Teaching Mood- Using Art /Teaching Short Constructed Response

Bulletin Board of Finished Humumet Projects 

When teaching mood, the first step in my 8 grade classroom is of course, discussing what mood is and  how it differs from tone. Typically I storm in at the start of class and start demanding in an irritated tone that they get out their books, some paper and that they need to get busy. I try to act extremely grumpy and irritated. I don’t let it go long before I stop and smile and ask two questions.

1.        What attitude did I have?  (answers range from grumpy to mean to aggravated and others that will go unmentioned ;)
2.          How did it make you feel? (nervous, upset, angry)

I tell students that my attitude was expressed partly through what I had to say- my tone. How I made them feel was mood. They really seem to get that.

We begin identifying mood with supporting detail using art work. Students examine works of art in small groups, identify the mood and select images/color, etc. from the art work as support. We practice writing paragraphs that use the A.C.E. (Answer/Cite/Explain) or P.E.E. (Point/Example/Explain) method.  This is an interesting and less threatening method to begin identifying mood with supporting ideas, and students seem to enjoy it. I was very pleased with the discussion that occurred as they debated the mood and how the art work supported that mood. 

Examples of Student Response for Mood from Paintings (Using ACE/PEE paragraph method for SCR)

The mood of the painting, The Boating Party, is lighthearted. There are cheery colors, like the baby’s pink clothes and the yellow boat. The mom has a loving, calm look on her face, so you know she’s not unhappy or anything. Cheerful colors and loving expressions give it a lighthearted feel.

The mood of the painting, House by the Railroad, is foreboding. The dark, blue colors make it seem suspenseful. They give off a feeling that something bad happened and that there is a dark feeling in the air. The shadows give off an eerie feeling, which is foreboding.

The mood of The Boating Part is light hearted. I know this because the mom is smiling, the baby is calm and not crying, and the boat ride itself appears to be peaceful. The painting itself is also brightly colored, which suggests a happier mood. This is how I know the painting portrays a light hearted mood. 

Next we looked at various short excerpts  from many YA novels and other sources.  The Raven Boys | Maggie Stiefvater is a great book with many descriptive passages that we used to decipher mood both in small groups and as a class.

 

We start by reading (and re-reading) and deciding if the mood is negative or positive and then we select the words/phrases that make it so. Finally, students choose a mood word and they continue practice in writing a short constructed response using the A.C.E. or P.E.E. method.

 The biggest issue with finding supporting detail is that after underlining or highlighting all the words/phrases that help to create the identified mood, students sometimes chose the weaker examples as support. When writing a short constructed response, students have a very limited number of lines in which to answer. They needed to choose the strongest examples and I particularly wanted them to be sure to choose the figurative language, identifying it as such, since the writer chose that simile or metaphor to specifically help  create the mood.

 In practicing to choose the strongest examples of word/phrases that help to create the mood, students created  Humumet (hew-mew-met). You can see what Humumet is and where it originated HERE.  (See "Intro" Link)You can also see the blog post that inspired this idea HERE, although tone was the objective in that lesson. (There are several more ideas on this blog post that can be incorporated to  teach either tone or mood,  including the use of  Google Forms to collect student responses). 

In creating Humumet, students had to select the strongest words/phrases that created the mood, boldly boxing those words in.  (We did this on several shorter passages before beginning this 

project.)  

Next,  using colored pencils, they had to create art work that also depicted the mood. Some choose to depict the mood symbolically and others created the scene the passage described. Students had to defend their art work in a paragraph or more, explaining why/how their image supported the mood of the passage.  In creating Humumet, the art work should not completely cover over/block out the words of the passage and those words/phrases boldly boxed, should remain untouched inside the box. 

Examples of how Key words/phrases are boxed in. 

The artwork should cover the entire page and colored pencils work best since it allows for the picture without obliterating the text.  The idea is that with the picture/coloring and the boxed words- together one can interpret the mood of the passage. 

The above are using The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak

This image used an excerpt from The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Finally, students were put to the ‘test’ and they analyzed text on their own to determine mood with supporting detail from the passage. You can see a couple examples below. I was very pleased that students used key academic vocabulary in their answers and this was a direct result of using that vocabulary from the art work analysis at the beginning to the Humumet projects and the group practice of shorter excerpts. It took approximately two days to complete one Humumet. 

Overall the Humumet project and previous use of artwork allowed those students with weak verbal learning style to see another pathway into the idea of mood and how to identify it. I made sure to reinforce the key academic vocabulary throughout (connotation, figurative language, negative/positive, etc.) and it paid off when it came time to write short constructed response answers.

