Comedy Unit: Information for Teachers

Project #1: Song Parody

For this assignment, students take a popular song and rewrite the lyrics so that the song is humorous. (Some students are
not interested in popular music, so they can choose a song that is not as well known if you want, but I have found that
when the songs are ones everyone has heard, they are much more entertaining.)
Before students get started, I pass out the assignment and show them several Weird Al Yankovic videos. He is not the
only person who has song parodies, but I think he’s the most famous for them.
When I have students start the assignment, I make sure to reserve the computer lab. This gives them time to choose a
song and access to a variety of songs and their lyrics to parody. I have them copy and paste the original song into a two
column table. They put the original lyrics in the left-hand column, and their new lyrics in the right-hand column.
Depending on your students and your schedule, you could do this or something different.
I always play the songs after I collect the assignment and let the students read along with the new lyrics. They love this! I
have a document camera, so I just put the student work under it to project onto the screen. If you don’t have a document
camera and you have the time, you could have the students create a PowerPoint of the lyrics to share with the class. I
would have them put the old and new lyrics on each slide. It’s interesting for the class to see how the students have
changed things, particularly if they’re not very familiar with the original words.
In this section, you will find the following materials:
1. Assignment and Notes on Parody
2. Sample Song Parody
3. Parody Practice with Rhythm and Rhyme
4. Parody Rubric
Project #2: Humorous News Article
For this assignment, students write humorous news stories similar to those found on the webpage The Onion. This
website is not for students under 18, so I DO NOT recommend that you encourage students to search the website during
school. Instead, you should print off articles for the students to read.
There are two main types of articles The Onion contains: the first satirizes something that exists in order to make a point
about the subject; the second presents a serious news article about a mundane topic that would never make the news
because of its insignificance. The latter is probably easier for students to do, so based on the age and ability of your
students, keep that in mind. You might want to alter the handouts to focus on the mundane news article.
When I assign this project, I read the article “New SeaWorld Show Just Elephant Drowning in a Tank.” This satirizes the
unethical treatment of animals at SeaWorld, as well as the audience who attends the shows.
I also read the article “55-Year-Old Guy Dominating YMCA Pickup Basketball Game.” This article is about a mundane
topic, as stated by the topic.
For copyright reasons, I cannot provide the articles in this product, but both articles can be found by doing an internet
search at this point in time. Read them before printing because you know your students better than I do. You can copy
and paste the articles into a Word document and then copy them for your students.
After students read the articles, they fill out the article analysis form, which forces them to take a closer look at the
structure and content of the articles. They also discuss how the articles are funny. Then, students brainstorm their own
story ideas.
In this section, you will find the following materials:
1. The assignment and notes
2. An article analysis form
3. A sample comedic news article
4. A planning guide
5. A rubric
Project #3: Sketch Comedy
The final project requires the students to write comedy sketches similar to the ones they see on Saturday Night Live. I
usually show students a variety of SNL sketches before they write their own. You can get access to SNL skits for free if
you go to the following website: <http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live>. In this way, you can search for sketches by
character, actor, or sketch. You can also search by episode date.
Obviously, there are some SNL sketches that are more appropriate than others. Please use your discretion when making
your choices.
Before teaching students anything about sketch comedy, I show them several sketches just to familiarize them with the
genre. Then I present a short PowerPoint on elements of sketch comedy. After that, I show a few more sketches, and
students use the Sketch Comedy Analysis Form to help them see the elements of sketch comedy. Finally, I allow them to
work in groups of 2 or three students to brainstorm and write their own sketch comedy. They can use the Sketch Comedy
Analysis Forms to plan their own sketches. I encourage lots of brainstorming before they settle on their idea.
There is a lot more to sketch comedy than what I teach my students. Things like on-game and off-game jokes, beats, bits,
character sketches and premise sketches, runners, and blackouts are not covered in this unit. You can feel free to add
them, but for the nature of my course, I’ve left them out.
Included in this section are the following materials:
1. Assignment with tips for ideas
2. PowerPoint on elements of sketch comedy
3. Sketch Analysis Form
4. Rubric