Exploring Satire with The Simpsons

Grade Levels

10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, 9th Grade

Course, Subject

Related Academic Standards

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

CC.1.4.11-12.U CC.1.4.11-12.U

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments and information.

CC.1.5.9-10.E CC.1.5.9-10.E

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.

CC.1.5.11-12.D CC.1.5.11-12.D

Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective; organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

CC.1.5.11-12.E CC.1.5.11-12.E

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.

Expand

Big Ideas

Comprehension requires and enhances critical thinking and is constructed through the intentional interaction between reader and text

Information to gain or expand knowledge can be acquired through a variety of sources.
Concepts

Essential content, literary elements and devices inform meaning

Informational sources have unique purposes.

Textual structure, features and organization inform meaning

Validity of information must be established.
Competencies

Analyze and evaluate information from sources for relevance to the research question, topic or thesis.

Analyze the impact of societal and cultural influences in texts

Develop search procedures to locate and gather information from traditional sources (libraries) as well as electronic databases, data sets and other electronic reference materials.

Evaluate information from a variety of reference sources for its relevance to the research question, topic or thesis.

Evaluate the characteristics of various genre (e.g. fiction and nonfiction forms of narrative, poetry, drama and essay) to determine how the form relates to purpose.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the author’s use of literary devices in various genre

Identify and evaluate essential content between and among various text types

Identify the use of bias, stereotype, and propaganda where present

Interpret and analyze the effect of literary devices within and among texts (e.g. personification, simile, alliteration, metaphor, symbolism, imagery, hyperbole, foreshadowing, flashback, allusions, satire, and irony)

Description

Students are introduced to the idea of The Simpsons as satire by comparing what they did on a typical day to the things the Simpsons do in the opening segment of the show. They use the character profiles on the The Simpsons Website to analyze six characters, identifying satirical details that reveal the comment or criticism of society that the cartoon is making through the character. Finally, students use a graphic organizer to record and analyze specific examples of satire as they watch a full episode of The Simpsons. A list of other modern shows that provide examples of satire is included in the lesson.

Web-based Resource

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Exploring Satire with The Simpsons

Content Provider

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Exploring Satire with The Simpsons