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Four to five 50-minute sessions
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| Overview |
 Because students are typically familiar with the characteristics of fairy tales,
the movie Shrek, which satirizes fairy tale traditions, serves as an introduction
to the satirical techniques of exaggeration, incongruity, reversal, and parody.
Students brainstorm fairy tale characteristics, identify the satirical techniques
used to present them in the movie, then create their own satirical versions of
fairy tales.
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| From Theory to Practice |
Popular culture, in the form of the movie Shrek, provides an introduction
to
the literary techniques that are commonly used in satire. This pairing of popular
culture with traditional literary instruction provides what Meg Callahan and
Bronwen E. Low call “a meeting place where students and teachers can share
their expertise” (52). Through their extensive research with secondary
students, Callahan and Low concluded that “many students identified the
use of popular culture in the classroom as a catalyst for complex thinking” (57).
Callahan and Low identify popular culture as “a site where students can
experience competence at the same time that the teachers provide appropriate
challenges through careful support, reframing, and questioning” (57).
Further Reading
Callahan, Meg, and Bronwen E. Low. “At the Crossroads of Expertise: The
Risky Business of Teaching Popular Culture.” English Journal 93.3
(January 2004): 52-57.
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| Student Objectives |
Students will
- brainstorm genre characteristics based on prior knowledge.
- use visual literacy skills to analyze, interpret, and explain non-print media.
- identify the techniques
of satire in a satirical work.
- analyze a satirical
work to determine the comment or criticism being made about the subject it
is ridiculing.
- use the elements of satire in narrative writing.
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| Instructional Plan |
Resources
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 the select tales themselves.
- In addition to choosing fairy tales from the Web sites 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.
Instruction and Activities
Session One
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Before class begins, cue the clip from Shrek, which begins at 51:20 and
ends at 53:20 on both the DVD and VHS versions of the movie.
The clip depicts the capture of Princess Fiona by Robin Hood, who mistakenly
thinks that the Princess has been taken against her will by the ogre, Shrek.
After “rescuing” the
princess, Robin Hood and his Merry Men pause to introduce themselves by
performing a ridiculous song and dance number. In the middle of the routine,
Princess Fiona screams, “That’s enough!” and single handedly
attacks and subdues Robin Hood and all of his Merry Men.
- When students enter the room, have the following brainstorming question
ready for them to respond to in their reader response notebooks or journals: “What
makes a fairy tale a fairy tale? What are the characteristics of the genre?”
- If desired, you can share the Common
Elements of Fairy Tales to introduce some basic characteristics before
asking students to begin compiling their own lists.
- After students have had a few minutes to gather ideas, open discussion
by inviting students to share their characteristics with the class. List
their ideas on the board or on chart paper so that you collect a class list.
- Once students have shared their ideas, read back over the list and make
any revisions or additions. If desired, you might group similar characteristics
together (e.g., descriptions of the hero, characteristics of the setting).
- Set up the film clip by explaining that you will show a segment from Shrek,
which satirizes fairy tales by departing from the typical fairy tale characteristics
in humorous ways.
- Introduce the following definition of satire to the students:
A literary work that ridicules its subject through the use of techniques such
as exaggeration, reversal, incongruity, and/or parody in order to make a comment
or criticism about it.
- Show the clip and ask students to pay attention to elements from the clip
that depart from the typical characteristics of fairy tales. Be sure that
the list of fairy tale characteristics that the class has brainstormed is
posted in a place where students can refer to it while watching the clip.
- Once you’ve shown the clip, give students a minute or two to gather
their list of details from the movie that depart from the typical fairy tale.
- Ask students to share their observations from the movie clip, and list
the details on a new sheet of chart paper or a cleared section of the
board.
- Once students have shared their ideas, read back over the list and
make any revisions or additions.
- Place the original list of fairy tale characteristics beside the list of
observations from the movie clip and ask students to make connections between
the two lists. Allow students to associate freely, without worrying about
naming any of the connections unless the additional information is a natural
addition to the discussion.
- Introduce definitions for four techniques
of satire:
- Exaggeration
- To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal
bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.
- Incongruity
- To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation
to its surroundings.
- Reversal
- To present the opposite of the normal order (e.g., the order of
events, hierarchical order).
- Parody
- To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place,
or thing.
- Referring to their notes, ask students to identify at least one example
from the clip for each of the four techniques of satire. You can ask students
to work individually or in small groups.
