Are your students missing the mark on tone in their analysis and subsequent writing assignments? My latest YouTube video takes on a playful—but rigorous—approach: The Break Up Letter: Tone Swap.
Here’s the setup: Riley and Cameron have only been dating a sliver of time, but the red flags are already waving—think arguing over how one of them serenades curly fries before dipping, parading around school like Shock G with the "Humpty Hump" nose, or squeezing the toothpaste from the top of the tube (a total deal-breaker 💔).
Students take this scenario and write a break up letter—but here’s the twist: they must match the rhetorical situation to a specific Tier II vocabulary tone. Stoic, sardonic, reverent, nonchalant, you name it. This gets them practicing precision in tone while expanding their academic vocab toolkit.
💡 Perfect for teaching:
✔️ Rhetorical situation awareness
✔️ Tone identification and control
✔️ Tier II vocabulary in action
Check out the video here 👉
The slides, plus tone bank, are located in the video’s description – free for the taking.
Let me know if you try it in your classroom—I’d love to hear how your students “break it off.”
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