P.A.

Academic Standards

5.1.12 K, Analyze the roles of symbols and holidays in society;

5.2.12 C Interpret the causes of conflict in society and analyze techniques to
resolve those conflicts;
5.2.12 E Analyze how participation in political life leads to the attainment of
individual and public goals;
5.2.12 F Evaluate how individual rights may conflict with or support the common
good;
5.3.12 D Evaluate how independent and government agencies create, amend, and
enforce regulations;
5.3.12 E Evaluate the roles of political parties in election campaigns;
5.3.12 F Evaluate the elements of the election process;
5.3.12 H Evaluate the impact of interest groups on the political process;
5.3.12 J Evaluate the role of media in political life in the United States and explain the
role of the media in setting the public agenda

Goal of this Lesson: The goal of this lesson is for students to interpret visual language found in
political cartoons

Materials

 7 Transparencies of political cartoons

 Projector
 13 copies of icons and symbols found in political cartoons
 Writing utensils
 13 copies of homework cartoon

Clerical/ Administrative Tasks

 Prepare 7 transparencies
 Prepare projector
 Photocopy 13 copies of handout on symbols and
 icons found in political cartoons
 Photocopy of each political cartoon for Jeff, my special needs student
 Photocopy 13 copies of homework cartoon

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will listen and respond to the contributions of others by using

language to demonstrate consideration of others’ perspectives and to invite
participation.
2. Students will demonstrate respect for others’ ideas and opinions.
3. Students will answer key and spontaneous questions that will reveal their
knowledge of the information.
4. Students will identify symbols and icons found in political cartoons.
 5. Students will define the elements of a political cartoon.

Introduction

I will show two cartoons that focus on hate and intolerance. I will ask students to study
these cartoons and give their opinions of them. They both demonstrate that hate and
intolerance are elements that make life difficult even for the very young. The two
cartoons will be used to introduce the lesson on political cartoons and will be used as an
opening for me to discuss tolerance and understanding and how I expect both during our
discussion. I will tell them that they are welcome to contribute answers and to respond to
others’ answers if they are considerate and use appropriate language. (5 minutes)

Developmental Activities

 Show Cartoon 1 “The Deficit and the Debt.”

 Ask the following questions:

1. What is the event or issue about that inspired the cartoon?

2. Are there any real people in the cartoon? Who is portrayed in the
cartoon?

3. Are there symbols in the cartoon? What are they and what do they
represent?

4. What are some of the symbols and icons you believe are common in
political cartoon? (7 minutes)

5. What is the event or issue about that inspired the cartoon?

6. Are there any real people in the cartoon? Who is portrayed in the
cartoon?

7. Are there symbols in the cartoon? What are they and what do they
represent?

8. What are some of the symbols and icons you believe are common in political
cartoon? (7 minutes)

 Lecture about editorial cartoons.

Editorial cartoons are primarily expressions of opinion. However, they are rarely
simple statements of a position and nothing more. An editorial cartoon is not just
a slogan. Its a main point usually can be summed up in a sentence or two. But that
point is rarely just a simple statement for or against something — as in “Ban the
Bomb,” or “Give a Hoot, Don’t pollute.” The best editorial cartoons present an
 opinion and suggest the reason for that opinion. They also suggest at least some of
the reason for that opinion. In other words, an editorial cartoon is more similar to
an argument than to a slogan. The argument is revealed through the ways the
words interact. The argument may be conveyed in one of several ways. One such
way is the manner in which specific features are exaggerated. Another way is the
manner in which the people are caricatured with the objects selected as symbols.
Always remember to consider what stand the cartoonist takes and why he or she
takes that stand. Also think of the cartoon as a complex argument before
responding to it. It does more than present a point of view. It invites the reader to
take part in a meaningful dialogue. (3 minutes)

 Show Cartoon 2
 Explain the background. The Boston Red Sox have not won the World Series since 1986
when they played the New York Mets. They lost 3-4. They have not won the World
Series was since 1918. The Chicago Cubs haven’t won the World Series since 1945.
Their loyal fans believe this is connected to the “Curse of the Billy Goat.” This locally
famous curse resulted a tavern owner named “Billy Goat” Sianis tried to take his billy
goat “Murphy” to game 4 of the 1945 World Series at Wrigley Field. Murphy. Of course,
Sianis and Murphy were not permitted into the park, so Sianis protested and claimed the
Cubs would not win until a billy goat sat in Wrigley Field. Since then, many have
brought billy goats to the field in an effort to lift the curse, but nothing has worked. Some
still believe the Cubs have not won because of the curse.
 Discussion Questions:

