Political Satire: What Makes the Political Parties So Funny?

Jennifer Marie Ladanyi, Language Arts, Bailey Middle School

Final Unit (PDF)

Implementing Common Core Standards

200 Word Synopsis

     This unit is geared toward eighth grade students, but can be modified for high school juniors and sophomores, all educational levels. The purpose of this unit is to get the students to analyze political parties by using a variety of forms of literature, media and technology. Students will have an opportunity to choose what novel of out of four to read. Their novel choices are: The Hunger Games trilogy (sectionals only) by Suzanne Collins, Animal Farm by George Orwell, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. They will read their chosen novel outside of class and keep a guided reading log to record their understanding in reading their novels. Students will meet once a week with their book groups to discuss the novel and work on their final product which is making a political satire magazine based off their book. As students are reading, we will look at You Tube clips from Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show to discuss the use of satires in politics and literature. Students will have to relate their novels and other given media forms to their political satire magazines.