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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Explore Resources by Grade
- Kindergarten K
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
Using Political Cartoons in the Classroom
by Roy Winkelman | Using Digital Content
I had some wonderful high school teachers who made history come alive. In addition to learning the facts, dates, and figures, we got a feel for the times we were studying by activities such as reading Civil War poetry or singing our way through a couple of World Wars. We were also exposed to innumerable political cartoons along the way to increase our understanding of the culture and issues of the day. The drawing of original cartoons was sometimes used as a comprehension check as well. I particularly remember one I drew about colonial Philadelphia as a homework assignment. That was, ahem, well over 50 years ago. While I can’t guarantee that using political cartoons in history classes will make all your homework assignments memorable a half century from now, I can promise that political cartoons have the potential to engage students with the significant issues of any period.
It doesn’t take much imagination to realize how any of the following examples could be effectively used in the classroom.
“But wherever would we find such an exciting collection of political cartoons?” you might ask. Well, you’re in luck. The ClipArt ETC website offers over 300 political cartoons for classroom use. Although you may have to do a little searching to find specific topics, many of the cartoons have been tagged with specific time periods or topics:
- All political cartoons
- Cartoons by Thomas Nast
- Election of 1868
- Grant Administration
- Election of 1872
- Election of 1876
- Election of 1880
- Election of 1884
- Cleveland Administration
- Election of 1892
- Native American Suffrage
- Woman Sufffrage
- World War I
Since FCIT’s political cartoon collection is mainly from the late 1800s, you may also want to search the National Archives or the Library of Congress for additional cartoons from earlier or later periods. The following LOC collections are of particular interest:
- American Cartoon Prints
- Cartoon Drawings
- Herblock Collection
The National Archives and the Library of Congress have also created helpful guides for analyzing cartoons as a classroom activity:
Teacher's Guide: Analyzing Political Cartoons
This one-page PDF from the Library of Congress includes many questions for students to consider when responding to a political cartoon.
Analyze a Cartoon (Younger Students)
This one-page PDF from the National Archives takes younger students through the four steps of analyzing a political cartoon.
Cartoon Analysis Guide
This two-page PDF from the Library of Congress identifies the persuasive techniques used in political cartoons.
Analyze a Cartoon (Older Students)
This one-page PDF from the National Archives takes older students through the four steps of analyzing a political cartoon.
I hope you’ll find the above resources a help in utilizing political cartoons as windows into various time periods. And just maybe, fifty years from now, one of your students will be writing about how memorable your classes were way back in the 2023-2024 school year.
Roy Winkelman is a 40+ year veteran teacher of students from every level kindergarten through graduate school. As the former Director of FCIT, he began the Center's focus on providing students with rich content collections from which to build their understanding. When not glued to his keyboard, Dr. Winkelman can usually be found puttering around his tomato garden in Pittsburgh. Questions about this post or suggestions for a future topic? Email me at [email protected] . To ensure that your email is not blocked, please do not change the subject line. Thank you!
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I can’t imagine teaching civics and government without political cartoons—they are essential to the subject.
They make the best entry point for introducing concepts and diving deeper into diverse viewpoints on political issues.
Head over to my blog post, How to Teach Political Cartoons , where I detail the POPES process I’ve used for years. Then, download your FREE lesson kit to get started.
This analysis strategy works well for bell ringers to cover current political news and as part of the main lesson to teach civics concepts.
Certain topics, I’ve found over the years, are perfect for using cartoons to teach. So here I’ve outlined some activity ideas for using them to help you teach five key government concepts.
Finding Great Political Cartoons
First, though, we need to find some good cartoons!
I don’t link to any specific cartoons in this blog post simply because the second I do, they’re dated!
Usually, only a few cartoons are perennial enough to use the following year, and I’m constantly swapping in fresh ones my students can best relate to. You’ll want to do this as well.
