Read these headlines from a newspaper.

Fire Station Burns!

Lifeguard Drowns!

Talk about it.

These situations are ironic. Talk about what you think ironic means.

Look it up.
Use your Longman’s dictionary (or ldoceonline.com) to write a definition. (Be sure to include
pronunciation, stress, part of speech, and an example.)

ironic:

Figure it out.
Read these situations. Check () the ones you think are ironic.

_____ A ninety-eight-year-old man wins the lottery and dies from the shock.

_____ You fight with someone about the importance of non-violence.

_____ There's a black fly in your white wine.

_____ A kindergarten teacher hates children.

_____ It rains on your wedding day.

IDIOMS
_____ You get caught in a traffic jam when you're late. After you hear something
ironic, you sometimes say
"It figures."
or
Think of one more ironic situation. Write it here. "Who would've thought?"

Bridget Green, based on L. Cleary, TESOL ’98 Presentation for 104 L/S; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc&feature=player_embedded
 Ironic
b y A l a n i s M o r i s s e t t e
Listen to the song and write in the missing lyrics.

An old man ____________________ ninety-eight.

He won the lottery, and ____________________ the next day.
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay.
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late.
Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?
Chorus It's like rain on your wedding day.
It's a free ride when you've already ____________________.
It's the good advice that you just didn't ____________________.
And who would've thought? It figures.
Mr. Play-It-Safe was afraid to fly.
He ____________________ his suitcase and kissed his kids good-bye.
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane ____________________ down, he thought, "Well, isn't this nice?"
And isn't it ironic? Don't you think?
Chorus
Well, life ____________________ a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you ____________________ everything's okay and everything's going right.
And life has a funny way of helping you out
When you think everything's gone wrong and everything ____________________ up in your face:
A traffic jam when you're already late,
A “No Smoking” sign on your cigarette break.
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you ____________________ is a knife. Think about it.
It's meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife, Are all of these
situations
And isn't it ironic? Don't you ____________________?
ironic?
A little too ironic. And yeah I really do think.
Chorus
Listen to the song again and check your answers. What do all the words you wrote have in common?

In groups, talk about these questions.

1. Which of these situations is bad and which is good?

2. Which of these situations has happened to you? Which might happen to you in the future?

3. An optimist expects good things to happen; a pessimist expects bad things to happen. In general, is the singer optimistic
or pessimistic? Explain.

4. In general, are you optimistic or pessimistic? Explain.

Bridget Green, based on L. Cleary, TESOL ’98 Presentation for 104 L/S; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc&feature=player_embedded
 Answer Key

Materials: Handout for Ss

Dictionaries if needed
Song/video cued

Notes for Ts:

Preview: Show headlines on the doccam/write on BB. Give Ss time to read and react
(laughter, ouch).
Ask are you surprised? Is this what you expect to happen? No! It’s ironic! Repeat the word
several times. Focus on stress /aɪˈrɑ:nɪk/ and the longer second syllable. Then write ironic on
the board. Say “These are ironic. What do you think it means?”
Get pairs/groups to discuss. Give them time to talk together. Monitor. Ask helpful questions if
necessary. Have some other examples up your sleeve (eg Britain’s largest dog was called Tiny.
See attached for more.)
Definition: Hand out the paper and get Ss to write the definition they have come up with.
Have Ss come to the front of the class and show their definitions on the doccam.
Get groups to look up the definition (1 S look up and dictate to others), read it out loud, copy it
down compare with own definition. Check that they have included pronunciation, stress, part
of speech, and an example.

ironic: /aɪˈrɑ:nɪk/ an ironic situation is one that is unusual or amusing because

something strange happens or the opposite of what is expected happens or is true:
Your car was stolen at the police station! How ironic!
It's ironic that her husband smoked for thirty years, and yet she's the one who died of
lung cancer.
In an ironic twist, the most trustworthy character in the film turned out to be the thief.

Recognition: Groups read situations out loud. Discuss whether they are ironic.
Full group check answers.

