Materials

• Teacher-selected excerpt from Sir Thomas More’s Utopia or The Praise of Folly by Erasmus
• Teacher-developed questions on the More or Erasmus excerpts

Instructional Activities

1. Begin by having students consider the following question:
   
   • How do authors, movie directors, and/or musicians make fun of society today?
   
   Explain that Renaissance authors like More and Erasmus also criticized their society.
   
   
2. Complete the reading from More or Erasmus in small groups or as a whole class.
   
   
3. Have students answer teacher-developed questions on the reading to check for comprehension.
   
   
4. For additional classwork or homework, have students write their own critique of society using satire or a fable.