written assignment cartoon

Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and hobbes writing assignments - by bill watterson for february 11, 1993, february 10, 1993.

February 12, 1993

Transcript:.

Calvin: I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! Want to see my book report? Hobbes: "The dynamics of interbeing and monological imperatives in Dick and Jane: a study in psychic transrelational gender modes." Calvin: Academia, here I come!

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12 Comments

Featured comment.

Dragongirl55   almost 3 years ago

I love that unlike many ‘underachiever’ characters, Calvin is actually really smart. He uses words most adults don’t know, he can remember facts that interest him, and such as here, he shows off how smart he can really be. But then he’s marked off as a ‘bad student,’ because his learning style just goes against the school system, and he acts out as a result. I’d also bet money that he has some form of ADHD.

More From Calvin and Hobbes

The Center for Cartoon Studies

Teaching comics.

This page both archives teaching content from National Association of Comics Art Educators, along with dozens of additional teaching comics resources for all ages developed by The Center for Cartoon Studies community.  In recent years the comics medium has flourished, generating much interest from the literary, art, and educational communities. This site will continue to expand with more content as it is developed. Recommended grades, along with Common Core subjects are noted on several resources.

For more information or suggestions, contact [email protected]

Teaching Resources

• Individual Exercises • Complete Lesson Plans • Study Guides and Handouts • Complete Syllabi • Books and Magazines

• Individual Exercises

This section contains a list of short exercises. This material has been contributed by various cartoonists and educators. All items are available in printer-friendly adobe .PDF format.

• The Wrong Planet: Timing, Closure and Editing contributed by Paul Hluchan • Design Vs. Drawing contributed by James Sturm • It’s Easy as Changing the Film contributed by Patrick Welch • Editing contributed by James Sturm • Show Time Passing contributed anonymously • Basic Storytelling… Lights, Camera, Action! contributed by Patrick Welch • Intro to Lettering contributed anonymously • Intro to Inking contributed anonymously • Describing the Complex World contributed by Patrick Welch • Silent Gag Cartoon Exercise contributed anonymously • Poetry and Comics contributed by James Sturm • Comic Strip: Character/Place/Situation contributed anonymously • The Irony of Humor contributed anonymously • Autobiography Do’s and Don’ts contributed anonymously • Think Before You Ink contributed by James Sturm • Scenes as Building Blocks contributed by Tom Hart • 20 Questions for Characters contributed anonymously • Intro to Caricature contributed anonymously • Character Exploration Initial Writing Exercises contributed by Tom Hart • Form and Chaos contributed anonymously • A Definition of Comics contributed by James Sturm • Closure Exercise contributed anonymously [ closure_handout ] • Expressive Lettering and Balloons contributed anonymously [ lettering_template ] • Iconographic Language in Comics contributed anonymously • Cartoon Characters Doodled from Memory contributed by Ivan Brunetti • Practicing Text-Image Relationships contributed by Christian Hill

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Complete Lesson Plans

This section contains a list of lesson plans. This material has been contributed by various cartoonists and educators. All items are available in printer-friendly adobe .PDF format.  Each lesson plan has, listed after its title, a grade range for which the exercise is most appropriate. Many lesson plans, though, can be modified to suit older or younger classes as needed.

• Little Orphane Annie: Leapin’ Through the Depression contributed by Joanna Boyd Richards [ sample Annie strips .pdf 2.4MB]
• Teaching Literary Devices with Comics contributed by Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher [ sample narrative .pdf 2MB]
• The Serious Business of Graphic Novels contributed by A. David Lewis [ slideshow .ppt 8.5MB]
• Creating and Self-Publishing Your Minicomics contributed by Mac McCool
• Study Guides and Handouts

This section contains study guides which are geared toward English/literature classes as well as a studio environment. Also available here are handouts useful for class discussion. Several of the study guides contain reading questions designed to facilitate the teaching of prominent comics works.  All items are available in printer-friendly adobe .PDF format.

Study Guides: • The Complete Peanuts Volume I by Charles M. Schulz contributed by Art Baxter • Buddy in Seattle by Peter Bagge contributed by Ben Towle • Above and Below by James Sturm contributed anonymously • Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories by Jaime Hernandez contributed by Art Baxter • Jimbo in Purgatory by Gary Panter contributed by Joel Priddy • You Can’t Get There From Here by Jason contributed by Christian Hill • Flies on the Ceiling by Los Bros Hernandez contributed by Rocco Versaci • My Troubles with Women by Robert Crumb contributed by Rocco Versaci • Ghost World by Dan Clowes contributed by Rocco Versaci • Daddy’s Girl by Debbie Drechsler contributed by Rocco Versaci • Sandman: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman contributed by Rocco Versaci • Palestine by Joe Sacco contributed by Rocco Versaci • Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon contributed by Rocco Versaci • Maus by Art Spiegleman contributed anonymously

Handouts: • The Creation of a Page contributed by Tom Hart • Three-Act Story Structure contributed anonymously • Women in Comics: An Introductory Guide contributed by Trina Robbins • Critique Talking Points contributed anonymously • Usagi Yojimbo: Step by Step contributed by Stan Sakai • Mix and Match Rows: Comics Handouts for Younger Students contributed by Ben Towle • Comics Terminology contributed anonymously • How To Read Nancy contributed by Mark Newgarden and Paul Karasik

• Complete Syllabi

In this section you will find a number of complete course syllabi, most if which are intended for teaching at the undergraduate level. The syllabi are divided into sections for studio classes and non-studio classes and have been contributed by instructors from institutions such as Yale, The Savannah College of Art and Design, The University of Florida, and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as others.

