8th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 4 of 12
When words mean more than they say
Telling verbal, situational and dramatic irony apart, spotting how satire uses exaggeration to criticize, and explaining what an allusion to a well-known story adds to a text.
Alabama Course of Study content standard: 8.4 · irony, satire and allusion
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
Example: Sana says “Great job” after a friend drops the whole tray. What kind of irony is this? Dropping the tray isn’t a great job. Sana says the opposite of what she means. Answer: verbal irony
In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 4 of 12 in 8th grade English Language Arts, after Word Study and before Whose Story Is It?.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What is an allusion?
a brief reference to a well-known person, place, event or work
Hint: Writers use allusions to bring in the meaning of something readers already know.
Question 2
A cartoon shows a mayor “saving” a park by paving it for parking. What is the cartoonist most likely doing?
using irony to criticize a decision
Hint: Saving a park by paving it is the opposite of what saving should mean. That is irony used to criticize.
Question 3
Why is the ending ironic?
Dev had spent a month preparing for the school's Be On Time Award. He set three alarms, packed his bag the night before and left home an hour early. He reached the school gate at 7:15 a.m., ready to be the first one there.
The gate was locked. A sign taped to it read: “School closed today for Professional Development Day.”
Dev worked hard to be early, but the school was closed.
Hint: His effort leads to a result that nobody expected.
Question 4
What does this satire suggest about some government systems?
ATTENTION CITIZENS: To reduce crowding on sidewalks, the Department of Walking now requires all pedestrians to apply for a Walking Permit. Applications take six to eight weeks to process. Until your permit arrives, residents are asked to stay where they are.
A spokesperson called the system “simple and efficient.” The permit office is open on alternate Tuesdays from 2:00 to 2:15 p.m., on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator.
They can become so complicated that they stop being useful.
Hint: Satire criticizes something by making it look ridiculous.
Question 5
What does the reader expect from the first paragraph?
Dev had spent a month preparing for the school's Be On Time Award. He set three alarms, packed his bag the night before and left home an hour early. He reached the school gate at 7:15 a.m., ready to be the first one there.
The gate was locked. A sign taped to it read: “School closed today for Professional Development Day.”
that Dev will arrive first and win the award
Hint: Dev prepares carefully and arrives early.
Question 6
Why is calling the system “simple and efficient” ironic?
ATTENTION CITIZENS: To reduce crowding on sidewalks, the Department of Walking now requires all pedestrians to apply for a Walking Permit. Applications take six to eight weeks to process. Until your permit arrives, residents are asked to stay where they are.
A spokesperson called the system “simple and efficient.” The permit office is open on alternate Tuesdays from 2:00 to 2:15 p.m., on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator.
The process is slow and complicated.
Hint: The words say one thing, but the details show the opposite.