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:

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