Here are my go-to spots for grabbing high-resolution current and historical political cartoons:
Daryl Cagle’s searchable database of current cartoons
The Week’s and US News’s collections of recent cartoons
Library of Congress’s collection of over 800 cartoons from throughout American history and their dedicated Herbert Block collection that spans much of the late 1900s
Wikimedia Commons’ collection of Puck and Judge magazine covers from the late 1800s and early 1900s
Teaching How to Analyze Cartoons
As I said above, I use the POPES method I’ve developed over the years. Before using cartoons to teach content, students need to have the skills to understand them.
Be sure to spend time teaching how to analyze political cartoons before your first lesson that uses them! My FREE Political Cartoon Analysis Kit is a complete how-to lesson that does this for you.
Okay, now that’s all taken care of, let’s dive into civics concepts that are perfect for using political cartoons to teach. I’ve never found a shortage of cartoons to help students learn and develop claims on these five topics.
Principles of the Constitution
After introducing the different principles of the US Constitution , I have my students identify them in political cartoons depicting events that relate to each.
For example, I’ll pick a cartoon of the President and Congress at odds over a recent veto to illustrate checks and balances. Or a cartoon dealing with Election Day for popular sovereignty.
You can search using the principles themselves, but you don’t want the cartoon actually to say the principle. That’s why I also search for recent events that have involved the concept.
I’ll post these cartoons around the room as stations. Students first analyze them and then identify which principle each best depicts.
Different Forms of Governments
I do an almost identical lesson sequence when we learn the different types of government systems .
Here, it’s helpful to use countries I’ve already given as examples of the various types when I first defined them.
For example, a cartoon of the UK’s King Charles trying to fill the shoes of his mother to illustrate monarchy .
I like how the Cagle database includes international cartoonists, to which you can limit your search.
Find cartoons depicting each system of government that your students need to learn and make matching cards for formative practice.
Voting Issues & Attitudes
During my Voting & Election Unit , I search terms like “voting” or “Election Day” or, even more specifically, for issues like “voter turnout” or “vote by mail.”
You should have no problem finding a variety of cartoons that illustrate attitudes about the upcoming election and voting rights and access.
Use cartoons from across the nation to introduce voting issues affecting different states. This helps emphasize how, while voting is a federal right, how we vote is handled at the state level.
If your state is vote-by-mail only, share cartoons depicting long voter lines, for example.
You can also have students agree or disagree with the cartoons’ punchline, providing evidence from what they’ve learned to support their position.
For example, select cartoons that argue things like voter apathy among young people or that voting is unnecessarily complicated.
Three Branches
While covering each of the Three Branches , it’s a no-brainer to use cartoons to familiarize students with current issues with each branch.
Pull a few cartoons that depict both hyper-current and more perennial issues, like gridlock in Congress, the President struggling with sagging popularity, or the Supreme Court announcing a controversial decision.
As important as it is to teach the Constitutional logistics of each branch, it is to teach the issues of how those branches operate in real life, and cartoons are perfect for this!
During this unit, cartoons like these make perfect bell ringer activities.
Amendments & Civil Liberties
In my Civil Liberties unit , I use cartoons in a few ways. First, historical cartoons are a great way to illustrate that so many essential rights have not always been granted.
Cartoons pushing for or celebrating the ratification of various amendments make excellent source material: the 17 th Amendment to popularly elect senators, the 19 th Amendment to grant women the right to vote, and the 26 th Amendment to lower the voting age to 18.
These make an easy matching activity for students to pair to the amendment they are dealing with.
Or, as you are exploring the Supreme Court’s current docket, pull some cartoons that deal with these court cases. They help show the dilemma and controversy of rights involved.
I hope these ideas have sparked activity ideas for using political cartoons to support learning in your Civics or Government class. Grab my FREE Political Cartoons Analysis Kit for a done-for-you starter kit to get going with teaching with cartoons!
Feature image photo credit: Bank Phrom
Make the Citizenship Test the Best Part of Your Civics Class
5 ways to use political cartoons in your civics class.
