Interpreting and Analyzing Political Cartoons

Subject:  Social Studies

Grade Level: 9-12

Learning Standard: Standard 5 Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Key Idea: The study of civics and citizenship requires the ability to probe ideas and assumptions, ask and answer analytical questions, take a skeptical attitude toward questionable arguments, evaluate evidence, formulate rational conclusions, and develop and refine participatory skills.

Performance Indicator: Students participate in school/classroom/community activities that focus on an issue or problem

Overview of Tasks/Activities:  The history of political cartoons can be traced back to the times of our founding fathers.  Benjamin Franklin’s creation of a chopped snake with the caption Join or Die is one of our earliest known examples of political cartoons found in American history.   Originally published in the Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754;   this cartoon symbolized the disunited state between the British colonies.  Benjamin Franklin used this cartoon to help stress the importance of his desire for unity rather than disunity.

Day 1:  Using a variety of pre-selected political cartoons from Daryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoonist’s Index, students interpret the meaning of various political symbols displayed over a document camera during a video conference.  Students use the form entitled Scavenger Hunt to record their interpretations.  Once students have had the opportunity to review the pre-selected cartoons, the distance instructor revisits each cartoon with the students.  Collectively as a class, students then volunteer and share their thoughts and ideas with the distance instructor and their fellow peers.  Lastly, under the guidance of their teacher, students are given the opportunity to explore Daryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoon’s Index to complete their scavenger hunt.

Day 2 Pre-activity:  Using the form entitled Issues That Count as a guide, students are paired in groups of two to explore and discover background information and knowledge about each of the presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain and important issues surrounding the 2008 presidential campaign.  Students will use this information as a springboard to better interpret, analyze, and understand the political cartoons that are presented to them during the Day 2 activity. 

Day 2:  In this activity, students will review literary elements commonly used in political cartoons and evaluate current political cartoons for meaning, message, and persuasiveness.  Again, for this activity cartoons are purposefully pre-selected and focus exclusively on issues surrounding the 2008 presidential candidates and election.  Students are provided with handouts entitled Literary Elements and Cartoon Analysis Form to use as their guides. As a final project, students select, complete, and submit any one political cartoon for analysis and interpretation.