Disneyfying Tone

My students recently began reading poetry, which means that the annual tone lesson is upon us.  This concept can be difficult to teach.  When I reflected on last year's lesson, I realized that I had to change my strategy a bit.  I searched the Internet until I came across the Coffee Cups and Lesson Plans blog.  This fellow Dunkin Donuts fan found Disney clips that show opposite sides of a classic and recent film.  I played each clip twice.  After the first viewing, the students had to identify a word (from a list) that described the tone.  During the second viewing, they had to pull a piece of evidence that supported their word choice.  This approach worked like a charm.  Not only did the student gain a firm understanding of tone, they enjoyed learning.  Our next step is to revisit two of the poems that we read last week and analyze the tone of each poem.  With any luck, my classroom will be the happiest place on earth for the next few days.