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Legislative Branch
Constitution Scavenger Hunt with Political Cartoons
In this lesson, students will analyze 16 political cartoons drawn by Clifford and Jim Berryman during the early to mid-20th century. They will search through the Constitution and associate each cartoon with a specific clause. Through networking exercises, students will analyze all 16 cartoons and read the entire Constitution. They will learn about the outline and structure of the Constitution, as well as the content of many of its clauses.
Understanding the Constitution is a vital element of the study of U.S. History and American government. Additionally, studying political cartoons allows students to enhance the social studies skills of understanding, applying, analyzing, and evaluating information.
Guiding Question
How are the provisions of the U.S. Constitution visually represented in popular media?
16 Political Cartoon Facsimiles
The Constitution of the United States: A Transcript
2 Worksheets
Answer Key for Worksheet 2
Recommended Grade Levels
Grades 7-12
U.S. History; U.S. Government; Civics
Topics included in this lesson
Articles of the U.S. Constitution, Congressional Powers, Congressional Rules and Procedures, Congressional Leadership, Legislative Process, the Electoral College, Presidential Power/Authority, the Supreme Court, and the Amendment Process
Featured Documents
The Center for Legislative Archives maintains approximately 2,400 original pen-and-ink drawings by cartoonists Clifford K. Berryman and his son, Jim Berryman, in the U.S. Senate Collection.
Clifford and Jim Berryman were among Washington's best-known and most-admired graphic political commentators from 1898 to 1965. Clifford K. Berryman drew for the Washington Post from 1890 until 1907, and then for the Evening Star from 1907 until his death in 1949. His son, Jim, joined the Evening Star in 1935 and drew for the paper until his retirement in 1965, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1950. Berryman cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, Presidential and congressional elections, both World Wars, and even Washington weather.
Time Required
Approximately 60 minutes
Learning Activities
1. Outline of the U.S. Constitution (5 minutes)
Note: Students new to the study of the Constitution may begin by completing step 1 of the lesson Teaching Six Big Ideas in the Constitution .
Direct students to work individually to annotate the transcript of the Constitution by labeling each of the seven articles of the Constitution with a statement of its main topic.
Conduct a class discussion of how the Constitution is organized and how its articles are subdivided.
2. Cartoon Analysis Worksheet and Identification of the Constitutional Principle and Clause (15 minutes)
Divide the students into two or three large groups (depending on class size) and distribute a set of the 16 political cartoon facsimiles to each large group. Every student in the group should be given enough cartoons so that all 16 are assigned, ( e.g. , each member of a group of 8 students should receive 2 political cartoons).
Direct students to complete Worksheet 1 individually by analyzing each of the political cartoons assigned to him or her. Note: The worksheet is differentiated to provide three levels of analysis dependent on the student’s skill.
When students have completed Worksheet 1, direct them to complete columns 1–3 of Worksheet 2 individually. Students should analyze their assigned cartoon(s) to complete columns 1 through 3. Students should then study each assigned cartoon and a transcript of the Constitution to complete column 4 individually. Column 5 will be completed in the next activity.
3. Use Networks to Discuss the Cartoons and the Constitution (30 minutes)
Direct each student to form a three-person group by joining with two partners from their group assigned in activity 2.
Allow approximately 5–7 minutes for the members of the new three-student groups to show each other their assigned cartoon(s) and share their answers in columns 1–4 of Worksheet 2. Groups should discuss and record (using additional rows of Worksheet 2) each member’s application of the cartoon to the Constitution and reach a consensus about the best match of each cartoon to a clause. Direct the students to use column 5 of Worksheet 2 at the end of the discussion to record any changes in interpretation that strengthen the match of each cartoon to the Constitution.
Once the first 5–7 minutes are up, instruct the students to find two new partners from their larger group and repeat the process. Direct the students to continue to form new three-person groupings until all 16 cartoons have been discussed.
Direct each student to circle the entry in column 5 that they feel is the best match for each cartoon they have discussed. Use the answer key to check their work.
