Newseum
Decoding an Editorial Cartoon
What advantages do political cartoons have over written editorials? Scholars discuss the topic by exploring editorial cartoons. Working in small groups, pupils analyze an Uncle Sam cartoon and complete a worksheet. As a fun extension,...
Curated OER
Editorial Cartoons
Do your classes love reading and drawing cartoons? Middle schoolers read an editorial cartoon from a newspaper. They discuss the cartoonist's topic, audience, and purpose. Next, they brainstorm questions they have about the cartoon and...
Curated OER
Creating a Cartoon
For this journalism worksheet, students learn the guidelines for creating a political or editorial cartoon. Students complete 5 questions which help them plan the purpose, characters and setting for the cartoon. Students then draw the...
Curated OER
Editorial Cartoon: Censorship
Learners explore the concept of juxtaposition. In this editorial cartoon lesson, students analyze an editorial cartoon techniques to develop an understanding of juxtaposition and symbolism used in the cartoons.
Teaching Tolerance
Consuming and Creating Political Art
A picture is worth a thousand words, but political art may be worth even more! After examining examples of political cartoons, murals, and other forms of public art, class members create their own pieces to reflect their ideals and...
Curated OER
Political Cartoons: Literacy
Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Vanishing Newspapers
What is happening to our newspapers? In the context of the current trends of media and the ever-declining print news industry, this handout includes two political cartoons for pupils to analyze, both created by artists working for...
Curated OER
It's a Draw!
Students assess the ways in which editorial cartoons, both current and historic, offer insight into events that shape our world. They create a poster that includes a current editorial cartoon and their explanation of the details of the...
Curated OER
Creating Civic Awareness Through Artistic and Literary Forms
Interpret current events using editorial cartoons and other print media. Middle schoolers explore the meanings of literary and artistic terms such as satire, irony, and caricature. They visit internet sites to develop an understanding of...
Madison Public Schools
Journalism
Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: The Future of Newspapers
Are newspapers dying, or fighting to survive? Give your scholars access to this controversial debate using political cartoons. In this analsyis handout, 2 cartoons display the changing role of newspapers in a world of online media....
Pulitzer Center
The Paradise Papers: A Lesson in Investigative Journalism
The Paradise Papers, a year-long research project from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) exposed how political leaders, business people, and wealthy individuals used offshore entities to avoid taxes and hide...
Curated OER
No Joke - My Voice Counts!
Students respond to cartoons. In this social and cultural issues lesson, students examine how cartoons can be used to get a message across to the reader. After examining numerous cartoons, students create their own cartoon with a social...
Curated OER
Canada's Press: Making a Historical Newspaper
Students examine several colonial-era editorial cartoons. They evaluate the effectiveness of the techniques the cartoonists used to display their messages and share one editorial cartoon with the class emphasising what message has been...
Curated OER
Don't Lose Your Way in the News
Young scholars explore language arts by participating in a newspaper analysis activity. In this journalism lesson, students identify how newspapers present stories, who is writing them and how they can obtain information from...
Curated OER
Weighty Matters
High schoolers analyze political cartoons, and write short paragraphs explaining the cartoon's meaning and the cartoonist's point-of-view.
Curated OER
Political Cartoons
Pupils explain that a political cartoon is very much like an editorial--both present personal opinions. Each student writes an editorial that supports the political cartoon. They must analyze the cartoon in order to write about the subject.
Curated OER
Fact or Opinion?
Third graders design a political cartoon. In this fact and opinion lesson, 3rd graders examine political cartoons and distinguish fact from opinion. Students create a political cartoon on the topic of their choice.
Curated OER
Through the Eyes of Others
Learners consider perspective as they analyze a political cartoon. In this media awareness lesson, students use the provided discussion questions to explore the meaning of the political cartoon "The Scream," by Edvard Munch.
Curated OER
Do You Agree?
Students recognize bias in a political cartoon, evaluate how the media uses both positive and/or negative political cartoons, and assess the influence a political cartoon can have on a person.
Curated OER
Studying the Use and Effect of Media
Young scholars consider mediums used to explore current issues. In this media awareness lesson plan, students use a Venn diagram to compare the meaning of the painting "The Scream," to that of a selected political cartoon.
Curated OER
Rebels Or Resisters?
Middle schoolers participate in a mock trial on the Whiskey Rebellion that took place in the state of Pennsylvania in 1794. They analyze the perspectives presented by both sides to determine whether the Whiskey "rebels" were guilty of...
Curated OER
No Joke -- My Voice Counts!
Learners compare different cartoons dealing with social or political issues. They discuss the cartoons as a class. They create their own cartoon with their own message and shares them with the class.
Curated OER
A Long Way Home
Students examine the difference between hard news and editorial writing by considering several pieces written about the Elian Gonzalez custody battle. They then craft their own hard news and editorials on the case.