• Comics As Literature contributed by Rocco Versaci
• Comics and Animation contributed anonymously
• Comics in American Culture contributed by Professor Touponce
• Media in Cultural Context: Comics, Cartoons and Graphic Storytelling contributed anonymously
• Survey of Sequential Art contributed anonymously
• Writing About Comics contributed anonymously
• Writing Scripts for Comics contributed by Mark Kneece
• Introduction to Comics Art: Gateway to Visual Storytelling contributed anonymously
• Reading Comics as Literature contributed by Isaac Cates
• Studies in Literature and Culture: The Graphic Novel contributed anonymously
• Comics Studio Class contributed anonymously
• Explore Chicago: The Art of Chris Ware contributed anonymously
• An Aesthetic History of Comics contributed by Dan Nadel
• History of Comic-Book Art contributed by Andrei Molotiu
• Image, Text, and Story: An Exploration of Graphic Novels contributed by Rachel Williams
• Books and Magazines

The reference material here consists of books and magazines which may be useful to educators teaching classes in comics or cartooning. Most of the items listed are instructional in nature, but a few are critical or analytical texts relating to the cartooing artform; Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics is probably the most well known of these. Several items listed are currently out of print, but reasonably priced copies can usually be located via bookfinder.com .

The Arbor House Book of Cartooning by Mort Greenberg ISBN 0-87795-399-6 New Yorker cartoonist Greenberg shares his knowledge in this comprehensive volume. There seem to be thousands of these “how-to cartoon” books. This (along with Polly Keener’s book) is one of the better ones.

The Art of Comic Book Inkin g by Gary Martin ASIN: 1569712581 Pretty good introduction to inking tools and concepts. Especially good at identifying methods of implying shade and weight on a human figure. A number of variations on the same pencils by differing comic book inking pros offer a good look at many ways a page can be successfully inked.

The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri ISBN: 0-671-21332-6 A seminal 20th century book on playwriting, and the introduction to the “dramatic statement” inherent in any play. The book is very instructive in looking at the elements of your story and examining which are contributing to the greater theme, and which are not. Like David Mamet’s book, it has little room for other opinions of how drama is constructed but certainly presents its own thesis clearly and completely.

Cartooning by Polly Keener ISBN: 0131179128 Although geared towards gag cartooning and comic strips, this book offers a great deal of information from generating ideas to tools and techniques. Covers a lot of the same ground as The Arbor House Book .

Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner ISBN: 0961472812 Taken from Amazon.com reader reviews: “Written years before Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics,” Will Eisner expounds upon how comics are a visual, reading experience using both words and pictures. He instructs the reader in how words and pictures can be used together to tell a story. The author must lead the reader with visual clues to each sequential image. Mood, emotion, even time can be expressed visually in a comic. Camera angles, panel borders, typefaces, all play a part in the effectiveness of a story.”

Comix 2000 by L’ Association Editors Essential cross section (2000 pages) of silent comics from across the globe. Countless examples of innovative silent storytelling.

The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics by Klaus Janson ISBN: 0-8230-1028-7 Klaus Janson’s book is a distillation of all his techniques and theories. A great book divided into 3 parts: drawing, storytelling and pencilling. Drawing focuses mostly on human anatomy. In Storytelling, he discusses the art of panel juxtaposition, including a nuanced look at juxtaposing unrelated images. He also offers an extensive and detailed look at panel arrangement, including composition both on the page and within the panel. The pencilling section offers a look at Janson’s process on an entire short story, from script to finishes. Overall intelligent, humble, and masterful.

Drawing Comics Lab: 52 Exercises on Characters, Panels, Storytelling, Publishing & Professional Practices (Lab Series) ISBN: 9781592538126 This easy-to-follow book is designed for the beginning or aspiring cartoonist; both children and adults will find the techniques to be engaging and highly accessible.Featured artists include:- James Stu

DRAW! Magazine Quarterly , published by: TwoMorrows Publishing PO Box 2129 Upper Darby, PA 19082 This weighty magazine features numerous useful columns each issue. Past columns have included an extensive look at inking by Klaus Janson, a look at character design by Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Cartoon Network’s Samauri Jack ), an article on observation and set design by Batman set designer Paul Rivoche, and figure drawing by Brett Blevins.

Graphic Storytelling by Will Eisner ISBN: 0961472820 From the publisher: “A companion to Comics & Sequential Art , this book takes the principles examined in that title and applies them to the process of graphic storytelling. Eisner shows comic artists, filmmakers and graphic designers how to craft stories in a visual medium. They’ll also learn why mastering the basics of storytelling is far more important than the hollow flash and dazzle seen in lesser work. Readers will learn everything from the fine points of graphic storytelling to the big picture of the comics medium, including how to: * Use art that enhances your story, rather than obscuring it * Wield images like narrative tools * Write and illustrate effective dialogue * Develop ideas that can be turned into dynamic stories. These lessons and more are illustrated with storytelling samples from Eisner himself along with other comic book favorites, including Art Spiegelman, Robert Crumb, Milton Caniff and Al Capp. “

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell ISBN: 0691017840 Seminal and definitive look at world mythology and the “shared stories” therein. From African mythology, to Norse, to American Indian, the elements of myths are often similar. Campbell outlines these and as such, furthers Jung’s mapping of humanity’s unconscious hopes, desires and fears.

On Directing Film by David Mamet ISBN: 0140127224 There is no better description (told in essay form and also transcribed dialogues with his students) of how to proceed from an idea to a no-nonsense visual, dramatic rendition of that idea. The book is a perfect expression of its goal to outline the thinking steps involved in planning out a scene or series of scenes. For Mamet, all the expression lies in the script and in the SHOT LIST. Even his use of actors (as people who just get up, hit their marks and say their lines and shut up) is extreme. Nonetheless, he is completely self-assured of his points of view, and in learning his method of outlining a scene before beginning the filming or drawing, I can’t imagine a better explanation.

