Embracing Differences: Understanding Irony in Bullying Through Poetry
This lesson explores the theme of individuality, focusing on how differences in color, height, religion, and ability enrich our lives. Students will learn about irony and how it manifests in bullying. By analyzing a poem about a bully and the bullied, students will understand the irony present in teasing others for traits they possess themselves. As a final activity, each student will write their own poem titled "It Ain’t Funny," expressing their feelings about being bullied and highlighting shared experiences. This encourages empathy and understanding of diversity.
Embracing Differences: Understanding Irony in Bullying Through Poetry
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Presentation Transcript
How can people be different? colour height religion intelligence wealth sexuality gender sporting ability
Learning Objectives • To understand everyone is different in some way • To be able to think like a person who is different from myself
IRONY • Irony means ‘funny’ • Not‘laughing-at-a-joke’ funny… • …but ‘isn’t it funny that…’
Why is stanza 6 ironic? • Because the bully teases other children about their English… • …while his or her own English is incorrect!
What about the other stanzas? • Is there any other irony in the poem? • Is the whole poem ironic?
Your turn • Imagine you’re one of the children who is being bullied in the poem • Write a poem called ‘It Ain’t Funny’ • In your poem, try to show the bully two things: - How you feel about your difference - That in other ways, you’re the same
A stanza to show feelings It ain’t funny you can walk And hop and skip and jump and feel The grass, the sand, a ball, the waves When my feet are these two wheels
A stanza to show you’re the same But there’s lots that we can share Our school, our friends, our dreams, our lives And when I close my eyes I can Take off and wheel across the sky
A Final Couplet Which Uses Irony So ain’t it funny that you walk Away from me when I can fly