4. Reflection (10 minutes)
Conduct a class discussion about the Constitution and the role of political cartoons in American civil life. Discussion points may include:
- What does the relationship of the number cartoons in this lesson to articles of the Constitution suggest about the articles’ relative importance to the artists or the public at the time the cartoon was created? Was one branch of government of more interest or importance to the artists or their audience than the others? Would the Framers agree with this division of interest? Would this same division of interest be appropriate for a cartoonist drawing today?
- How clearly do the cartoons represent the main idea of the constitutional clause each reflects? How does the portrayal of the clause in a political cartoon correspond to its phrasing in the Constitution? To what extent might viewers today agree or disagree with Berryman’s portrayal of these clauses?
- What clues were you able to use in each cartoon to associate it with a specific clause in the Constitution?
- Based on these examples, why are political cartoons important? What function or purpose do they serve in civic life?
5. Extend the Lesson
Assign students to study the following constitutional principles, and create, or identify through research, political cartoons depicting the principle as it applies to current issues and events:
- Impeachment (Article 1, section 2, clause 5; Article 1, section 3, clause7; Article 2, section 4)
- Congressional Immunities and Privileges (Article 1, section 6)
- The Necessary and Proper Clause/Elastic Clause (Article 1, section 8, clause 18)
- The Supremacy Clause (Article 6, section 1, clause 2)
Additional Political Cartoons Resources:
Congress Represented in Political Cartoons
Reviewing Big Civics Ideas through Political Cartoons
Find more Berryman cartoons in the Center for Legislative Archives in the exhibit " Running for Office ."
Return to Lesson Plans
If you have problems viewing this page, please contact [email protected] .
Developing Assignments in the Etta Hulme Political Cartoon Archive
- Why Use this Collection for Pedagogy?
- Searching the Collection
- Example 1: The Sociology of Immigration
- Example 2: Latin American Representation
Latino Representation in Etta Hulme's Cartoons
Curating a Set of Cartoons
The first step for a successful lesson plan based on the Hulme Cartoons is to curate a set of cartoons for the students to work with. See the "Searching the Collection" tab for more information on how to do this.
In Person vs. Virtual
If you are able to bring a class in to Special Collections, please reach out to Evan Spencer ([email protected]) as early as possible with your ideas, and preferably a list of cartoons you would like to work with.
If you are unable to bring a class to Special Collections, you can also download and/or print any cartoons from the Hulme Archive, totally free of charge!
Example Cartoon Set
For Dr. Alma Garza's Latinos and the American Narrative class in 2022 and 2023, we selected Hulme cartoons based on their representations of Latino/a identity. We searched the collection based on subtopics like: immigration, criminalization of immigration, and Latinos in media, politics, education, religion, and family. We identified 75 cartoons that fit this topical area. Since this was an in-person activity, the Public Services Archivist then worked to pull and sleeve each cartoon for use in the class session.
Learning Objectives
- To engage with primary sources in Special Collections and learn valuable critical thinking skills through experiential learning
- To engage in sociological analysis methods by identifying specific and broad themes within individual cartoons and across multiple cartoons and decades
- To connect class discussions with historical primary sources
Day-Of Logistics
For this activity, we chose to set up the cartoons on four tables, split up into decades.
Step One:
- Students walk around the four tables, getting an idea of the overall themes and messages presents
- After 5 minutes, students choose one cartoon to conduct their analysis activity
Step Two:
- Students are given a worksheet and work together in groups of two to analyze their chosen cartoon. The analysis portion was 10-15 minutes for this class session.
- Cartoon Title:
- Provide a one-two sentence statement describing the cartoon's takeaway message:
- What actions, characters, or statements in the cartoon help support the takeaway message?
- What major socio-political, cultural, and/or racial issues does the cartoon engage?
- What widespread Latino narrative is the cartoon reinforcing or challenging?
- After analyzing the cartoon with your partner, select two or three classroom concepts and discuss how they relate to the issues raised in the cartoons:
- Based on the issues raised in the selected cartoons, how do historical narratives about Latinos compare to present-day ones?