Perspective for Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea ISBN 0-8230-0567-4 Both an introduction and comprehensive course in perspective tailored specifically for Comic Book artists (and told in comics form.) People who don’t know perspective will finally learn what they’ve been doing right. Even those that think they know perspective will probably walk away with their heads spinning and full of new insights. Exhaustive and somewhat confusing if you don’t want to do the math.

Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics by Bill Blackbeard ISBN 0-87474-172-6 Essential introduction to the comic strips of the early 20th century.

Story by Robert McKee ISBN 0-06-039168-5 One of the world’s premiere screenwriting teachers dissects and defines the elements of a story. Sort of the Understanding Comics for screenwriters.

Syllabus by Lynda Barry ISBN 1-77046-161-2 Barry teaches a method of writing that focuses on the relationship between the hand, the brain, and spontaneous images, both written and visual. It has been embraced by people across North America—prison inmates, postal workers, university students, high-school teachers, and hairdressers—for opening pathways to creativity.

Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching Children to Write Poetry by Kenneth Koch ISBN 0-05-080530-7 A classic in its field, this book is a vivid account of a poet’s experience teaching Manhattan schoolchildren to write verse. The book provides great ideas for creating assignments that excite students and get the creative juices flowing.

The Writer’s Journey: Dramatic Structure for Storytellers by Christopher Volger ISBN: 0941188701 Overview of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” ideas and their use in Hollywood storytelling. Though simplistic, it is surprisingly useful if used correctly, meaning not as formulae, but as dramatic tools. Outlines a series of 12 steps in many stories — exemplified by Wizard of Oz but also evident in Titanic and surprisingly, even Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. All in all a good job of cracking open the traditional story structure and peeking inside.

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg ISBN 0-87773-375-9 Lots of exercises to get writers going. Exercises, like the Kenneth Koch book, can be easily translated for a comic artist.

The Writing Life by Annie Dillard ISBN 0-06-016156-6 A great writer writing about the creative process. Dillard offers bits of technical information but more importantly she lays out a realistic perspective on the trials and challenges of making art and the dedication needed to persevere.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud ISBN: 006097625X Comprehensive examination of the mechanics of the art form; from mapping of iconographic imagery to an new nomenclature for transitions between comic panels (and a mapping of those as well.) Great overview and introduction to the intellectual tools involved in creating comics.

Your Career in Comics by Lee Nordling ISBN 0-8362-0748-3 If you want to make it as a comic strip artist, then this is the book for you. Nording looks at cartooning from three perspectives: the cartoonist’s, the newspaper editor’s, and the syndicate editor’s. He interviews dozens of professionals providing both a broad-based view of the art form and the nitty gritty of fashioning a solid comic strip.

• Promoting a Comics Curriculum

One of the primary the goals of NACAE was to assist educational institutions and individual educators interested in establishing a comics art curriculum.  The materials below are collected from various sources and outline some of the advantages of implementing sequential art/comics art classes and curricula.

• A Case For Comics contributed by James Sturm
• Seika University’s Department of Comic Art contributed by Matt Thorn
• How Comic Books Can Change the Way Our Students See Literature: One Teacher’s Perspective contributed by Rocco Versaci
• Comics in the Classroom contributed by James Sturm
• Interview with Michael Bitz of The Comic Book Project contributed by Christian Hill

Using These Materials

Q: How am I allowed to use the material on this page?

A: Unless otherwise noted, materials on this page are free to use, reproduce, and distribute as long as they are being used for non-commercial educational purposes. Please follow these guidelines when using these materials:

• You may not use any materials contained on this site for commercial purposes
• You must attribute the work as described below
• If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one.
• To properly attribute content copied, distributed or displayed from this site, include the following information: Copyright © [name of originating author] via NACAE

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Cartooning in an anxious age.

Cartooning In An Anxious Age (pdf) is a free comic by Cara Bean on the act of drawing, which focuses your attention and intimately connects you with the generative act of creation. It’s an inspiring read.

Let's Talk About It: A Graphic Guide to Mental Health

Created for middle and high school students, Let’s Talk About It: A Graphic Guide To Mental Health is a lively and educational comic book that destigmatizes the conversation around mental health.

A 32-page comic on how our government works

Using the power of comics to teach teens about the way our government works This Is What Democracy Looks Like, A Graphic Guide To Governance is a 32-page comic book created by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS). This short comic guide helps to bring democracy back to the hands of the people by explaining what democracy actually means and how the whole thing works. This guide will be a great jumping-off point to learn about our government.

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Create a comic strip.

When you think of writing skills, you probably remember long essays, research reports, tests, or other stressful school assignments. But communicating using the written word doesn't have to be tough! It can be as simple as telling a story, as rudimentary as writing a wish list, or as fun as composing a comic strip. And while these tasks may not sound like much, getting your child comfortable with writing, no matter the context, will help them find the fun in even the most challenging writing assignments down the road! Here's how to get your kid writing their own comic strip.

What You Need:

• Colored pencils or markers
• Drawing paper
• Newspaper comic strips

What You Do:

Look over the newspaper comic strips, and discuss some of the common features with your child. For example, they usually feature:

• 1-2 sentence conversations between characters
• 1 picture per frame with somewhat close-up perspective
• Humorous situations or dialogue

Brainstorm with your child to come up with a subject or scenario for their comic strip. Is the strip about the trials of being a kid? Is it about something that happened at school? Or does it take place in another location, such as outer space or the age of the dinosaurs? Encourage your child to be creative - there are no rules, and no one is grading them on their performance! Once your child has settled on a plan for the strip, they can get started on actually drawing it out.

Use the ruler to draw a rectangle the length of the paper, and divide the rectangle into 4-5 squares. Your child will need to make certain that the squares are large enough to draw the picture and add in the text while being both visible and legible.

