Exploring Satire with Shrek

Materials and Technology

Student Interactives

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

• DVD or VHS copy of Shrek
  
  
• Fairy tales for students to satirize (see Website section for suggestions)
  
  
• Television, and DVD Player or VCR

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   6 – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Inquiry & Analysis

Literary Elements Map

Students can map out the key literary elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution as prewriting for their own fiction or as analysis of a text by another author in this secondary-level interactive.

 

Grades   1 – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Plot Diagram

The Plot Diagram is an organizational tool focusing on a pyramid or triangular shape, which is used to map the events in a story. This mapping of plot structure allows readers and writers to visualize the key features of stories.

 

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PRINTOUTS

• Additional Satirical Video Clips
  
  
• Rubric for a Narrative Writing Piece
  
  
• Common Elements of Fairy Tales (optional)

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WEBSITES

• SurLaLune Fairy Tales
• The Grimm Brothers’ Children’s and Household Tales
• Open Directory Project: Fables and Fairy Tales

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PREPARATION

• This lesson plan works well after an exploration of fairy tales; however, if students are already familiar with fairy tale traditions, their prior knowledge will be adequate for the lesson.
  
  
• In this lesson, students write satirical versions of favorite fairy tales individually. The instruction below ask students to choose their own tales; however, depending upon resources and students, you can have students work in small groups, rather than individually. Additionally, you can narrow the fairy tales that students choose, bringing in 4 or 5 stories for students to choose among rather than having them select tales themselves.
  
  
• In addition to choosing fairy tales from the Websites listed in the lesson, you can supplement the choices with children's books from the library.
  
  
• Test the Literary Elements Map interactive and the Plot Diagram interactive on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

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