_____ A ninety-eight-year-old man wins the lottery and dies from the shock.
 You fight with someone about the importance of non-violence.
_____ There’s a black fly in your white wine.
 A kindergarten teacher hates children.
_____ It rains on your wedding day.
_____ You get caught in a traffic jam when you're late.

Creation: Groups think of an ironic situation. Write it.

Get a different S from the group to come up and share the situation with the class.
(Alternatively, get them to come up and act out the situation.)
Bridget Green, based on L. Cleary, TESOL ’98 Presentation for 104 L/S; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc&feature=player_embedded
 Cold listening: Tell Ss they are going to listen to a song and watch a video. While they’re
listening/watching, they should write down any words/phrases they understand. Listen
through once while Ss write.
Ss share their list of words, talk together about any they didn’t understand.
Ask Ss what the song is about. (irony )
Cloze listening: Listen again with the cloze.
Number students into pairs and get them to move to a new table and share their answers. Do
they have the same answers? Do they want to listen again?
(Listen again.) An old man turned ninety-eight.
He won the lottery, and died the next day.
Get one S to put answers on the doc cam. It's a black fly in your Chardonnay.
Check that all Ss have the same answers It's a death row pardon two minutes too late.
(cloze attached). Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?
Chorus It's like rain on your wedding day.
Micro/macro comprehension: It's a free ride when you've already paid.
It's the good advice that you just didn't
Vocabulary check: Q: What do all the take.
words you wrote have in common? They are all And who would've thought? It figures.
past tense. Mr. Play-It-Safe was afraid to fly.
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids good-bye.
Ask other micro questions including: He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down, he thought, "Well,
-What happened to the man who was afraid isn't this nice?"
to fly? (He died in a plane crash.) And isn't it ironic? Don't you think?
Chorus
-What did he say when the plane was Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
crashing? (He said, “Well, isn’t this nice?” When you think everything's okay and everything's
going right.
-Did he really think it was nice to die in a And life has a funny way of helping you out
plane crash? (No, also ironic! You may want When you think everything's gone wrong and everything
to discuss whether this is common in their blows up in your face:
A traffic jam when you're already late,
culture or not. And if they have noticed that A “No Smoking” sign on your cigarette break.
Americans do this a lot. Eg When it’s It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a
raining, we say, “Great weather.” in an knife.
It's meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting
ironic tone.) his beautiful wife,
What does ‘blow up in your face’ mean? (to And isn't it ironic? Don't you think?
A little too ironic. And yeah I really do think.
have a bad effect that you didn’t expect) Chorus
etc

Group discussion + comprehension: Regroup Ss and have them answer questions.

1. Which of these situations is bad and which is good? All bad.
2. Which of these situations has happened to you? Which might happen to you in the future? Answers vary but
probalbly none have happened. How they answer the future questions should
determine if they are optimistic or pessimistic.
3. An optimist expects good things to happen; a pessimist expects bad things to happen. In general, is the singer optimistic
or pessimistic? Explain. Pessimistic. Bad things happen (even not so bad things) and she lists
them and then says ‘It figures’ as in ‘I expected that.’
4. In general, are you optimistic or pessimistic? Explain. Answers will vary.

Check answers in the full group.

Bridget Green, based on L. Cleary, TESOL ’98 Presentation for 104 L/S; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc&feature=player_embedded
 Optional homework: If time, go over the ‘Think about it.” box. Ask
which situations are not ironic. Discuss. Give this homework: Think about it.
Are all of these
Write three short situations just like you found in the song or like you situations
and your group wrote in class. Make two of the situations ironic and ironic?
one not ironic. In the next class, you will read out your situations and
the other students will have to guess if it’s ironic or not. Have fun!

Other examples of irony:

Bridget Green, based on L. Cleary, TESOL ’98 Presentation for 104 L/S; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc&feature=player_embedded
Bridget Green, based on L. Cleary, TESOL ’98 Presentation for 104 L/S; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc&feature=player_embedded