyone"
Q4.Why is it important to avoid clichés in similes and metaphors?
Q5.What does 'vivid description' mean?
Q6.In dialogue writing, why is it important to be accurate and clear with punctuation?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each keyword to its synonym.
place
mood
clear
mirror
Q2.Which of the following best describes tone?
Q3.What is sensory imagery?
Q4.Which of these is not an example of sensory imagery?
Q5.How can describing a setting help develop a character’s personality?
Q6.What is the tone of a setting described as "dark, cold, and silent"?
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: Describing setting and developing tone, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: Describing setting and developing tone, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the Malevolent characters: fiction writing unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.