Draw the picture that will go in each of the frames. Keep in mind the story that you are trying to tell, and make sure to save room for the speech bubble. Is the character angry? Amused? Bored? Try and convey your comic with words and pictures. Sometimes it is the contrast between text and image that is the source of the humor.

Write the sentences that go with each of the frames on a separate sheet of paper. (This is to let your child see if the sentence will fit into the available space.) Next, write the sentence into the appropriate frame, and draw a speech bubble (or thought bubble) around the text. If you wish, you can color the comic strip to give it "Sunday comic" flair.

Adaptations:

To expand on the complexity of this activity, your child can create their own comic book. The main difference in the activity is that your child will fold 7-8 pieces of paper in half, and then divide each page into 2-4 squares.

One other adaptation is to find a way to share the comic strip with others. Ideas for this include:

• Scanning the picture onto the computer.
• Taking a digital picture of the comic strip.

Once you have a digital copy of your strip, the sky's the limit! There are several ways to share your child's work, from emailing it to setting up a blog where it can be showcased.

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Over 140 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing

By Natalie Proulx

• May 23, 2019

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Updated: May 31, 2019

Think The New York Times is only for readers at a high-school reading level? Think again.

Besides written articles, The Times also offers a rich collection of visuals — photos, illustrations, graphics, GIFs and short videos — that are accessible to learners of all levels. Since 2016, we’ve been featuring these images in our daily Picture Prompts : short, image-driven posts that invite a variety of kinds of student writing.

Teachers tell us they use these prompts in all kinds of ways. Some use them to encourage students to develop a daily writing habit . Others as an exercise to practice inferences , spark discussion or support reading . This year, one elementary school music teacher told us how her class used the visuals as inspiration for writing short stories accompanied by music .

For more ideas, we have a lesson plan on how to teach with Picture Prompts and other Times images, as well as a free, on-demand webinar that explores how to use our thousands of writing prompts for everyday low-stakes writing practice across the curriculum.

Below, we’ve categorized the 140+ prompts we published during the 2018-19 school year based on the type of writing they primarily ask students to do — whether it’s penning short stories and poems, sharing experiences from their own lives, telling us their opinions, or interpreting an image’s message. All are still open for comment.

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Analyzing the Purpose and Meaning of Political Cartoons

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

The decisions students make about social and political issues are often influenced by what they hear, see, and read in the news. For this reason, it is important for them to learn about the techniques used to convey political messages and attitudes. In this lesson, high school students learn to evaluate political cartoons for their meaning, message, and persuasiveness. Students first develop critical questions about political cartoons. They then access an online activity to learn about the artistic techniques cartoonists frequently use. As a final project, students work in small groups to analyze a political cartoon and determine whether they agree or disagree with the author's message.

Featured Resources

It’s No Laughing Matter: Analyzing Political Cartoons : This interactive activity has students explore the different persuasive techniques political cartoonists use and includes guidelines for analysis.

From Theory to Practice

• Question-finding strategies are techniques provided by the teacher, to the students, in order to further develop questions often hidden in texts. The strategies are known to assist learners with unusual or perplexing subject materials that conflict with prior knowledge.
• Use of this inquiry strategy is designed to enhance curiosity and promote students to search for answers to gain new knowledge or a deeper understanding of controversial material. There are two pathways of questioning available to students. Convergent questioning refers to questions that lead to an ultimate solution. Divergent questioning refers to alternative questions that lead to hypotheses instead of answers.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Materials and Technology

• Computers with Internet access and printing capability
• Several clips of recent political cartoons from a local newspaper
• Overhead projector or computer with projection capability
• Editorial Cartoon Analysis
• Presentation Evaluation Rubric

Preparation

Student Objectives

Students will

• Develop critical question to explore the artistic techniques used in political cartoons and how these techniques impact a cartoon's message
• Evaluate an author or artist's meaning by identifying his or her point of view
• Identify and explain the artistic techniques used in political cartoons
• Analyze political cartoons by using the artistic techniques and evidence from the cartoon to support their interpretations

Session 2 (may need 2 sessions, depending on computer access)

Sessions 3 and 4

• Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonist Index and The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists: Cartoons for the Classroom both provide additional lesson plans and activities for using political cartoons as a teaching tool. Students can also access these online political cartoons for additional practice in evaluating their meaning, message, and persuasiveness.
• Students can create their own political cartoons, making sure to incorporate a few of the artistic techniques learned in this lesson. Give students an opportunity to share their cartoons with the class, and invite classmates to analyze the cartoonist's message and voice their own opinions about the issue.
• This lesson can be a launching activity for several units: a newspaper unit, a unit on writing persuasive essays, or a unit on evaluating various types of propaganda. The ReadWriteThink lesson "Propaganda Techniques in Literature and Online Political Ads" may be of interest.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Assessment for this lesson is based on the following components:

• The students' involvement in generating critical questions about political cartoons in Lesson 1, and then using what they have learned from an online activity to answer these questions in Lesson 2.
• Class and group discussions in which students practice identifying the techniques used in political cartoons and how these techniques can help them to identify an author's message.
• The students' responses to the self-reflection questions in Lesson 4, whereby they demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of political cartoons and the artistic techniques used to persuade a viewer.
• The final class presentation in which students demonstrate an ability to identify the artistic techniques used in political cartoons, to interpret an author's message, and to support their interpretation with specific details from the cartoon. The Presentation Evaluation Rubric provides a general framework for this assessment.
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How to Analyze Political Cartoons

Last Updated: January 16, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 586,633 times.

Political cartoons use imagery and text to comment on a contemporary social issue. They may contain a caricature of a well-known person or an allusion to a contemporary event or trend. [1] X Research source By examining the image and text elements of the cartoon, you can start to understand its deeper message and evaluate its effectiveness.

