Political cartoons or editorial cartoons are an illustration or comic strip containing a social or political message which usually relates to current events. They can make a powerful statement but can, at the same time, be complicated to understand.
Analyze a political cartoon relating to civil rights by answering the questions below.
Note to teachers: Please reference the 3 cartoons relating to Brown v. Board of Education available on this website:
www.usd116.org/ProfDev/AHTC/lessons/GersdorfRotramel06/PoliticalCartoons.pdf. You may want to guide your students through this process the first time.
Visual Expression | Word Expression |
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A. List key people or objects that stand out: | B. What is the title of this cartoon? |
C. Are there any words/phrases in the cartoon? | |
D. Are those words used by characters in the cartoon? | |
E. Are there any important dates/facts that appear in this cartoon? | |
F. Are there any symbols in the cartoon? | G. Explain how the words in the cartoon explain the symbols. |
H. Describe any action taking place in the cartoon. | I. Which words or phrases in the cartoon appear to be the most significant? |
J. Explain what you believe the message of the cartoon is and whether you agree or disagree with the cartoonist‘s message. | K. What special interest groups would agree/disagree with the cartoon‘s message? Why? |