• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Words for tone and attitude: indignant, sardonic, conciliatory…; Euphemism, oxymoron, paradox and understatement; Literary analysis: theme, symbol, ambiguity). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which tone word matches this description? angry because something seems unfair (optimistic / indignant / contemptuous / earnest) → indignantPrompt: Think about whether the attitude is positive, negative or neutral, then how strong it is.
2. Which figure of speech matches this description? A compact phrase that combines opposite ideas, such as 'cruel kindness'. (understatement / oxymoron / euphemism / paradox) → oxymoronPrompt: Ask: does it soften, combine opposites in two words, seem self-contradictory as a whole idea, or downplay?
3. Which word best describes the speaker's tone? The road ahead is hard, but with each new volunteer, I grow more certain we will succeed. (optimistic / conciliatory / indignant / nostalgic) → optimisticPrompt: What feeling do the speaker's word choices and punctuation reveal?

• Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
• Share the objective: Satire, parody, caricature and deadpan. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Which comic or satirical technique matches this description? Imitating the style of a particular work or genre for comic effect.
• Step 1: Satirists use imitation (parody), exaggeration (caricature, reductio ad absurdum) and tone (deadpan, irony) to criticise and amuse.
• Step 2: parody: Imitating the style of a particular work or genre for comic effect.
• Step 3: So the answer is: parody
• Answer: parody
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Which comic or satirical technique matches this description? Using humour, irony or exaggeration to criticise people, institutions or society. (parody / satire / deadpan / caricature) → satirePrompt: Is the technique about criticising society, copying a style, exaggerating a person, a straight-faced delivery, or pushing an argument to absurdity?
2. Which comic or satirical technique is used here? If the school bans running because someone might trip, it should also ban walking, standing and, to be safe, breathing. (deadpan / parody / reductio ad absurdum / caricature) → reductio ad absurdumPrompt: What is being made fun of: a society or policy, a style or genre, a person's looks or traits, or an argument?

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Which comic or satirical technique matches this description? Delivering something absurd or funny in a completely serious, expressionless way. (caricature / reductio ad absurdum / deadpan / satire) → deadpanPrompt: Is the technique about criticising society, copying a style, exaggerating a person, a straight-faced delivery, or pushing an argument to absurdity?
2. Which comic or satirical technique is used here? The cartoon shows the famously proud mayor with a head three times the size of his body, admiring himself in a mirror. (deadpan / caricature / parody / reductio ad absurdum) → caricaturePrompt: What is being made fun of: a society or policy, a style or genre, a person's looks or traits, or an argument?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-12.