Examining the Image and Text

Common Symbols in Political Cartoons

Uncle Sam or an eagle for the United States John Bull, Britannia or a lion for the United Kingdom A beaver for Canada A bear for Russia A dragon for China A sun for Japan A kangaroo for Australia A donkey for the US Democratic Party An elephant for the US Republican Party

• Many political cartoonists will include caricatures of well-known politicians, which means they’ll exaggerate their features or bodies for humor, easy identification, or to emphasize a point. For example, an artist might make an overweight politician even larger to emphasize their greed or power.

• For example, if the cartoonist shows wealthy people receiving money while poorer people beg them for change, they’re using irony to show the viewer how wrong they believe the situation to be.

• For example, the stereotype of a fat man in a suit often stands for business interests.
• If you’re analyzing a historical political cartoon, take its time period into account. Was this kind of stereotype the norm for this time? How is the artist challenging or supporting it?

Text in Political Cartoons

Labels might be written on people, objects or places. For example, a person in a suit might be labeled “Congress,” or a briefcase might be labeled with a company’s name.

Text bubbles might come from one or more of the characters to show dialogue. They’re represented by solid circles or boxes around text.

Thought bubbles show what a character is thinking. They usually look like small clouds.

Captions or titles are text outside of the cartoon, either below or above it. They give more information or interpretation to what is happening in the cartoon itself.

• For example, a cartoon about voting might include a voting ballot with political candidates and celebrities, indicating that more people may be interested in voting for celebrities than government officials.
• The effectiveness of allusions often diminishes over time, as people forget about the trends or events.

Analyzing the Issue and Message

• If you need help, google the terms, people, or places that you recognize and see what they’ve been in the news for recently. Do some background research and see if the themes and events seem to connect to what you saw in the cartoon.

• The view might be complex, but do your best to parse it out. For example, an anti-war cartoon might portray the soldiers as heroes, but the government ordering them into battle as selfish or wrong.

• For example, a political cartoon in a more conservative publication will convey a different message, and use different means of conveying it, than one in a liberal publication.

Rhetorical Devices

Pathos: An emotional appeal that tries to engage the reader on an emotional level. For example, the cartoonist might show helpless citizens being tricked by corporations to pique your pity and sense of injustice.

Ethos: An ethical appeal meant to demonstrate the author’s legitimacy as someone who can comment on the issue. This might be shown through the author’s byline, which could say something like, “by Tim Carter, journalist specializing in economics.”

Logos: A rational appeal that uses logical evidence to support an argument, like facts or statistics. For example, a caption or label in the cartoon might cite statistics like the unemployment rate or number of casualties in a war.

• Does it make a sound argument?
• Does it use appropriate and meaningful symbols and words to convey a viewpoint?
• Do the people and objects in the cartoon adequately represent the issue?

Community Q&A

• Keep yourself informed on current events in order to more clearly understand contemporary political cartoons. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0
• If you are having trouble discerning the meaning of a political cartoon, try talking with friends, classmates, or colleagues. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 3
• Historical context: When?
• Intended audience: For who?
• Point of view: Author's POV.
• Purpose: Why?
• Significance: For what reason?

• Political cartoons are oftentimes meant to be funny and occasionally disregard political correctness. If you are offended by a cartoon, think about the reasons why a cartoonist would use certain politically incorrect symbols to describe an issue. Thanks Helpful 14 Not Helpful 2

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/teaching-guides/21733
• ↑ https://teachinghistory.org/sites/default/files/2018-08/Cartoon_Analysis_0.pdf
• ↑ https://www.metaphorandart.com/articles/exampleirony.html
• ↑ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/educators/types/lesson3.html
• ↑ https://www.writerswrite.co.za/the-12-common-archetypes/
• ↑ https://www.lsu.edu/hss/english/files/university_writing_files/item35402.pdf
• ↑ https://www.mindtools.com/axggxkv/paraphrasing-and-summarizing
• ↑ http://www.ysmithcpallen.com/sites/default/files/Analyzing-and-Interpreting-Political-Cartoons1.ppt

About This Article

To analyze political cartoons, start by looking at the picture and identifying the main focus of the cartoon, which will normally be exaggerated for comic effect. Then, look for popular symbols, like Uncle Sam, who represents the United States, or famous political figures. Make note of which parts of the symbols are exaggerated, and note any stereotypes that the artists is playing with. Once you’ve identified the main point, look for subtle details that create the rest of the story. For tips on understanding and recognizing persuasive techniques used in illustration, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The New York Times

The Learning Network | Drawing for Change: Analyzing and Making Political Cartoons

Drawing for Change: Analyzing and Making Political Cartoons

Updated, Nov. 19, 2015 | We have now announced the winners of our 2015 Editorial Cartoon Contest here .

Political cartoons deliver a punch. They take jabs at powerful politicians, reveal official hypocrisies and incompetence and can even help to change the course of history . But political cartoons are not just the stuff of the past. Cartoonists are commenting on the world’s current events all the time, and in the process, making people laugh and think. At their best, they challenge our perceptions and attitudes.

Analyzing political cartoons is a core skill in many social studies courses. After all, political cartoons often serve as important primary sources, showing different perspectives on an issue. And many art, history and journalism teachers take political cartoons one step further, encouraging students to make their own cartoons.

In this lesson, we provide three resources to assist teachers working with political cartoons:

• an extended process for analyzing cartoons and developing more sophisticated interpretations;
• a guide for making cartoons, along with advice on how to make one from Patrick Chappatte, an editorial cartoonist for The International New York Times ;
• a resource library full of links to both current and historic political cartoons.

Use this lesson in conjunction with our Editorial Cartoon Contest or with any political cartoon project you do with students.

Materials | Computers with Internet access. Optional copies of one or more of these two handouts: Analyzing Editorial Cartoons ; Rubric for our Student Editorial Cartoon Contest .

