This is a SMART Notebook file that I use to introduce the concepts related to satire and parody. Students will be able to define satire and parody, identify common devices of these writing forms, and analyze the purpose behind satirical works.

This game is used to introduce students to the concepts behind Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Students will be randomly assigned to different social classes; then they will learn what it was like for poor Irish tenants who paid much of their wages to absentee landlords.

The following notes help students contextualize Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." They give background information and summary of each section of the essay.

This is a very difficult AP exam-type quiz about the reading. I allow the students to use their textbook and I also use the AP-style of grading so as not to punish kids so severely for wrong answers.

This is a SMART Notebook file to accompany the satirical essay "Now I Know How Much Better China Is!" The essay compares and contrasts China with the US, and although the speaker seems to favor China, the odd evidence points at the satire. This lesson brings students through a literal interpretation, and then a deeper understanding of the author's true message and purpose.

To measure students' understanding of satirical devices, assign one of the following assessments:

The 2006 prompt from the AP English Language Exam: William Hazlitt's "On the Want of Money" or

The 2005 prompt from the AP English Language Exam: The Onion's advertisement for "Magna Soles"

Both prompts ask students to analyze satirical devices (although the prompt does not directly identify Hazlitt's essay as being satirical). I assign these prompts in an AP style testing environment. The students are timed, and they must turn in the essay at the end of the timed period.