Brief Description
Create an editorial cartoon "museum" in your classroom; let students explore the many meanings of those cartoons and create cartoons of their own.
Objectives
Students explore a variety of editorial cartoons. They discuss and share the meanings of those cartoons and create an editorial cartoon on an issue of their choice.
Keywords
critical thinking, current events, editorial, cartoon
Materials Needed
computers with Internet access or printouts from the Web site referenced in the Lesson Plan section below
Lesson Plan
Have students explore political cartoons about the current election. They might gather the cartoons from their local newspapers and from Web resources such as the following:
Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index
Election Cartoons from the Cartoonist Group
TIME Cartoons of the Week
Election 2006 Gallery
Create an editorial cartoon "museum" in your classroom, and let students roam the museum. Or pull together about 20 different cartoons, package them in groups of four or five, and let small groups of students explore the messages in the cartoons and share those messages with their classmates.
After studying those cartoons, challenge students to draw a political cartoon of their own. Point out that their cartoons must make a valid statement about a particular political topic.
Assessment
Have students select the best cartoons for display. You might submit one or two to a local newspaper. If the editorial page doesn't accept editorial cartoons, the paper might publish a story about your students' efforts!
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Linda Starr