Analyzing Cartoons

While political cartoons are often an engaging and fun source for students to analyze, they also end up frustrating many students who just don’t possess the strategies or background to make sense of what the cartoonist is saying. In other words, understanding a cartoon may look easier than it really is.

Learning how to analyze editorial cartoons is a skill that requires practice. Below, we suggest an extended process that can be used over several days, weeks or even a school year. The strength of this process is that it does not force students to come up with right answers, but instead emphasizes visual thinking and close reading skills. It provides a way for all students to participate, while at the same time building up students’ academic vocabulary so they can develop more sophisticated analyses over time.

Throughout this process, you might choose to alternate student groupings and class formats. For example, sometimes students will work independently, while other times they will work in pairs or small groups. Similarly, students may focus on one single cartoon, or they may have a folder or even a classroom gallery of multiple cartoons.

Open-Ended Questioning

We suggest beginning cartoon analysis using the same three-question protocol we utilize every Monday for our “ What’s Going On in This Picture? ” feature to help students bring to the surface what the cartoon is saying:

• What is going on in this editorial cartoon?
• What do you see that makes you say that?
• What more can you find?

These simple, open-ended questions push students to look closely at the image without pressuring them to come up with a “correct” interpretation. Students can notice details and make observations without rushing, while the cyclical nature of the questions keeps sending them back to look for more details.

As you repeat the process with various cartoons over time, you may want to ask students to do this work independently or in pairs before sharing with the whole class. Here is our editorial cartoon analysis handout (PDF) to guide students analyzing any cartoon, along with one with the above Patrick Chappatte cartoon (PDF) already embedded.

Developing an Academic Vocabulary and a Keener Eye

Once students gain confidence noticing details and suggesting different interpretations, always backed up by evidence, it is useful to introduce them to specific elements and techniques cartoonists use. Examples include: visual symbols, metaphors, exaggeration, distortion, stereotypes, labeling, analogy and irony. Helping students recognize and identify these cartoonists’ tools will enable them to make more sophisticated interpretations.

The Library of Congress (PDF) and TeachingHistory.org (PDF) both provide detailed explanations of what these elements and techniques mean, and how cartoonists use them.

In addition to those resources, three other resources that can help students develop a richer understanding of a cartoon are:

• The SOAPSTone strategy, which many teachers use for analyzing primary sources, can also be used for looking at political cartoons.
• This student handout (PDF) breaks up the analysis into two parts: identifying the main idea and analyzing the method used by the artist.
• The National Archives provides a cartoon analysis work sheet to help students reach higher levels of understanding.

Once students get comfortable using the relevant academic vocabulary to describe what’s going on in a cartoon, we suggest returning to the open-ended analysis questions we started with, so students can become more independent and confident cartoon analysts.

Making an Editorial Cartoon

The Making of an Editorial Cartoon

Patrick Chappatte, an editorial cartoonist for The International New York Times, offers advice on how to make an editorial cartoon while working on deadline.

Whether you are encouraging your students to enter our Student Editorial Cartoon Contest , or are assigning students to make their own cartoons as part of a history, economics, journalism, art or English class, the following guide can help you and your students navigate the process.

Learn from an Editorial Cartoonist

We asked Patrick Chappatte, an editorial cartoonist for The International New York Times, to share with us how he makes an editorial cartoon on deadline, and to offer students advice on how to make a cartoon. Before watching the film above, ask students to take notes on: a) what they notice about the process of making a cartoon, and b) what advice Mr. Chappatte gives students making their own cartoons.

After watching, ask students to share what information they find useful as they prepare to make their own editorial cartoons.

Then, use these steps — a variation on the writing process — to help guide students to make their own cartoons.

Step 1 | Brainstorm: What Is a Topic or Issue You Want to Comment On?

As a professional cartoonist, Mr. Chappatte finds themes that connect to the big news of the day. As a student, you may have access to a wider or narrower range of topics from which to choose. If you are entering a cartoon into our Student Editorial Cartoon Contest, you can pick any topic or issue covered in The New York Times, which not only opens up the whole world to you, but also historical events as well — from pop music to climate change to the Great Depression. If this a class assignment, you may have different instructions.

Step 2 | Make a Point: What Do You Want to Say About Your Topic?

Once you pick an issue, you need to learn enough about your topic to have something meaningful to say. Remember, a political cartoon delivers commentary or criticism on a current issue, political topic or historical event.

For example, if you were doing a cartoon about the deflated football scandal would you want to play up the thought that Tom Brady must have been complicit, or would you present him as a victim of an overzealous N.F.L. commissioner? Considering the Republican primaries , would you draw Donald Trump as a blowhard sucking air out of the room and away from more serious candidates, or instead make him the standard- bearer for a genuine make-America-great-again movement?

You can see examples of how two cartoonists offer differing viewpoints on the same issue in Newspaper in Education’s Cartoons for the Classroom and NPR’s Double Take .

Mr. Chappatte explains that coming up with your idea is the most important step. “How do ideas come? I have no recipe,” he says. “While you start reading about the story, you want to let the other half of your brain loose.”

Strategies he suggests for exploring different paths include combining two themes, playing with words, making a joke, or finding an image that sums up a situation.

Step 3 | Draw: What Are Different Ways to Communicate Your Ideas?

Then, start drawing. Try different angles, test various approaches. Don’t worry too much about the illustration itself; instead, focus on getting ideas on paper.

Mr. Chappatte says, “The drawing is not the most important part. Seventy-five percent of a cartoon is the idea, not the artistic skills. You need to come up with an original point of view. And I would say that 100 percent of a cartoon is your personality.”

Consider using one or more of the elements and techniques that cartoonists often employ, such as visual symbols, metaphors, exaggeration, distortion, labeling, analogy and irony.

Step 4 | Get Feedback: Which Idea Lands Best?