Download class worksheet example
- Latino Representation in Etta Hulme Cartoons Worksheet This worksheet was specifically developed for Dr. Alma Garza's Latinos and the American Narrative Sociology course at UT Arlington, offered in fall 2023.
Taking the Assignment Further
After their class visit, students continued to work on their cartoon-based research by further connecting the cartoon to class discussions and broader conversations around Latino representation in Hulme's Cartoons.
For their final project in the class, students had to present their findings... along with a political cartoon of their OWN design!
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Analyzing political cartoons -- middle grades.
Political cartoons are an excellent way to assess the popular culture of a particular time period. This lesson will combine history and language arts by asking students to examine various political cartoons in order to analyze point of view, symbolism, analogy, captions/labels, and irony, as is recommended in Pennsylvania’s Core Standards.
This lesson also will help students use their critical thinking skills to understand various historical events and, at the end of the lesson, students will have the opportunity to create their own cartoon. HSP has hundreds of political cartoons so if you find that you would like to use more, feel free to contact us for a full list of age appropriate cartoons for your classroom.
Essential Questions
Students will:
- Learn how to analyze political cartoons.
- Apply figures of speech such as Exaggeration, Irony, Analogy, and Symbolism.
- Understand the author’s point of view.
- Determine the importance of the historical moment.
Other Materials
Common Uses of Symbolism in Political Cartoons Workshee t Political Cartoon Analysis Worksheet
Suggested Instructional Procedures
1. To begin this lesson, it is important to discuss each of the vocabulary for analysis. These vocabulary words are set up to help your students determine the author’s point of view. You can use the examples given or come up with your own as you see fit. If your students have never seen some of the vocabulary words, this will probably take a little longer, yet for students who are already familiar with the terms this will work as a refresher.
2. Next, go over with the students the vocabulary for historical context. These are people or terms that will show up in the political cartoons; therefore, they should at least know the bare minimum. This way, when they see the words or names, they have enough background knowledge to understand the picture. It will be best for each student to be given a handout with the historical content necessary so that he or she can refer to it while observing the cartoons.
3. Now, explore the Common Symbolism worksheet with students. This will help them grasp common themes that will pop up in political cartoons, such as donkeys representing the Democratic Party, elephants representing the Republican Party, and rats representing dirt or filth, etc.
4. Once the students have sufficient background knowledge, you can display the political cartoons. Have the students take out their Political Cartoons Analysis worksheet and fill out a row for each cartoon. Make sure to walk students through the first cartoon, pointing out how each of the vocabulary is used in the cartoon.
5. By cartoon two or three, begin to let students write out on their own the symbolism, irony, point of view, exaggeration, and analogy that they find in the cartoons. By the end, they should be able to work independently to figure out what the cartoon is depicting, using their vocabulary and common symbolism worksheets as a guide. After students finish their independent assessment of a couple cartoons, present the findings with the class to make sure students understood.
6. As a final objective, ask students, individually or in pairs, to create a cartoon of their own which expresses their point of view on a specific topic. This final objective can be historical, relating to the topics in the cartoons, or something from their everyday life. For example, ask them how they would use symbolism to show things in their everyday life, such as “Cleaning their room,” “Lunchtime at school,” or “Snow Day,” just to give a couple of topic examples. Also, you could ask them to create a cartoon that talks about a specific topic in history that was being discussed such as the Civil War or a Presidential election etc.
Vocabulary needed for analysis: Symbolism: Something that stands for something else. For example, a heart can be a symbol for love. Irony : Words that mean that opposite of their usual meaning, for Example, a bald man named “Harry.” Analogy: Comparison between two different things that may have similar characteristics. For example, he is as loyal as a dog or she runs as fast as a cheetah. Exaggeration: Making something seem more that it really is, for example, telling your parents that if you do not get the toy you want, it will be the ‘end of the world.’ Inference: Conclusions reached based upon reasoning and evidence. For example, if I draw a picture of a bug with a big red X over it, based on the evidence from the picture you could infer that I do not like bugs.
