Speed Dating Strategies: An Introduction to SOAPSTone

Kerryann Tracy

Agenda

SOAPSTone Defined

Applications of SOAPSTone

Benefits & Challenges

Your Questions & Ideas

SOAPSTone

Speaker

Occasion

Audience

Purpose

Subject

Tone

subjectaudience

speaker or writer

SOAPSTone

Who is the Speaker? It is not enough simply to name the speaker.

Whose voice is telling the story? What assumptions can you make about the

speaker (e.g., age, gender, class, occupation, emotional state)? Remember that the author

and the speaker are not necessarily the same, and that the author may tell the story from more than one point of view. What does the speaker believe? Do not assume that the author believes what the speaker believes. If

the text is non-fiction, include important facts about the speaker that might help you make judgments about his or her point of

view.

SOAPSTone

What is the Occasion? Occasion is not simply identifying the time and place. Consider the larger occasion or

context: the environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions surrounding an issue. Then

examine the immediate occasion that may have inspired this specific response.

SOAPSTone

Who is the Audience?To whom is this text directed? It’s not

enough to say: “Anyone who reads it.” Is it one individual, a group, many groups?

What assumptions can you make about the intended audience? How might the

intended audience have been similar to or different from you?

SOAPSTone

What is the Purpose? What is the speaker’s reason for writing the text? What is its intended effect? How is it supposed to make the audience feel? What change does the author want to see as a result? Is the author’s aim to entertain, to

inform, to persuade, to critique, to complain, to explain, to describe, or to

reflect? Consider that oftentimes writers have a dual purpose. 

SOAPSTone

What is the Subject? The subject is the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text. This can

usually be stated in a few words or a phrase. The subjects of texts are frequently abstract: the right to die, racism, poverty, conformity, cloning, global warming, etc. 

SOAPSTone

What is the Tone? Tone is the attitude of the speaker towards his subject. What emotional sense do you

take from the piece? Does it stay consistent throughout, or do the speaker’s feelings shift? While the spoken word can easily

convey attitude through inflection, tone is often difficult to discern in the written word.

Consider how word choice, sentence structure, and imagery might point to tone.

Talking About Tone

aggravated ambiguousamusedangryapatheticapologeticappreciativeapprehensivearrogant

dramaticecstaticeffusiveelatedelegiacfactualfancifulflippantforeboding

moralisticmournfulnostalgicobjectiveoutragedpassionatepatronizingpedanticperplexed

Applications

Nonfiction: Historical documentsSpeechesNewspaper articlesGrant proposals or scientific reportsEditorialsLettersMemoir or diaryBiography

Fiction: Novels

Short stories

Verse: Poetry

Song lyrics

Planning and writing original texts

Benefits & Challenges

Benefits for struggling readers

Benefits for skilled readers

Benefits for stressed out teachers

The challenge of going deep

SOAPSTone Application: “I Have a Dream”

SpeakerKing was one of many speakers that day. What distinguished him from the others – as a man, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement, or a public speaker? In addition, you might consider that King was both a preacher and the son of a preacher. How does this background manifest itself in the speech?

SOAPSTone Application: “I Have a Dream”

OccasionWhat is important to understand about the historical context of this speech?

Consider both the general background (the Civil Rights Movement), and this particular occasion (the March on Washington). How does King himself frame the occasion?

SOAPSTone Application: “I Have a Dream”

AudienceWho comprises King’s audience?

Which audiences are explicit (directly named) and which might be implicit (implied but not named)?

Where in the speech does he address specific audiences?

SOAPSTone Application: “I Have a Dream”

PurposeWhat changes does King want to see as a result of this speech?

What other purpose(s), beyond advocating change, do you see in King’s speech?

SOAPSTone Application: “I Have a Dream”

SubjectThe event was billed as a march “for jobs and freedom.” What other topics or issues, beyond these, does King address in his speech?

SOAPSTone Application: “I Have a Dream”

ToneHow would you characterize the tone of King’s speech?

Where do you see significant shifts in tone?

SOAPStone carousel

1. At your first station read your piece and fill in the soaps sheet except the T part.

Leave your work behind. Think about what you learned by working with your team.

Station 2

At station 2 read the piece and the previous group’s work. Describe what you believe is the TONE of the piece.

Write it in a collaborative statement.

Station 3

You have reached your last station.

Read the piece and the last groups’ work on the SOAPStone sheet.

Get ready to share their work.

Agree or disagree with their statements about the tone. Find supporting phrases or passages to support or refute their claim.

Questions & Ideas

How did the pieces relate? What takeaways do you have? What might students learn from the pieces?-About writing, about perspective?

What were the benefits of the Soaps strategy? A carousel?

How might you use SOAPSTone in your classes ?