Transcript Slide 1

"XVth Amendment"
Caption: XVth
Amendment. “Shoo Fly, don’t
Bodder me!”
In the mind of the cartoon
What could the
voter be
thinking?
Extra credit: Why
didn’t California
ratify the 15th
amendment?
Why didn’t New
York ratify the
15th
amendment?
What could
the voter be
thinking?
"Waiting"
Caption: Waiting. A
debt that the
Republican party
ought to wipe out
“The ‘Bloody Shirt’ Reformed”
Caption: Declaration of
Equality-Justice. “Five
More wanted
Self Portrait
Which one would you want coming
down your chimney?
Editorial Cartoons
Editorial cartoons are satires or graphic
commentaries about government decisions,
public figures, and current events.
 Viewers must have special information to
understand their meanings.

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Understanding their meanings
Viewers must understand certain
symbols used by cartoonists.
 They must have knowledge about the
current events depicted in the cartoon.
 They must be able to analyze the
cartoon.
 The National Archives suggests using
political cartoons only at the ends of your
units of study.

Credit: Shell Educational Publishing
Selecting a cartoon

Questions to ask yourself to select a cartoon:
What would students need to know or find out in
order to understand this cartoon?
 Does the cartoon suit the issue we are studying or
does it require too much explanation to be worth
studying at this time?
 Should a brief background history of the cartoon be
given to students before or after studying the
cartoon?

Credit: Shell Educational Publishing
Teaching with Editorial Cartoons
Each editorial cartoon has a title and
sometimes a caption that give a clue about
the cartoon’s meaning.
 Symbols are used that the artist assumes
the audience will understand. (e.g. donkey,
Uncle Sam, American flag, Statue of
Liberty, ball and chain, etc.)

Credit: Shell Educational Publishing
Teaching with Editorial Cartoons
Some have characters who make
comments in the cartoon.
 Some characters or objects have labels
that help the reader understand the
message.
 Cartoons uses persuasion, the cartoonist
always has a point of view

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Teaching with Editorial Cartoons
People in the editorial cartoon may be
caricatures with exaggerated features.
Why are they exaggerated?
 Irony or satire may be obvious or subtle
in political cartoons.

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Types of questions to use

Basic level
What is the cartoon’s caption or title?
 Identify the people and objects in the
cartoon.
 What phrases or words are used in the
cartoon?
 Who is the cartoonist?

Credit: Shell Educational Publishing
Types of questions to use

Intermediate level

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What symbols are used in the cartoon? What does each
symbol mean?
What are the most important words or phrases in the
cartoon? Why are they important?
Did the artist exaggerate any physical features of the
people in the cartoon? Explain those exaggerations.
What is the main point of the cartoon? How did the artist
use persuasive techniques?
What is the analogy in this cartoon? What two issues,
ideas, objects, or situations are being compared?
Credit: Shell Educational Publishing
Types of questions to use

Advanced level
What groups would agree with this cartoon?
What groups would disagree? Explain your
answers.
 What background information must one
understand in order to interpret this
cartoon?
 What do you know about the artist’s political
views from studying this cartoon?
 How is irony or satire used in this cartoon?

Credit: Shell Educational Publishing
General Analysis Strategies

These suggestions can be used with any
political cartoon or comic strip. Students can:

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Draw a cartoon using the same characters but
portraying the opposite point of view.
Add a few “sentence bubbles” with comments
made by the characters.
Write a letter either agreeing or disagreeing with the
cartoon’s point of view. The letter should be written
to the editor of the newspaper that printed this
cartoon.
Write a different title for the cartoon and explain
why they chose their new title.
Write a short background history for the cartoon
explaining the events that led up to the event
shown in the cartoon.
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General Analysis Strategies (cont.)
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Compare and contrast several cartoons from different
artists about the same subject. They will make a list of
similarities and differences and explain which artist did the
best job getting his point across.
Imagine how difficult it would be to create a cartoon on a
daily basis that shows a special political point of view.
They can write a letter to a cartoonist asking how it is
possible to maintain creativity on a regular schedule.
Compare cartoons from several newspapers of the same
date to determine what social or political issue gained the
most attention on that date. Do any of the newspapers
use the same cartoonist? Do different cartoonists have
different or similar points of view about the issue?
Draw a cartoon about a school issue for their school
newspaper.
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