Vocabulary for Historical Context : Abraham Lincoln: 16th president of the United States (1861-65). He was the president during the Civil War and he signed the Emancipation Proclamation that emancipated the slaves. Jefferson Davis: President of the South (confederacy) during the Civil War from 1861-65. William Taft: President of the United States from 1909-1913. Known for being a very large man. Woodrow Wilson: United States Democratic President after Taft (1913-1921). He is sometimes depicted as weak in political cartoons due to his views on maintaining neutrality rather than entering World War I. George McClellan: A General for the North during the Civil War. He believed in preserving the union first. Inauguration: A ceremony that begins a president’s term in office. Secession: Withdrawing or removing yourself from membership, usually withdrawing from membership in a government. For example, the southern states seceded from the Union during the civil war to form the Confederate States of America. Garfield: President of the United States (1881), yet only briefly because he was assassinated.
Plans in this Unit
Grade level, standards/eligible content, about the author.
Alicia Parks, Education Intern, Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Attention Teachers!
Let us know how you used this plan and be featured on our site! Submit your story here.
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Parents, Teachers, and Staff:
Use this page to download and print off a copy of the Political Cartoon Assignment directions and rubric.
NEXT ASSIGNMENT:
- For this assignment, your cartoon must pertain to a current event in or be related in some direct way to EAST ASIA: (China, Taiwan, Japan , N. Korea, or S. Korea )
- A due date for this and future assignments can always be found on my daily homework page under your class' section.
- The po litical cartoon above is for example only. DO NOT use this one for your assignment! In other words, find your own.
Related Files
Political Cartoon Directions and Rubric
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CNN values your feedback
An 8th grade social studies assignment is pulled after criticism from a police group and texas governor.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the National Fraternal Order of Police are denouncing a social studies assignment that included political cartoons depicting the treatment of Black people in American history.
One cartoon, which was used at Cooper Junior High School in Wylie, Texas, in mid-August, sparked outrage on social media, with critics saying it compared police to the Ku Klux Klan.
Some parents in the Wylie Independent School District just north of Dallas also complained about the assignment, which was posted online by an unidentified eighth-grade teacher.
One of the cartoons depicts five scenes of African American men lying on the ground with their hands shackled or tied behind their back, first with a White slave trader’s knee on their neck, then a slave owner in the same position, a hooded Ku Klux Klan member, a sheriff from the Jim Crow era and then what appears to be a rendering of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd’s neck.
Throughout the scenes, the Black man says he can’t breathe.
The National Fraternal Order of Police sent a letter to Wylie ISD Superintendent David Vinson on August 19 denouncing the assignment, saying it compared police officers to slave owners and the KKK. It asked the district to withdraw the assignment and issue an apology to parents.
University forces professor to change syllabus that threatened to dismiss students who argue against BLM, abortion or same-sex marriage
“I cannot begin to tell you how abhorrent and disturbing this comparison is, but what is more disturbing is that no adult within your school thought better before sending this assignment to children,” wrote Joe Gamaldi, the group’s vice president.
Abbott called for the teacher who gave the assignment to be fired and asked for an investigation by the Texas Education Agency.
“A teacher in a Texas public school comparing police officers to the KKK is beyond unacceptable,” the governor tweeted. “It’s the opposite of what must be taught.”
The written instructions for the assignment included a discussion about the First Amendment giving Americans the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press and the right to peaceably assemble, and noted some of the violent protests that have taken place across the US over the summer.
“In the midst of the protests following George Floyd’s death, some have criticized protesters for creating chaos, others say the violence is instigated by outside extremist groups, and many see police initiating violence at the protests (NY Times),” the assignment read.
It asked students to use their prior knowledge and online research to describe the role of protest in a democracy and asked them if protests could “lead to real change in America’s treatment of Black and brown people.”
