Irony Teacher Resources

What are the three types of irony? After reviewing dramatic, situational, and verbal irony with your readers, present them with this two-page document. They read six excerpts to determine which type of irony is used in each. After...

Using examples from Socrates to Johnny Carson, this slideshow presents your students with the history and definition of dramatic irony, satire, situational irony, and tragic irony. This presentation would be useful in a language arts...

Irony, the discrepancy between what is expected and what occurs, is the focus of a reference sheet that provides young writers with models of this literary device.

Satire, sarcasm, or irony? Editorial cartoons have long been the tool artists use to express their opinions about politics and politicians. Kevin "Kai" Kallaugher's four-panel cartoon offers readers an opportunity to examine how he uses...

O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...

Covering vocabulary, literary analysis, and grammar, this worksheet would be a great study guide or homework assignment for an eighth-grade Language Arts class. Though the five stories by Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, and Oscar Wilde are...

Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...

Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...

As your class reads "The Cask of Amontillado," have them search for examples of irony and foreshadowing. In one square, readers record textual evidence, and in an accompanying square, they comment on the quotations. One example is...

Struggling to get your learners to understand irony? Try out this video, which clarifies each type of irony before going into more depth on dramatic irony. The narrator relates this type of irony to both horror and comedy films and...

You will want to listen to the famous song, "Ironic," by Alani Morissette, after viewing this short PowerPoint. The three slides in this slideshow include a definition of irony, verbal irony, and dramatic irony. Tip: Ask your class to...

What are the three types of irony? High schoolers engage in a lesson about the use of irony while reading O.Henry's short story "Gift of the Magi." They'll discuss rising action, climax, and resolution in the text before highlighting the...

Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. In this figurative language lesson, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.

Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...

Attitude and tone of voice are everything when it comes to verbal irony. In addition to modeling and defining verbal irony, the narrator of this short video also explains the difference between verbal irony and sarcasm, that bit of...

What does it meant to be ironic? Through a well-thought out series of examples and non-examples, this video seeks to put an end to misconceptions about this word's meaning. Entertaining and memorable, the video leads to a quiz. While...

Providing several examples of figures of speech, such as irony, paradox, and personification, this presentation could complement your lecture on pragmatic humor or humor in writing. Examples from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in...

Students discuss irony. In this language arts lesson, students identify irony and give examples of irony from their lives, a book, and current events. Students classify types of irony.

Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" is a bit of a puzzle. Critics have long debated Montresor's motives for killing Fortunato. Young scholars examine examples of the three types of irony (verbal, dramatic, and...

Scholars read three texts and analyze the dialogue of the characters to find examples of humor and irony that contribute to their characterization. They then walk through the writing process to create a final essay.

In this identifying irony instructional activity, 9th graders read 6 paragraphs, identify the type of irony being used (dramatic, situational, verbal) and explain their answer.

Compare real events from Mark Twain's life to events in the story. Middle school readers identify point-of-view, its purpose, and its reliability by citing two examples. They describe the tone of the story using four examples and...

Young poets are asked to craft a poem in the voice of a first person narrator, a dramatic monologue of sorts, that reveals not only a dramatic situation but something of the narrator's character as well.

Isn’t it ironic that many situations labeled ironic aren’t? Properly labeled examples of verbal, dramatic, and situation irony are defined and illustrated in a short, animated video that uses passages from literary works as models. The...