Bulletin Board Closeups 

Using Picture Books in Middle School Writing

The Common Core State Standards ask for more rigorous reading and writing, but does that discount use of picture books in classroom instruction? I say, absolutely not. The simple fact is that mentor texts are often hard to come by. We have a variety of abilities in each class, and writing is often looked at as, well, boring. At our fingertips, we have material that is interesting and colorful, pulling in the disinterested; we have mentor texts that start at a basic level (although you will see that many picture books are not so “basic” after all), providing a place to begin for all students and providing success from the start.

Personal Writing

Any of Patricia Polacco’s books are excellent mentor texts for personal writing, as well as examples of  development of character, conflict, setting, etc.  Before diving into more complex mentor texts, try using one of her picture books as a mentor text. Two that come to mind right away include Mr. Lincoln’s Way and Thank You Mr. Falker. Both books are excellent examples of memoirs as well as a personal story revealing a change in the major character.

First off, both books offer great “Hooks.”

Mr. Lincoln’s Way: “Mr. Lincoln was the coolest principal in the whole world, or so the students thought.” Students can discuss how the first sentence/paragraph “hooks” a reader, then go on a scavenger hunt through other picture books or young adult novels to find other interesting ways authors start their works. As a higher level activity, students might then categorize the hooks they found, sharing out as a whole in the class to create a class chart that lists types of hooks and examples. Students can also use predicting skills to reveal what they think will occur or what the story will be about as a result of the first “hook” or lead line.

Secondly, both books offer some great figurative language/language usage.

Thank You Mr. Falker: “Knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book!”

As you can see, this simile is pretty deep and not something that an elementary student may readily grasp. But middle school students have the ability to delve into the meaning of this simile and to uncover its meaning. Polacco’s books are loaded with figurative language; students can use them to go on a scavenger hunt and to work with partners to uncover the meaning.

Finally, both books offer thoughts and feelings and use of dialogue.

It can be difficult to teach dialogue, but in picture books that use this element, students find it easier to grasp- how the dialogue is used to move the story along, how the dialogue is formatted and punctuated, etc. All can be investigated through Polacco’s picture books. In addition, when writing a personal piece, thoughts and feelings is a crucial element. Polacco’s Thank You Mr. Falker, is full of thoughts and feelings. The teacher might provide excerpts and have students highlight those thoughts and feelings, revealing how and where they are used, as well as to what extent they are used throughout the story.

Other Picture Books I Love:

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ear by Verna Aardema

I love to read Pourquoi tales- stories about the origin of an animal’s coloring, size, etc. In the seventh grade, students read Pourquoi tales, starting with the mosquito book, and we developed our own. They were imaginative and fun to read!

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss

Introduce this book when studying onomatopoeia! It is full of sound words that students can respond to – highlighting them in excerpts, holding up a hand when they hear one, etc. Students can practice their own onomatopoeia in like fashion.

Nothing Ever Happens on 90^th Street by Roni Schotter

I love this book at the start of the year. Students always cry about having “nothing to write about.”  As I read, students list each piece of advice that is given to the main character as she searches for something to write about.  For example, “Try to find poetry in your pudding,” Mr. Morley said softly. “There’s always a new way with old words.”  Students can work in partners to decipher what each character meant and how it applies to our writing.

Students also list what the main character thinks as events occur that prompt her to write:  “What if? What might happen next?” Etc.

Abbie Against the Storm by Marcia Vaughan

One of my absolute favorites is a true story of a young girl and a lighthouse, depicting heroism. I love this because it shows that even kids can be heroes. This book is rich in figurative language, strong verbs, dialogue, thoughts and feelings and use of adjectives.  Beyond that, it is a fast-paced story with strong character development, conflict and setting. Students can choose a character trait for Abbie and find quotes that support; students can identify strong verbs or pull out figurative language and decipher the meaning. This book is also a great book to graph on a plot chart; a simple start before moving on to more complex text.  Students might also partake in an exercise involving setting. Why is the setting important to the story? What if the setting were elsewhere? How would it change the story? Students might take the challenge, and create their own story of Abbie in a different setting.

I love picture books in  the middle school! They simply are the most interesting forms of literature that provide excellent mentor texts for writers, can provide examples of various elements of literature through mini-lessons, and instill motivation and success by starting “simple.” You will find, however, that there really is nothing “simple” about picture books; they reach into our imagination and spark our motivation quicker than any black text on white paper.

Note: Picture book images taken from Amazon.com 
Check out Other Picture Book Ideas in the SDAWP #113 Texts Initiative- http://www.sdawpvoices.com/link-up-113texts-mentor-text-challenge-august-link-up/