Student cartoonists won’t be able to get feedback from professional editors like Mr. Chappatte does at The International New York Times, but they should seek feedback from other sources, such as teachers, fellow students or even family members. You certainly can ask your audience which sketch they like best, but you can also let them tell you what they observe going on in the cartoon, to see what details they notice, and whether they figure out the ideas you want to express.

Step 5 | Revise and Finalize: How Can I Make an Editorial Cartoon?

Once you pick which draft you’re going to run with, it’s time to finalize the cartoon. Try to find the best tools to match your style, whether they are special ink pens, markers or a computer graphics program.

As you work, remember what Mr. Chappatte said: “It’s easier to be outrageous than to be right on target. You don’t have to shoot hard; you have to aim right. To me the best cartoons give you in one visual shortcut everything of a complex situation; funny and deep, both light and heavy; I don’t do these cartoons every day, not even every week, but those are the best.” That’s the challenge.

Step 6 | Publish: How Can My Editorial Cartoon Reach an Audience?

Students will have the chance to publish their editorial cartoons on the Learning Network on or before Oct. 20, 2015 as part of our Student Contest. We will use this rubric (PDF) to help select winners to feature in a separate post. Students can also enter their cartoons in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards new editorial cartoon category for a chance to win a national award and cash prize.

Even if your students aren’t making a cartoon for our contest, the genre itself is meant to have an audience. That audience can start with the teacher, but ideally it shouldn’t end there.

Students can display their cartoons to the class or in groups. Classmates can have a chance to respond to the artist, leading to a discussion or debate. Students can try to publish their cartoons in the school newspaper or other local newspapers or online forums. It is only when political cartoons reach a wider audience that they have the power to change minds.

Where to Find Cartoons

Finding the right cartoons for your students to analyze, and to serve as models for budding cartoonists, is important. For starters, Newspaper in Education provides a new “ Cartoons for the Classroom ” lesson each week that pairs different cartoons on the same current issue. Below, we offer a list of other resources:

• Patrick Chappatte
• Brian McFadden

A Selection of the Day’s Cartoons

• Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
• U.S. News and World Report

Recent Winners of the Herblock Prize, the Thomas Nast Award and the Pulitzer Prize

• Kevin Kallaugher in the Baltimore Sun
• Jen Sorensen in The Austin Chronicle
• Tom Tomorrow in The Nation
• Signe Wilkinson in the Philadelphia Daily News
• Adam Zyglis in The Buffalo News
• Kevin Siers in The Charlotte Observer
• Steve Sack in the Star Tribune

Historical Cartoonists

• Thomas Nast
• Paul Conrad

Other Historical Cartoon Resources

• Library of Congress | It’s No Laughing Matter
• BuzzFeed | 15 Historic Cartoons That Changed The World

Please share your own experiences with teaching using political cartoons in the comments section.

What's Next

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Lesson Plan Political Cartoons: Finding Point of View

A careful analysis of political cartoons can provide a glimpse into key moments of U.S. political history. In this activity, students will closely examine political cartoons about the Stamp Act; make inferences about the political, social, and economic situations depicted therein; and offer informed speculations concerning each creator’s point of view.

Students will be able to:

• Analyze political cartoons.
• Identify the ways in which point of view can be detected in political cartoons.

Time Required

Two 50-minute class periods

Lesson Preparation

• Print out one copy of the cartoon for each student
• Prepare an overhead transparency of the cartoon
• Display the cartoon using a computer and LCD projector
• Whiteboard, chalkboard, overhead or chart paper
• Primary Source Analysis Tool  (PDF, 79 KB) (print two copies per student)
• “The repeal, or the funeral of Miss Ame=Stamp”  (PDF, 863 KB) (print one copy per student)
• “The repeal, or the funeral of Miss Ame=Stamp”, Large Tiled Image  (PDF, 4.91 MB) (optional; print one copy to display in the classroom)

The following materials are used during extension activities:

• “Magna Britannia”  (PDF, 323 KB) (print one copy per student)

Before leading students through the exploration process, teachers should make themselves familiar with the following Library of Congress resources:

• Mock Funeral Procession for the Stamp Act
• Timeline: Events Related to the Formation of the United States
• Teacher's Guide for Analyzing Political Cartoons

Additional Resources

• Benjamin Franklin…In His Own Words
• John Bull and Uncle Sam: The American Revolution

Lesson Procedure

Activity one (one class period).

• What is a political cartoon? A political cartoon is a cartoon that makes a point about a political issue or event.
• What topics do political cartoons address? Could include economics, politics, social issues/events, prominent individuals.
• How can you tell what the message of the political cartoon is? By observing and analyzing the images and text.
• What is a thesis? A main idea put forward for discussion, such as in a paragraph, an essay, or a cartoon.
• What is point of view? A person’s belief or judgment on an issue.
• How might point of view affect a political cartoonist? A cartoonist will be guided by his or her point of view. Cartoonists might only express their own beliefs on an issue, or they might take the point of view of others into consideration.
• Introduce the concept of primary source analysis to the students. Distribute the  Primary Source Analysis Tool  (PDF 79 KB) to each student and explain that they will use this handout to analyze a political cartoon. Tell them that the key to primary source analysis isn’t finding the correct answer, but asking the most effective questions. Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide  Analyzing Political Cartoons  to focus and prompt analysis and discussion. Distribute or display a recent political cartoon on an issue of current interest. Model for students the process of inquiry-based primary source analysis using questions from each column as a guide. Students should record the responses on their individual handout. Lead students through a discussion of the point of view expressed in this cartoon.
• Have students create a political cartoon that communicates a different point of view than the one they analyzed.

