In this activity, students will identify and illustrate the tone in the text.
Example 1: Horror
“And the meeting-house windows,
blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon”
Example 2: Gloomy
“A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,”
Example 3: Hopeful
“The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out
by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.”
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard identifying the tone of "Paul Revere's Ride" with text examples.
Foster teamwork by having students discuss different tones they find in the poem with a partner or small group. This activity encourages active listening and helps students see multiple perspectives as they work together to identify and support their tone choices with evidence from the text.
Encourage students to search for quotes as a team that showcase various tones in the poem. Group collaboration helps students build critical thinking skills as they justify their selections and explain their reasoning to peers.
Demonstrate drawing or choosing images that match the feeling of a quote. Visual connections reinforce comprehension and help students express tone beyond words.
Invite groups to present their storyboards and explain how their illustrations and quotes represent the tone. This step encourages speaking skills and allows the class to compare interpretations.
The tone of "Paul Revere's Ride" shifts throughout the poem, including feelings of horror, gloom, and hope. These tones reflect the tension, fear, and eventual optimism of the historical event.
Students can identify tone by looking for descriptive language, emotional words, and imagery in the poem. They should connect these clues to the mood the author creates, using direct quotes as evidence.
Examples of tone in the poem include horror ("spectral glare"), gloom ("phantom ship"), and hope ("the spark struck out by that steed"). These lines show how the mood changes.
Understanding tone helps students connect with the poem's emotions, improves their reading comprehension, and encourages deeper analysis of the author's intent, which is essential for developing literacy skills.
An effective activity is creating a storyboard where students identify three tones, add quotes for each, and illustrate scenes. This makes abstract concepts concrete and engages visual learners.