A sniper is stationed on a rooftop contemplating how he will get down before the light of dawn exposes him. I often use this text when teaching irony because of its unexpected ending. It is set at night and focuses on a long-standing turf war. The two main characters are out in the forest, the disputed territory, hunting each other, but as the two men meet, a tree falls and traps both of them beneath it.
The twist at the end of the story makes it another great text to use for teaching irony. I often teach irony right before the holidays, which makes "The Gift of the Magi" by O.
Henry another excellent short story to use because of its message about giving and thinking of others. The story is set on Christmas Eve as a young, newly married couple, Jim and Della, struggles to find gifts that are worthy of each other. Both end up giving up what they treasure most to buy a gift for their loved one, but the twist at the end of the story makes their gifts worthless.
The Onion recently published this satirical piece that would be a great pairing with the short story. Fictional short stories are great, but I like to use nonfiction when teaching irony as well.
No matter how much time has passed since its sinking, the Titanic continues to be a topic that fascinates students. Creative Application Once students seem comfortable with the terms or if students need a challenge, I introduce students to a digital breakout, " Isn't It Ironic? A digital breakout is an online scavenger hunt-like game where players use teamwork and critical thinking to solve a series of challenging puzzles in order to open a series of locks.
In this breakout, students have been given a copy of the lyrics to Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic" to analyze, but even after looking back at their notes, they are puzzled. They don't see a single example of irony in the song.
They have to interact with a variety of text and media to find the lyrics that unlock the five locks, and then they can be certain that they understand irony better than Alanis Morissette. In addition to needing content knowledge to successfully complete the game, breakouts require students to think critically, communicate, collaborate, and use creativity. I also love breakouts because they provide students with many opportunities to fail and try again.
Every unsuccessful attempt to open a lock forces them to reexamine their information and their thinking. Through helping students see the connection between irony and their world, they are able to see not only the classroom-related value that this skill entails but also the real-world application of the skill. This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted.
If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming. This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state. We have launched the new ReadWriteThink. Give Feedback. Standard Lesson. Understanding Irony. Amanda Ottinger. High School English teacher. Featured Resources. Situational Irony Video : This YouTube video provides examples of situational irony and explains why coincidence is not irony.
Verbal Irony Video : This YouTube video provides examples of verbal irony and discusses the differences among verbal irony, sarcasm, and compliments. Dramatic Irony Video : This YouTube video provides examples of dramatic irony and discusses dramatic irony as a storytelling device. From Theory to Practice. Common Core Standards. State Select. Grade Select. State Standards. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.
They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features e. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language e. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions e.
Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities. Materials and Technology. Students love this activity because it gets them out of their seats.
It's also a great way to get students thinking about irony. If you're looking for a set of cards already created for you and your students, you can find them in my Irony Mini-Unit resource. Students love making simple irony flip cards. All they need to do is fold a piece of paper in 3 sections lengthwise.
Then, have students label each section with a different type of irony: situational, dramatic, and verbal.
Next, have students add a little piece of tape so that they create a flip card that they can rotate in response to irony clues that you read to them. Speaking of irony clues, you'll want to prepare at least 15 irony clues to read out loud to the class. I like to keep them pretty short like: "There is an outbreak of roaches in a pest control office. Meeker sympathized with the British, and then he died at the hands of his allies. After students have their flip cards ready, and you have a set of clues, you're set to do the activity.
Just read the clues and have students flip their cards to display which type of irony is in each example. As an extension, you could challenge students to write a few ironic situations themselves.
Then, they could read them to the class while their peers flip their cards. Don't worry, I have a set of clues and even a flip card that's ready for students in my irony mini-unit if you'd prefer to skip the prep and get right to the teaching. I've found that foldables are incredibly motivating for students. Students get a little giddy when I bring out the scissors and glue sticks Hands-on activities are always the best! That's why this final idea is always a hit with students.
First prepare a set of shutter cards with the beginning of an ironic situation on one side of the shutter cards. For instance, you might write, "Your team wins the championship and your couch says
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