Activity Two (One Class Period)

• Have students pair up and share the political cartoons they created. Remind students of the primary source analysis process they went through previously, and ask them to discuss each other’s cartoons for five minutes. Distribute the  Primary Source Analysis Tool  handout, and ask students to discuss each other’s cartoons.
• Explain to students that they will be analyzing a historical political cartoon and thinking about the political cartoonist’s point of view. Distribute  “The repeal, or the funeral of Miss Ame=Stamp”  (PDF, 863 KB) to each student, along with the  Primary Source Analysis Tool  (PDF, 79 KB). Have students perform a primary source analysis on the cartoon, recording their responses on their individual copies of the handout. Ask students to evaluate the cartoon to examine the cartoonist’s point of view. If students need prompting use questions selected from the teacher's guide  Analyzing Political Cartoons  to focus and prompt analysis and discussion. Note: If you feel students need additional information on the Stamp Act, you might review the relevant material in this Library of Congress exhibition,  John Bull and Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations .
• Discuss the two handouts once students complete them, or after collecting them, evaluating them, and returning them to students.
• Have students analyze another political cartoon about the Stamp Act,  “Magna Britannia”  (PDF, 323 KB) by Benjamin Franklin. Have students complete the  Primary Source Analysis Tool  (PDF/79KB), and then discuss the differences between  “Magna Britannia”  (PDF, 323 KB) and  “The repeal, or the funeral of Miss Ame=Stamp.”  (PDF, 863 KB). Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide  Analyzing Political Cartoons  to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.
• The Stamp Act was not the only legislation imposed on the American colonists by the British government. Have students explore the exhibition  John Bull & Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations  to locate another political cartoon that addresses the legislation from the perspective of the colonists. Analyze this new cartoon with the  Primary Source Analysis Tool  (PDF, 79 KB) . Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide  Analyzing Political Cartoons  to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.
• Cartoon America
• Humor's Edge
• Cartoon Cornucopia
• Edmund Valtman: The Cartoonist Who Came in From the Cold
• Bill Mauldin Beyond Willie and Joe

Lesson Evaluation

• Assess student-drawn political cartoons for evidence of student understanding of the ways in which point of view can affect how a political cartoon is created.
• Assess the primary source analysis tool for evidence of student understanding of how to analyze political cartoons.
• Teacher observation of critical thinking.

Terri Bramhall

JEA Curriculum Initiative

This site is available only to JEA members. Please log in below.

Designing an editorial cartoon

Description Although most journalists aren’t artists, they all need to be able to think artistically and help artists brainstorm thoughtful designs that go beyond the literal. This lesson helps all students develop this skill by asking students to design their own editorial cartoons and offer feedback on classmates’ cartoons. It also further develops the skills of identifying targets and satirical techniques introduced earlier in this unit.

Objectives Students will use background knowledge of satire and editorial cartoons (based on previous lessons) to develop their own editorial cartoon.

• Students will brainstorm examples of satirical targets and consider ways those targets could be ridiculed.
• Students will evaluate and offer feedback on their classmates’ cartoons.

Common Core State Standards

Materials / resources

Handout: Designing an editorial cartoon

Rubric: Editorial cartoons

Scratch paper and writing utensils

Lesson step-by-step

1. Introduction/Warm-up — 10 minutes

This lesson should come after  What are editorial cartoons? which focuses on defining editorial cartoons. Do a quick recap of that lesson at beginning of class, ask students to recap the main points of the lesson, or incorporate the principles from this lesson as part of the warm-up activity below.

Distribute the handout “Designing an editorial cartoon.” As a warm-up, show students a few current editorial cartoons. (USA Today updates their cartoons daily and tends to have pretty accessible single-panel cartoons that work well for this.) Ask students to identify the target of each cartoon and the satirical techniques (see page 2 of handout) that were used to ridicule the target. Share answers. Some students might struggle with some of the traditional metaphors used in political editorial cartoons, such as donkeys and elephants. Use this as opportunity to talk about why cartoonists might use some of these metaphors–how they are a shorthand for repeating concepts/characters.

2. Finding targets — 5-10 minutes

Assign students to partners before the lesson, or allow students to choose their partners, depending on your classroom and goals for your students. Students will meet with their first assigned partner. They will brainstorm a list of eight possible targets, following Step 1 directions on the handout. Circulate and help/redirect as necessary.  

3. Ridiculing targets— 10 minutes

Students will meet with their second assigned partner. They will share their eight targets, pick three and brainstorm ways to ridicule this target, following Step 2 directions on the handout. Circulate and help/redirect as necessary.

4. Designing the cartoon — 15 minutes

Students will meet with their third assigned partner. They will share their three developed targets, pick one and design a cartoon, following Step 3 directions on the handout. Circulate and help/redirect as necessary.

5. Sharing cartoons — 10 minutes

Depending on time and size of class, ask some/all of the groups to share their cartoons with the class. If you are able to project the hand-drawn cartoons on a screen, that will work best. If not, students can describe their cartoon as they hold it up.

6 . Homework

Each student designs one more stick-figure cartoon to share with the class the next day. Distribute the “Editorial cartoon rubric” and let students know which categories you will be assessing, such as Criticism and Satirical Techniques. Since all students are asked to complete this assignment, regardless of artistic skill level, do not assess Artistry for this assignment. (It is included on this rubric in case teachers would also like to use the rubric for editorial cartoons meant for publication.)

Differentiation

In a way, this lesson is the anti-differentiation lesson. Every student, regardless of their artistic skills, is involved in designing a cartoon. This helps reinforce the idea that modern journalists need to be members of a team, capable of helping out in multiple areas.

Extension: Editorial cartoons as weekly news quizzes

If you’re already using current events quizzes, consider adding one more question. Pick an editorial cartoon published from the week and ask students to explain what current event inspired it and what the artist is satirizing. This will keep students thinking about the intersection of art and criticism and will hopefully help them design better cartoons for their opinions section.