"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
Lesson plans and learning activities

Biography and discussion of major works.

This close reading strategy is discussed in the context of "A Modest Proposal" but will work with any piece of satire.

Analysis, commentary.

Text of the essay in multiple formats, including EPUB and Kindle.

Text of the essay in multiple audio formats, including Ogg Vorbis, Apple iTunes, and MP3.

Graphic organizer (argument analysis), editing practice, connotations. This document requires Adobe Reader.

75 words presented in context and with definitions. Click on each word for more information, including pronunciation and recent usage.

In this lesson, students identify and categorize different ways Jonathan Swift and those who have edited his text since its initial publication used semicolons in the essay "A Modest Proposal." They compare these uses with rules for semicolon use as indicated in online guides, theorizing about uses that do not follow the rules. Following this analysis and theorizing, students use what they learn about punctuation and its influence on meaning to write insightfully about their findings, using semicolons as they do so.

Text of the essay, background information, summary, glossary, and writing topics.

Students learn about satire and develop original television shows that parody existing programs.