- If desired, show the clip again, to help students review the events that
take place with these four satirical techniques in mind.
- After students have gathered their examples from they clip, gather the
students as a full group and ask them to share their responses. Possible
answers include the following:
- Exaggeration
- Princess Fiona fights and successfully defeats Robin Hood and all
of his Merry Men without any help and without any weapons.
- Incongruity
- Princess Fiona uses her ponytail to deliver a knockout punch to
one of the Merry Men. While frozen in a mid-air martial arts kick, Princess
Fiona pauses to fix her disheveled hair before knocking out two of the
Merry Men.
- Reversal
- The roles of the hero and the damsel in distress have been reversed.
In this clip, it is Princess Fiona, the rescuee, who fights and defeats the
foe.
- Parody
- The fight scene is an exaggerated imitation of the martial arts style
and special effects used in movies such as The Matrix and Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
- Ask students to identify the primary comment or
criticism about society that is being made by the satirical techniques in
this clip from Shrek. Students might respond in one of these ways:
- The traditional story of the knight rescuing the damsel-in-distress is not
a realistic depiction of the roles filled by men and women in modern society.
- Current Hollywood action movies like The Matrix have become ridiculous
because they are too focused on special effects.
- If students have difficulty identifying the satirical commentary, you might
ask them what the underlying lesson or unwritten moral is in the story.
- Close the discussion by explaining that in the next sessions, students will
write satirical versions of fairy tales (or scenes from fairy tales) themselves.
- For homework, ask students to choose a fairy tale that they’d like to
satirize. Students should read the tale and be completely familiar with it
before the next session. If possible, students should print out a copy of the
story for reference as they write.
- Share the following fairy tale Web sites, where students can find
tales online:
Session Two
- Prior to this class, students should choose a fairy tale to satirize. If
possible, they should bring printouts of the story to class for reference.
Also prior to the session, choose a story to use with the class.
To ensure that you choose a story that none of the students are planning
on using, you might choose a fairy tale from another culture, such as Anansi
the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti (Holt,
1987) or Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale (Puffin, 1977). Alternately,
you can use the scene from Shrek, played in the previous session, as your example.
- To demonstrate the process of analyzing and satirizing
a fairy tale, read the story that you’ve chosen to the class, or if you’re
using a story that students are familiar with ask students to brainstorm the
key elements of the plot in a general class discussion. Note their ideas on
the board or on chart paper.
- Review the literary elements of character, setting, conflict,
and resolution as an introduction to the Literary
Elements Map.
- Demonstrate the Literary
Elements Map to
students by collaborating to complete the information for the fairy tale
that you’ve read. You can complete the “Character Map” in
the tool for multiple characters from the story (e.g., the heroine, the villain,
the hero). Be sure to print the findings so that students can refer to the
information in later sessions.
- Once you’re sure students understand the tool, have them complete
the Literary
Elements Map for
the fairy tales that they’ve chosen. Remind students to print their
finished graphic maps and that they can complete the “Character Map” in
the tool for multiple characters from the story (e.g., the heroine, the villain,
the hero).
- Once every group has completed the Literary
Elements Map and printed their responses, gather students as a
group and ask them to begin thinking of how to apply the techniques of satire
to their tales.
- Remind them that satire has the overarching goals of commenting on or
criticizing society. Again, you might call this commentary an underlying
lesson or an unwritten moral.
- Return to the list of common fairy tale characteristics from Session One
and discuss how the elements might be used in satire. For instance, a satirized
fairy tale might focus on the role of the hero to comment on how unrealistic
the character is.
- For homework, ask students to identify three to five specific things from
the fairy tales that they have chosen, and then pair those things with ways
they might be used in satire. Students will be creating a list that is similar
to what you’ve brainstormed at the end of this session; however, their lists
will use specific details and references to their stories.
Session Three
- Begin the session by talking about what makes a good
satire.
Students can refer to the excerpt from Shrek as well as other popular
or literary satires that they are aware of.
- Refer to the definition
of satire from earlier sessions to remind students of the techniques:
A literary work that ridicules its subject through the use of
techniques such as exaggeration, reversal, incongruity, and/or parody in
order to make a comment or criticism about it.
- As students identify characteristics of a good satire, create a list on
the board or on chart paper that students can refer to as they work.
