Upper grade and middle school writers study the art of parody. In this language arts instructional activity, learners study the work of Lewis Carroll, read and discuss parodies from the book, Alice in Wonderland, and construct their own...

Alliteration, allusion, assonance? Need a quick review of poetic devices? The slides in this presentation offer concise definitions of major poetic terms. Because few examples are provided, you could enliven the presentation with tongue...

Satire, anyone? After a review of terms associated with satire, viewers are directed to craft a 500-600 word piece of satire about a familiar hypocrisy. 

The bite of comedy often rests on use of the literary devices detailed in this presentation. The definitions for terms like sarcasm, zeugma, and invective are followed by examples drawn from literature. Consider extending the lesson by...

Where does the comma go? Study the use of dialogue and voice in writing. Learners listen to Margie Palatini's parody The Web Files. To build background knowledge, they listen to an old episode of the show Dragnet before responding to...

Eighth graders use modern materials and technology to create a modern portrait modeled after a Renaissance picture.

This lesson will focus on the aspects of Shakespeare's comedy that become more evident in performance. By viewing clips of the same Shakespeare scene in different film versions, high schoolers have the opportunity to engage in a close...

Explore the pop art movement and create a sculpture in the pop art style based on a visual pun, or play on words. The scholar's work may use humor, allegory, metaphor, or be in the form of a parody. Visual examples are provided, and some...

Weird Al Yankovic might have made the parody popular but his name will probably not be familiar to your pupils; however, the songs and illustrations in Alan Katz’s Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs will certainly...

High schoolers deconstruct advertising messages by analyzing parody ads and exploring the purpose of satire. Then they create their own parodies based on real ads discussed in class. A creative activity to extend any study of media,...

This worksheet starts out on a strong note by using a humorous video called "My Blackberry Is Not Working" from BBC One to teach parody. While they watch the short video, viewers fill out a chart about the electronic brands, noting any...

A great way to bring poetry and parody into your language arts classroom, this lesson mimics famous poems based on Jon Scieszka's Science Verse. The activity not only allows the class to see examples of poem parodies, but to create their...

Explore the semantics of poetry with this higher-level presentation. With examples from Dickinson, Frost, and Dr. Seuss, the slides clearly explain the details of poetic structure, license, and schemes. You could use this in a language...

Expand your students' literary likings with this quick PowerPoint about parodies. A detailed definition of a parody on the second slide precedes different examples of parodies in pop culture. Tip: Show videos of famous parodies your...

Parodies of political figures are the lifeblood of the editorial cartoons in a free press. North Korea's nuclear threat provides young political scientists an opportunity to hone their critical thinking skills as they analyze a cartoon...

Students create a parody for The Night Before Christmas. In this parody lesson plan, students read the story by Clement Clarke Moore and then alter it to become a parody. Students present their parody and may dress in costume.

Twelfth graders identify satire in various fictional texts.  In this language arts lesson, 12th graders will learn to define satire, parody, and caricature. Students will identify different forms of satire in historical and modern-day...

For this language arts worksheet, student read a selection that is a parody of Cinderella before writing an original parody of their own.

Students view a video clip about parodies. They identify the characteristics of a parody in Mark Twain's work as well. They practice writing Shakepeare like verses.

Students discuss how much they understand of satire and parody. They read an article about an Iraq news parody show. They create and act out their own parody skit. They write an essay about using humor in grave situations.

Students examine the concept of satire by reading lyrics to a song and reading "Soap and the Campus: A Web-Site Spoof Succeeds." They create treatments for parodies based on current television shows.

Eighth graders analyze a variety of poems to develop the ability to recognize and explain a variety pf poetic devises.