Day 1: Seuss, Simpsons, and Satire

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Objective:
  1. Know and understand the definition of satire.
  2. Analyze satirical work to determine the comment or criticism being made about a particular subject.
Materials:
  • Opening sequence of The Simpsons
  • The Butter Battle Book by. Dr. Seuss
  • Several books on history in the early1980s.
Procedure:
    1. Journal response: Things that happen after school on a daily basis. (3 minutes)
    2. Discuss responses and list them on the board.
    3. Have students think about this list as they watch The Simpsons opening scene. (approximately 30 seconds long)
    4. Review each part of the sequence and compare the sequence to the brainstorm list. (Each part of the sequence is listed under procedure number 6) Why does the cartoon begin with these events rather than others? The answer: SATIRE!
    5. Define satire: A literary work that ridicules its subject through the use of techniques such as exaggeration, reversal, incongruity, and/or parody in order to make a comment or criticism about it.
    6. Have students brainstorm possible things that are being satirized by each part:                                      Bart writing on the blackboard--- public education
      Bart on his skateboard---  riddles of childhood
      Homer leaving and driving home from work--- plight of the working man
      Marge at the supermarket--- consumerism
      Family racing for the couch in front of the television---  Impact of TV on the modern family
    7. Break into groups and pass out each group a history book. Have them work together to list big events that happened in 1984 when The Butter Battle Book was written.
    8. Read The Butter Battle Book aloud to the class. Have them write down ideas that parallel things that were read in groups.
    9. Have them meet with their groups to brainstorm and discuss together.
    10. Bring the class back together and discuss things that they found. Conclude the class by redefining satire and talking about how it is used to comment or criticize a subject.
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Day 2: Satirizing Fairy Tales

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Objective:
  1. Identify the four techniques of satire
  2. Explain how the four techniques of satire contribute to comments or criticisms being made by satirical work.
  3. Analyze satirical work to determine the comment or criticism made about the subject. Practice writing satirical work using the four techniques of satire.
Material:
  • DVD or VHS copy of Shrek cued to the part where Fiona and Shrek meet Robin Hood. (approximately 51 minutes into the movie)
  • Transparency of the four techniques and definitions
Procedure:
    1. Journal response: What makes a fairytale a fairytale? What are some of the characteristics of the genre?
    2. Brainstorm responses on the board. Explain that Shrek satirizes fairytales by departing from the typical.
    3. Have students watch the clip and think about ways it parts from the characteristics brainstormed.
    4. Brainstorm responses on the board ways that Shrek departs from the typical. Compare this list and the list made previously. Any connections?
    5. Show students the transparency of the four techniques of satire and have them copy them down. (Exaggeration- enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.
      Incongruity- present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings.
      Reversal- present the opposite of the normal order (ie order of events, hierarchical order…)
      Parody- imitate techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing.)
    6. Have students work in groups to try to figure out one example from the clip for each of the four techniques.
    7. Discuss which clips each group chose for each technique. Possible ideas…Princess Fiona fights and defeats all the bad guys without any help or weapons. Uses her ponytail to knockout punch one of the Merry Men, martial arts kick while frozen in mid-air, pauses to fix her hair before knocking out two of the Merry Men. Role of hero and damsel in distress have been reversed, rescuee is the one fighting and defeating the bad guys. Parodies The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
    8. Have students start their own satirical fairy tales. Length doesn’t matter as long as at least two of the four techniques are used in the short story. The class can start the story in class and finish as homework. 
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Day 3/4 (Block Day): A Model Proposal of Verbal Irony

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Objective:
  1. Define verbal irony.
  2. Understand what verbal irony is and the effect it creates when used in literature.
  3. Analyze verbal irony in songs and short stories.
Materials:
  • CD or MP3 of “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends” by Phil Ochs
  • CD or MP3 of “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen
  • Transparency of lyrics for both songs
  • Copies of “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathon Swift for each class member.
  •  Copies of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. for each class member.
  • Transparency of discussion questions.
Procedure:
    1. Begin class by having students share some of their examples of satirical fairy tales. Have classmates point out satire techniques used in the fairy tale.
    2. Have students turn in their fairytales for a completion grade for using two of the four techniques correctly.
    3. Define verbal irony for the class and how it plays a part in satire.
    4. Have students look for examples while listening to the songs. Have them follow along on the overhead as it plays.
    5. After playing each song, ask students for examples of verbal irony. Show them one example to help them grasp what they’re looking for.
    6. Split the class into two groups. Have half the class read “A Modest Proposal’ first and have the other half read “Harrison Bergeron” first. The group can read the work aloud or silently before the answer the discussion questions together. (25 minutes)
    7. Have the class read the other work they have not read yet and answer the discussion questions. (25 minutes)
    8. With the time left, bring the class back together to discuss things found in their smaller group discussions.
    9. In preparation for tomorrow, have students look for examples of satire in the newspaper or online. (ex. The Onion). On webquest.org they can find the links to the local newspaper and The Onion.
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Day 5: Modern-Day Satire and Subjects

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Objective:
  1. Analyze satirical work to determine the comments or criticisms being made about the subject.
  2. Identify subjects that are applicable to the world now.
Materials:
  • Extra copies of cartoons or articles found for students that forgot their homework or were absent yesterday.
  • Recent (and appropriate) segments from Saturday Night Live “Weekly Update”
  • Appropriate clip from Stephen Colbert’s “The Colbert Report”
Procedure:
    1. Journal response: Summarize article, editorial, or cartoon found. Identify the comment or criticism being made and the subject about society.
    2. Have students discuss their findings. List subjects on the board about society that students talk about. Talk about common trends.
    3. Have students think about the trends found and the criticisms made as they watch the “Weekly Update” segments. Have them take note of things discussed and the comments made about them.
    4. Have students compare the things talked about in the segments to their findings. Discuss their opinions of the different things talked about.
    5. Watch “The Colbert Report.”  Have students listen to the satire and think about techniques used to satire different subjects.
    6. Have students discuss their findings while watching the clip. What techniques did they see that they could use in their own work?
    7. Introduce the project that will be due next week. Students will need to create their own work of satire using the things learned throughout the week. They can write another fairy tale, a children’s book, a song, an article, an editorial, or they can work with a group to make a mock “Weekly Update” or sitcom like The Simpsons. They will be performing, reading, or showing their work the following Friday.
    8. Homework: Students need to bring their copy of The Importance of Being Earnest to class on Monday.
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