- Once students have shared their ideas, read back over the list and make
any revisions or additions. If desired, you might group similar characteristics
together (e.g., details about the characters, characteristics of the plot).
- Working in small groups, invite students to share their homework ideas.
Group members should help one another assess which satirical messages would
make the best project. Encourage students to think about the characteristics
of a good satire on the posted list as they talk about the possibilities together.
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Once students have had time to discuss their ideas, ask students to take a
few minutes to write in their journals about the options they discussed in
their group, the advice that they received, and the focus they’ve chosen
for their writing.
- Gather the class together
and invite students to share their decisions with the full class. Encourage
students to refer to details about satire posted on the class list.
- Explain that in the remainder of the session, students can begin work on
the fairy tale that they’ve chosen.
- Share the Rubric
for Narrative Writing and discuss the criteria for students’ satirized
fairy tales.
- Ask students to get started on their fairy tales by spending the rest of
the session summarizing the series of events that will take place in their
revised version of the tale. Emphasize that these summaries will simply be
notes that they can refer to as they work further. Parts of the summary may
be used in the final version, but it’s mostly likely that the notes will
serve more as a loose outline for the work.
Session Four
- Remind students of the writing assignment, the Rubric,
and the characteristics of good satire from previous sessions.
- As a prewriting activity, ask students to complete the Literary
Elements Map in order to gather ideas and
think through the story in more detail. Remind them to print their findings.
Remind students
that they can complete the “Character Map” in the tool for
multiple characters from the story (e.g., the heroine, the villain, the
hero).
- (optional) If desired, students can also complete the Plot
Diagram Interactive,
to outline the structure of their fairy tales.
- After completing the interactives, students can use their notes to work
on their drafts.
- Groups will continue their work on the project during the next class sessions.
Monitor student progress, and help students move smoothly through the process,
ensuring that they complete all the steps and answering any questions.
- Encourage students to check the lists of fairy tale elements as well as
the printouts from the Literary
Elements Map as they work. These class resources can provide answers
to questions and inspiration for details in the fairy tales that students
are writing.
- Based on student need and experience with writing narratives, you might
add one or more mini-lessons that will help students complete their work.
Any of the following items would make excellent mini-lessons for writers
composing narratives:
- Allow time during the next class session for students to share
their stories
with the class or in small groups before students submit their finished stories.
Extensions
- View Additional Satirical Clips from Shrek and Shrek 2 and continue your exploration of the ways that these movies satirize fairy tales.
- Use the interactive Fractured Fairy Tales to review how the genre works and practice fracturing three well-known fairy tales.
- Share clips from a film version of the Robin Hood tale to encourage sharper
analysis of the scene from Shrek. The 1938 film The Adventures of
Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, is widely available and is rated PG.
The Disney Robin Hood (1973) would also make for interesting comparisons.
- Share Robin
Hood and the Lady by Walter Crane, an illustration from the 1912 book Robin
Hood and the Men of the Greenwood by
Henry Gilbert. Ask students to compare Crane’s depiction
of the hero and heroine to the depictions in Shrek. Ask students to
consider the extent to which Shrek relies on the visual appearance of the
hero and heroine for the satire and the extent to which the satire is based
on the actions that are depicted and the situations that take place.
- Follow this lesson with the Exploring Satire with The Simpsons lesson plan which invites more in-depth analysis of satirical techniques in popular culture.
Web Resources
- Shrek Movie Site
http://www.shrek-themovie.com/home/main.html
- Use the site’s Flash and ActiveX components to introduce the movie in more
detail. The site also includes clips that students can analyze for additional
satirical elements. Note that the site does include links to commercial information
on purchasing the movie as well as related, licensed products.
As long as students are asked not to visit the “Store” link, they’ll
avoid the commercial material. You might also visit the Shrek
2 site and Shrek 3 site for additional information
on the characters and the movies.
- Fractured
Fairy Tales
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/fft.html
- This booklist outlines picture books and fiction that “fracture” traditional
fairy tales structures to explore different perspectives and comment on “fairy
tale” worlds. The books can provide useful supplements as examples during
class sessions or give students who are particularly interested in the genre
of fairy tales additional resources to explore.
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| Student Assessment/Reflections |
- Use the Peer
Review: Narrative lesson plan to give students the chance to do self-assessment
and revise their texts. Then use similar guidelines to respond to their
writing.
- For more formal feedback, use the Narrative Writing Rubric.
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1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
3 - 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.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
8 - Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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