Satire, Irony, and Film

An ELA 20-2 unit that looks at satire through the focus of Jojo
Rabbit as a film study with an essay component

Unit Plan Created by: Teegan Gallinger

For PSIII: Lord Beaverbrook High School
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Unit Rationale……………………. 3

Unit Organizer……………………. 4

Month-at-a-Glance……………….. 6

Unit Assessment Plan………………….. 8

 Unit Rationale 3

Overview:
Satire and irony can be extremely tough concepts to understand for students, especially because there are multiple levels of
knowledge often required to fully understand satire. This unit breaks down components of satire to make it easy for students to
comprehend and it does it in texts that are entertaining and for the most part, modern. While the first half of this unit focuses on
satire and irony, the latter half will move towards persuasive writing while still integrating the built knowledge of satire into our
writing. The core text for this unit is Jojo Rabbit, a satirical drama comedy that follows a young German boy in WWII whose
imaginary friend is Hitler. (The need to understand satire will be a key component before students are able to properly understand
and benefit from the film). The film works extremely well for satire and will have students digging into some tough questions
about grey morality. Students will move into their exploratory essay (a 5-paragraph essay that answers an essential question) after
their first viewing of Jojo rabbit. We’ll spend some class time looking at and breaking down our essential question to prepare to re-
watch the film. Students will also spend some time organizing how they will take notes for their essay during their re-watch of the
film. Once we have re-watched the film, students will work to create rough drafts of their essays. This will be done by “chunking”
out the essay writing process so that it is scaffolded and made easy to understand. At the end of the unit students will have two
full periods in the computer lab to type up their final copies of their essay.

Essential Questions:
What methods can I use to be effectively persuasive in my writing?
• How can I use satire in persuasive writing?
• How can I understand satire?
• How can I understand irony?
• Why do text creators use satire and irony?
• How can I write an explorative essay about character(s)?
Big Meta Concepts:
- Film study – Five paragraph essay – Character studies
- Satire – Irony – Exaggeration
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Focused Outcomes Language Arts Demonstrations of Learning
Strands Used
4.1.1 Assess text creation Writing Summative:
4.1.2 Consider and address form, Reading
structure and medium. Listening Exploratory lit essay
4.1.3 Develop content Speaking
4.2.1 Enhance thought and Viewing Research on satire
understanding and support and detail
2.1.1 Discern and analyze context
2.2.1 Relate form structure and Modest proposal for the classroom
medium to purpose, audience, and
content Formative:
Graphic Organizers

Film comprehension questions

A Modest Proposal Initial Work

Background knowledge work with propaganda

and the Third Wave

10 Steps to becoming the best


Unit Organizer/ Colour Descriptor
Opening
(Romance)
A Modest Proposal
Satire as social commentary
SNL clips with satire
Looking at The Onion with
articles and graphic organizer
5
Developmental Culmination
(Precision) (Generalization)
Background knowledge and Explorative writing essay draft
context for Jojo work
- Hitler Youth - Scaffolded and broken
- Propaganda down into manageable
- The Third Wave article chunks of how to write/
and questionas organize their essays
Jojo Rabbit film
- Watch initially with Explorative essay final work:
satirical lens and - Done in the computer lab
knowledge over two classes
- Watch second time after - Essay must be written
introducing essential during class time but they
question for essay can bring in their draft
- Examine big ideas and work and notes.
characters of the film
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Month-at-a-Glance

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

No School Introducing Satire Researching A Modest Continuing With Satire Mini-Lesson

Proposal
A Modest Proposal Tools of satire to use Mini Project:
(abridged) Satire as social
commentary Beginning the first 10 min Have students create a
Cannibalism in Ireland - using SNL to look at of Jojo to use with our “modest” proposal for
what is being literally tools of satire the classroom
Exit slip portrayed vs what is the
social commentary If time allows doing the
“10 Steps to Becoming
Computer lab the Best _________”
- Working through
worksheet to
answer and
organize
questions based
on an article
from “The
Onion”