1. What symbolizes a curse in this cartoon?

2. Do you think the “Billy Goat Curse” is still in place?

3. With which other famous curses are you familiar”

4. Are you superstitious?

5. Who do you think will win the World Series this year?

6. What is your favorite baseball team? Why? (6 minutes)

7. With which other famous curses are you familiar”

8. Are you superstitious?

9. Who do you think will win the World Series this year?

10. What is your favorite baseball team? Why? (6 minutes)

 Show cartoon 3
 Discuss cartoon’s background. The recall election in California has sparked worldwide
interest in politics. It also has people scratching their heads because they cannot decide if
they should laugh at the jokes or puke at the spectacle it has caused. Today it is hard to
draw a distinct line between Republican and Democrat because many are starting to
become interested in one strong voice promising change. Therefore, it may just be that
he, who stands out from the crowd, wins. Schwarzenegger did indeed win, but now he
can expect to have each and every one of his moves closely monitored by all. This may
end up being a bigger challenge than breathing life back into California’s economy.
 Show political cartoon 4
 Discuss background: We hear from the media on a daily basis about the amount of our
national debt. We know that the spending we do in this country could feed a smaller
country for a year. The problem is what are we going to do about this scary situation?
This cartoon makes light of the absurd amount of our nation’s deficit, which at times sees
so surreal that we cannot imagine owing that much money.
 Model by explaining my thoughts on the national debt to stimulate discussion about their
thoughts.
 Discussion Questions:

1. Is it hard for you to visualize the amount of our national debt?

2. How do you think this problem affects you personally?

3. How and why is the amount so high?

4. What are we doing to alleviate the problem?

5. Do you think the National Debt will ever be non-existent (6 minutes)

 Show political project cartoon 5.

 Ask discussion questions.

1. Do you get the newspaper delivered to your home?

2. How often do you read the newspaper?

3. How often do you watch the news?

4. Do you feel either of these avenues of media? Give an example.

5. What news sources do you consider to be the most reliable? Why?

6. What news sources do you consider to be the most unreliable? Why?

7. What is your interpretation of this political cartoon?

8. What effect did the media have on the War in Iraq?

 9. What do you think about embedding journalists?

10. Do you feel the news on TV is overly happy or depressing, or does it

seem to balance out events fairly?

11. What about the newspaper? (7 minutes)

 Show political cartoon 6.

 Ask the following questions:

1. What is the cartoonist’s opinion about the topic portrayed in the

cartoon?

2. Do you agree with cartoonist’s opinion? Why? (3 minutes)

 Discuss homework Students are to study and analyze the provided political cartoon. They
will identify the symbols and icons. Next, they will tell what features are exaggerated.
Finally, they will write a brief synopsis of the cartoon in which they must explain the
stand the cartoonists takes and the argument presented. They will repeat this process with
a political cartoon of their choice.

Time-permits activity

Look at the two introductory cartoons that focus on hate and intolerance. Have students
discuss how they would have portrayed these two evils in society. What symbols and
icons would they include and why.

Assessment/Evaluation

 Students will participate in classroom discursions and will answer key and spontaneous
questions that will demonstrate their understanding of today’s lesson.
 Students will complete homework that will reveal their understanding of the way editorial
cartoons work.

Conclusion

In groups of two or three, students will engage in a five-minute discussion about which
cartoon was their favorite based on the effectiveness of symbols and messages. The
results will be tallied tomorrow, and we will display the cartoon on the bulletin board for
a week. (6 minutes)

Reflective notes: This lesson is beneficial for my students because it introduces them to the
world of political cartoons. Furthermore, this provides them with a strong foundation for
interpreting political cartoons in the future. It also sets the stage for the unit, which will involve
students interpreting political cartoons from various points in history.
Accommodations/Adaptations

In my 12th grade U.S. History class, I have a student named Jeff. He has a learning
disability and requires an IEP. His IEP and I have collaborated and decided that visual
aids are a must for Jeff. Therefore, I have printed a copy of each political cartoon, so Jeff
can see each one the projection screen and at his desk. When provided with this sort of
visual aid in the past, Jeff has experienced success. I have also chunked information by
separating political cartoons and asking a limited number of questions for each rather
than simply viewing all six cartoons at once and then asking all of the questions at once.
Overall, these instructional demands limit the stress on Jeff and provide him with
opportunities to achieve success.

LESSON PLAN: ANALYZING ELECTION CARTOONS

By Greg Timmons, teacher and Executive Director of the Constitution Project in Portland,
Oregon

Subjects: Government, civics, social studies, journalism and art

Time: Two to four class periods (with options for short activities)

Lesson Objectives:

 Students will review the history of political cartoons to gain a perspective of their use
in the past.
 Students will identify symbols, caricature, and the message, opinion or point of view
of political cartoons.
 Students will examine how political cartoons convey information differently than an
editorial.
 Students will work in groups of two or three to examine topics and interpret political
cartoons centered on the upcoming Presidential election.
 Students will develop their own political cartoon for presentation to the class.

Overview: There are several activities in this lesson packet to provide teachers with
different options. Not all activities have to be presented to the class. There is a teacher
introduction with information on teaching political cartoons, a brief history of political
cartoons, and several activities on separate sheets complete with student instructions and
discussion/written questions. Also, there are extended activities for more in-depth review of
the subject.

