Rewrite a Scene to Shift the Tone

Develop narrative awareness by rewriting a scene to create a different tone.

Teaching Context:
Best for Year 7 to Year 10 English students learning about narrative voice and tone.

Basic AI Prompt:
Rewrite this happy scene to feel tense and suspenseful instead.

Enhanced AI Prompt:
You are learning about tone in creative writing. Ask AI to take a simple scene (e.g. a picnic, a walk home, waiting at the bus stop) and rewrite it to match a new tone, such as fear, excitement or sadness. Use sensory detail, word choice and sentence rhythm.

Spice it Up (Optional Extension):
Students can illustrate their scene using a comic strip format or storyboard app.

Lesson Implementation:
Begin with a class reading of a neutral passage. Discuss how word choices affect tone. Students input the scene into AI and experiment with multiple tones. Provide a tone vocabulary sheet for support. In pairs, they compare and annotate different versions.

Finish with a short writing reflection on how tone changes meaning. Use Google Docs or Padlet for sharing. This task strengthens creative writing, editing and emotional literacy.

Got ideas on different ways to use this prompt? Share them with the class in the comments below!

Also, if you liked this, you'll love the thousands of subject-specific AI prompts in our books section!