Background Jojo Jojo Day 2 Check in Begin Re-watch of Jojo

Knowledge Big Ideas
Start film Finish film Keeping in mind our
WWII Introduce our exploratory essential question and
Viewing questions to Discuss films big ideas essay question taking notes based on it
Context PowerPoint keep students engaged.
Time dependent look at Introducing 5 paragraph
an article that discusses Essay
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Emphasizing the points whether the use of What do you remember
of satire satire in the film was
appropriate or not, Break down question
Pre-Watch activity What are you going to
(non-fiction article) look for
Finish re-watch of jojo Thesis Statement Conclusions and Work Period NID
Ready Introductions
Begin working on Students can work on
thesis Workshopping/ rotating Looking at how we can creating their rough
with topic sentences effectively introduce drafts or outlines that
If students can finish and pieces of evidence. our essays (with our they’ll bring into the
their thesis’s by thesis’s) and how we computer lab
tomorrow, then I’ll Begin working on body can conclude them
workshop them and paragraphs
offer them ideas for - Very
improvement straightforward
and lots of
scaffolding to
assist students
- Evidence
- Outline for how
to write the
paragraph
-

Work Period Work Period Start next Unit

Work period in Essay due at end of

computer lab class

Working on hardcopy
of their essay.
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Group A Modest Draft

Backgrou
Discussion Proposal Work
Onion nd Jojo Film
and Verbal Graphic for the T-Chart for Explorato
Title Article Knowled Review
Reflections Organizers Classroom Analysis Explor ry essay
Work ge/ Pre Work
Learning atory
Watch
essay
Outcomes Summative Summa
Type Summativ Summati Summati Summativ
(Formative/Summati Formative Summative/ Formative tive
e ve ve e
ve) Throughout Formative
5% 10%
Weighting 5% 5% N/A N/A 5% 70%
N/A
2.1.1 Discern and X
X
analyze context X X X X X

2.2.1 Relate form

X X
structure and medium X X X X
to purpose, audience,
and content
4.1.1 Assess text
X X
creation X

4.1.2 Consider and

X X
address form, structure X X X X X X
and medium.
X
. 4.1.3 Develop content
X X X

4.2.1 Enhance thought X X

and understanding and X X X

support and detail
Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating
Triangulation
Assessment Brief Description (Conversation/
Cognitive
Engagement
Title Observation/
Product) (Taxonomy)
Throughout the unit students will partake in multiple whole
Group class discussions, table discussions and other smaller
Understand
Discussions/ discussions. During these times evaluative listening can be Conversation/ ing/
Verbal used to ensure that students are grasping the main concepts. Observation Applying
Reflections In this category also falls any of the verbal reflective
response we’ll be doing.

Understand
Graphic Graphic organizers will be used at multiple points to assess Product ing and
Organizers mainly students’ comprehension and managing skills. applying

Students will have time in the computer lab to research

Research Work Applying/
satire. Students will use this time to look at The Onion Product
Analyzing
on Satire
articles and write about a satirical piece that they find.

The T-chart analysis will be used to organize students

T-Chart understanding of satire and irony. On one side will be what Observation/ Applying/
Analysis is literally be shown or said and the other side will be the Product Evaluating
“butt” of the satire or deeper meaning of irony.
This creative assignment will be done in class and is meant
A Modest to be handed in at the end of the period. Students will work
Applying/
Proposal for to create a “modest proposal” of how to fix an issue within Product
Creating
the Classroom the classroom. (Examples include vaping, phone usage and
bathroom breaks)
This activity will have students working to understand the
Background Understand
context of Jojo and the world in which it takes place. We’ll Observation/
knowledge and Product
ing and
be reading a non-fiction article and they will be responding Evaluating
Pre-Watch
to it.
This will take up a large chunk of our unit, it will have
Exploratory students working through a booklet of sorts to develop Applying/
essay work/ their exploratory essay. We’re going to break down the Product Analyzing/
planning essay writing process into manageable “chunks” and then Creating
work from there to use this as an outline for our final essay
I grappled a bit with how I wanted this final component of
the unit to go and after talking with my TM decided that an
exploratory essay works best. Students will work to answer Applying/
Exploratory
an essential question based on Jojo Rabbit. Students will Product Analyzing/
essay hardcopy Creating
have the opportunity to watch the film twice as they work
to understand how to properly respond and write the 5
paragraph essay.