Correlation to National Standards

Materials Needed

 Computer hooked up to Internet (access to computer lab is preferred)

 Pencils, pens, notebook paper, drawing paper
 "An Introduction to Political Cartoons" (for the teacher)
 Student handouts (all printer-friendly PDFs):
 1. A Brief History of Political Cartoons
2. Examples of Historical and Modern Political Cartoons
3. Political Cartoons vs. Written Editorials
4. 2004 Election Cartoon Analysis
5. Election Cartoon Project

Procedures for Teachers

1. Review the main points of "An Introduction to Teaching Political Cartoons." Do the
ACTIVITY as a warm up to the lesson. (half a period)

2. Pass out handout #1 "A Brief History of Political Cartoons" (maybe the night before you
begin the lesson) and discuss the article using the Review Questions as a guide. (Half a
period)

3. Pass out handout #2 "Examples of Historical and Modern Political Cartoons" and have
students analyze the cartoons, as described in the instructions, in the space provided. Here
the teacher can monitor the students' work and depth of analysis. Discuss their findings
when they have completed the analysis. (Half a period)

4. To open up the next section of the lesson, ask the students how a political cartoon differs
from an editorial. Pass out handout #3 "Political Cartoons vs. Written Editorials" with the
editorial An U.N.-Helpful Plan for Iraq and the cartoon U.N. Friends and give students some
time to examine them. (You might want to assign these as homework the night before.)
Then review the discussion questions. (As an alternative these questions could be assigned
as written questions or an essay.) Another example you can use combines an editorial with
political cartoons. Click on to this link to read an editorial by Dick Morris on the political
dangers of Bush's initiative in Iraq with embedded cartoons:
http://cagle.slate.msn.com/news/MorrisIraqDoom/main.asp (one period)

5. Pass out handout #4 "Political Cartoon Analysis Sheet." Divide students into pairs, trios
or individually and ask them to examine the cartoons. Have students choose three cartoons
they think depict the most interesting point of view. Have them review the questions from
the handout in concise statements on a separate sheet of paper. When finished, have
students share their thoughts with the class. For more cartoons students can go online to
Daryl Cagle Web site at http://cagle.slate.msn.com/. As an alternative you can also copy
the images on to a transparency and have students discuss some or all of the cartoons in
open discussion. (one period)

6. From the cartoons on handout #4 "Political Cartoon Analysis Sheet" or from online
research, have students select a cartoon that presents an opinion other than their own.
Have students document what the cartoon is saying and why its opinion is different than
their own (they can use the question guide on the handout). Have students develop their
own cartoon as a response to the one they have chosen. They may draw their own
characters or find the images from the newspaper, magazine or the Internet that they can
use as a guide. Pass out handout #5 "Analyzing Your Own Political Cartoon." Have them
write an explanation of their cartoon following the analysis guide on handout #5 and
present their findings to the class. (One period)

Extensions
1. Have students brainstorm topics and issues surrounding the upcoming presidential
election. (Some broad areas are the war in Iraq, Homeland Security, social issues - health
care, education, taxes, the qualifications and/or personalities of the candidates.) Have
students go to the NewsHour Web site (www.pbs.org/newshour) and use the search engine
to research some of these topics. Or they can choose a topic they are already familiar with.
Have students examine the topic answering the following questions:

A. Briefly summarize the topic or issue you researched.

B. Who are the people, events, or institutions involved in this topic?
C. Describe the actions or positions taken by the people, the sequence of the events, and/or
the purpose and role of the institutions involved.
D. What do you see as the different view points or positions forming around this topic or
issue?
E. What opinion do you have on this issue?

Have students draw a political cartoon based on their view of the topic or issue. Have them
present the cartoon to the class following the guide above for analyzing political cartoons.

2. Have students find and review several editorials on different topics of the election
campaign using the review questions in handout #4 "2004 Election Cartoons." Then have
them locate different political cartoons that reflect the theme(s) and position(s) of the
editorials. Have students write an essay that explains how the political cartoon reflects the
views of the editorial.

3. Invite a political cartoonist from your local paper to talk to your class. Have students
develop questions on how they got started, their philosophy on conveying their message
(what is more important, the humor or the editorial message), how they get their
inspirations and ideas, what training they had, etc.

Bibliography

Correlation to NCSS and Civitas Standards

Civics
National Council for the Social Studies Standards, X: Civic Ideals and Practices: g. practice
forms of civic discussion and participation consistent with the ideals of citizens in a
democratic republic.

McREL
#19 Understands what is meant by "the public Agenda," how it is set, and how it is
influenced by public opinion and the media.
#20 Understands the roles of the political parties, campaigns, elections, and associations
and groups in American politics.

Visual Arts
#2 Knows how to use structures (e.g., sensory qualities, organizational principles,
expressive features) and functions of art
#4 Understands the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.

Language Arts
Standard 9 Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media

About the Author Greg Timmons is a teacher, curriculum writer and Executive Director of
The Constitution Project in Portland, Oregon He has taught middle school and secondary
Social Studies for over 30 years, wrote lessons and directed institutes on U.S. Constitution
related issues. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Oregon Council for the Social
studies.

To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at
[email protected].

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