Length:
90 - 120 minutes
Curriculum Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.6
- Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2
- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3
- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3.B
- Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Vocabulary:
- Satire
- Sarcasm
- Humor
- Irony
- Criticism
Materials:
- A copy of the movie The Truman Show
- Pre-screen the movie and identify three scenes that clearly and explicitly demonstrate satire
- A copy of the handout Satire Note-Taking Worksheet for each student
- This handout should include a place to document the definition of satire and then list the following questions three times so students have a place to record their answers after viewing each of the three scenes:
- What topic or idea is the scene highlighting about our society?
- How is the director bringing this issue to our attention?
- What message does the director want us to take away from this scene?
- Students will need writing instruments and paper
Lesson Instructions and Activities:
Warm Up/Do Now Activity
- Explain the following terms in your own words: sarcasm, humor, irony, and criticism
- Students share their answers with the class to begin thinking about satire
Instruction
- Pass out Satire Note-Taking Worksheet
- Define satire.
- Point out that satire utilizes the tools we discussed in the Do Now Activity to make us think more about an issue going on in the world around us.
- Ask students if they can think of any shows, movies, or publications that utilize satire?
- Listen for answers like Saturday Night Live and The Onion
- Tell students that they will be looking at three scenes from the movie The Truman Show. They will be analyzing the use of satire in the scenes by answering the first three analysis questions on their Worksheet:
- What topic or idea is the scene highlighting about our society?
- How is the director bringing this issue to our attention?
- What message does the director want us to take away from this scene?
- Play the first scene you have selected to show the class.
- After watching the scene, do a ''think aloud'' by asking yourself aloud the first question: What is the scene bringing to my attention about our society?
- Proceed to speak your thought process out loud while you answer the question.
- Continue this process for the next two questions.
- How is the director bringing this issue to our attention?
- What message does the director want us to take away from this scene?
- Play the second scene you selected to share with the class.
- Have students turn to a partner and answer the three questions together. They should record their answers on the Worksheet.
- Have student pairs share their answers. Point out similarities and differences between answers to reinforce comprehension and analysis.
- Play the third scene you selected to share with the class.
- Have students individually answer the three questions on their Worksheet.
- Have students report their answers. Encourage conversation to clarify any confusion or to reinforce key insights.
Activity
- Now that students have practice identifying satire, why it is used, and how it is used, have students work in pairs to write an additional scene for the movie that furthers one or more of the satirical messages in the movie.
- Remind students that this is a school assignment and therefore the scene, including content, language, and actions within the scene, must be school appropriate.
- When the pairs have finished writing, ask for volunteers to share their scenes with the class.
- Use the same three questions to analyze the scenes the students present to acknowledge their successes in utilizing satire in their writing.
Exit slip:
- Ask students the following questions. Give them time to respond.
- In your own words, what is satire?
- Why is The Truman Show an example of satire?
Satire in Literature: Definition, Types & Examples
History of Satire
Satire Vocabulary Flashcards
