Identify the Tone

Often you feel you’ve done nothing when you’ve actually done a lot. That’s because what you did do seemed beneath notice—it was so small that it didn’t “count.” But it did—just as each stitch counts toward a finished dress, each brick or nail toward a house you can live in, each mistake toward knowing how to do things right.

• hesitant--uncertain about what to do or say because you are nervous or unwilling

• encouraging--giving you hope and confidence

• amused--thinking something is funny and you smile or laugh

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

A vaccine is a preparation of killed or weakened germs that is injected under the skin and causes the blood to produce antibodies against the disease. Effective vaccines, for instance, have been developed for small pox, rabies, and polio.

• objective--based on facts, or making a decision that is based on facts rather than on your feelings or beliefs

• arrogant--behaving in an unpleasant or rude way because you think you are more important than other people

• regretful--feeling sorry or disappointed

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

We have come together this afternoon to mourn the deaths of sixteen miners—our friends and neighbors—who were trapped by fire yesterday, deep below the earth. They lived bravely and they died too soon, leaving behind grieving wives and bewildered children. We bid them a final farewell.

• forgiving--willing to stop being angry with someone and stop blaming them, although they have done something wrong

• sorrowful--very sad

• angry-- feeling strong emotions which make you want to shout at someone or hurt them because they have behaved in an unfair, cruel, offensive etc way, or because you think that a situation is unfair, unacceptable

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

. Why do these things always happen to me?, Brad wondered. First I forget an important meeting, and nobody reminds me until it’s over. Then my boss dumps a big project on my desk and wants it done by yesterday. And to top everything off, I leave my wallet on the bus.

• comic--amusing you and making you want to laugh

• self-pitying--the feeling of being sad and depressed because you think that something unfair or unpleasant has happened to you – used to show disapproval

• optimistic--believing that good things will happen in the future

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Each year in the middle of February, when slush is underfoot and the sky is a depressing gray, I begin dreaming of warm beaches, tropical fruits and sunsets. If only I could save enough for a winter vacation! Maybe next year I’ll win the lottery. Meanwhile, I’ll read travel brochures and sigh.

• unsure--not certain about something or about what you have to do

• joyous--very happy, or likely to make people very happy

• longing--a strong feeling of wanting something or someone

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

We are seriously failing our nation’s teenagers when it comes to education concerning AIDS. Somehow we must convince them, without delay, that this terrible illness can happen to them, not just too isolated groups in big cities. Let’s give them the information they need to protect themselves—before it’s too late.

• impassioned--full of strong feeling and emotion

• mocking--o laugh at someone or something and try to make them look stupid by saying unkind things about them or by copying them

• ironic--something that is unusual or amusing because something strange happens, or the opposite of what is expected happens or is true

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.9

CCSS.RI.6.9

CCSS.RI.8.9

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

What’s the matter with those idiots in the city council? First they pass new parking regulations saying we can’t park our cars in front of our own houses without a special permit. Now they’ve gone and slapped another tax on gas purchase—just to widen a road that’s already wide enough. Anyway, nobody enjoys the traffic delays resulting from road construction. The sooner we vote those incompetents out, the better off we’ll all be.

• objective--based on facts, or making a decision that is based on facts rather than on your feelings or beliefs

• angry--feeling strong emotions which make you want to shout at someone or hurt them because they have behaved in an unfair, cruel, offensive etc way, or because you think that a situation is unfair, unacceptable

• surprised-- the feeling you have when something unexpected or unusual happens

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Yet another public figure has come forward to announce he has signed into an addiction-treatment center to deal with his alcohol problems. Reports say he has shown courage and honesty. Perhaps so, but what it really takes to enter a treatment center is money. What about the poor man, like my father, who may also have a drinking problem—and courage—but who doesn’t happen to have $500.00 a day for a fancy rest home?

• bitter-- feeling angry, jealous, and upset because you think you have been treated unfairly

• revengeful--to feel like punishing someone who has done something to harm you or someone else

• sentimental--easily affected by emotions such as love, sympathy, sadness etc, often in a way that seems silly to other people

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Botulism, a type of rare, severe food poisoning, has been reported recently in New Jersey. It is believed that the victim, who is in critical condition at a local hospital, was stricken after eating from a jar of incorrectly preserved homegrown green beans from last summer’s garden. It has been ten years since the last instance of botulism poisoning was reported in the state.

• light-hearted--not intended to be serious

• serious--if someone is serious about something they say or plan to do, they really mean it and are not joking or pretending

• tragic--a tragic event or situation makes you feel very sad, especially because it involves death or suffering

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.10

CCSS.RI.7.10

CCSS.RI.8.10

CCSS.RI.9-10.10

CCSS.RI.11-12.10

Sure, litterbugs account for a lot of the trash blowing around our city’s streets, but there are other villains too. What about people who set out their trash days ahead of their scheduled trash pickup time? Worse yet are the stores that pile boxes in back alleys, and restaurants whose mounds of green—bagged trash draw rodents and roaches.

• critical--expressing disapproval of someone or something, or to talk about their faults

• tolerant--allowing people to do, say, or believe what they want without criticizing or punishing them

• depressed--very unhappy

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.9

CCSS.RI.8.6

CCSS.RI.6.9

CCSS.RI.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6