A Nashville student-teacher was dismissed after a lesson on slavery the school says was not 'age appropriate'
It also asked what the cartoon said about US history and the death of Floyd.
CNN obtained screenshots of the assignment from a parent of an eighth-grade student at the school, although that parent’s child did not receive the assignment. The parent said they got the screenshots from another family at the school, and did not want their name used for fear of retribution.
Immediately following the outcry, the Wylie Independent School District issued a statement saying that the cartoons “are not part of the district’s curriculum resources or documents.”
“We are sorry for any hurt that may have been caused through this lesson. The assignment has been removed, and students will not be expected to complete it,” the statement said.
The district did not identify the teacher, citing privacy laws.
“We don’t condone the use of these divisive images and are addressing the issue to prevent this from happening again,” the statement said, adding that the district is complying “with the Governor and the Texas Education Agency to investigate this matter as we work together to rebuild trust in the community.”
The Texas Education Agency confirmed to CNN that it is investigating the assignment.
A source close to the investigation told CNN that the assignment was used by more than one teacher as part of instruction for social studies in the eighth grade. The source did not want to be named because they were not authorized to speak about the situation.
People commenting on social media felt the cartoon was too much for eighth graders to process, and called the teacher irresponsible for using it in an assignment. Others said it reflected what is seen in the news daily.
The cartoon, by syndicated editorial cartoonist David Fitzsimmons of the Arizona Daily Star, was originally published on May 31.
A teacher is on leave after asking students to 'set your price for a slave'
The National Coalition Against Censorship protested the district’s decision to remove the assignment from the school’s website. The coalition said the action creates “a dangerous precedent, putting teachers on notice that they cannot present any material that might be offensive to someone in the community.”
“Finally, we urge you to reaffirm your obligation to present students with views from across the political spectrum and to establish procedures that guarantee teachers can operate free from the fear of political censorship,” the group said in a statement August 26.
In an opinion article on Tucson.com , Fitzsimmons wrote that some mischaracterized his cartoon.
“I’m impressed the National Fraternal Order of Police is directing its fury at an illustration revealing how our present horrors are mere echoes of our cruel past,” he said.
“Perhaps it requires too much moral courage, or honest clear-eyed reflection, for the National Fraternal Order of Police to funnel their fury at the few racist police officers who disgrace their oath and their badges by disproportionately murdering African Americans.”
CNN’s Ashley Killough reported from Dallas with Alanne Orjoux writing in Atlanta
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In Moscow, the War Is Background Noise, but Ever-Present
Muscovites go about their daily lives with little major disruption. But the war’s effects are evident — in the stores, at the movies and in the increasingly repressive environment.
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By Valerie Hopkins
Photographs by Nanna Heitmann
Reporting from Moscow
Metro trains are running smoothly in Moscow, as usual, but getting around the city center by car has become more complicated, and annoying, because anti-drone radar interferes with navigation apps.
There are well-off Muscovites ready to buy Western luxury cars, but there are not enough available. And while a local election for mayor took place as it normally would last Sunday, many of the city’s residents decided not to vote, with the result seemingly predetermined (a landslide win by the incumbent).
Almost 19 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Muscovites are experiencing dual realities: The war has faded into background noise, causing few major disruptions, and yet it remains ever-present in their daily lives.
This month, Moscow is aflutter in red, white and blue flags for the annual celebration of the Russian capital’s birthday, No. 876. Its leaders marked the occasion with a monthlong exhibition that ended last Sunday. Featuring the country’s largest hologram, it showcased the city of 13 million people as a smoothly operating metropolis with a bright future. More than seven million people visited, according to the organizers.
There is little anxiety among residents over the drone strikes that have hit Moscow this summer. No alarm sirens to warn of a possible attack. When flights are delayed because of drone threats in the area, the explanation is usually the same as the one plastered on signs at the shuttered luxury boutiques of Western designers: “technical reasons.”
The city continues to grow. Cranes dot the skyline, and there are high-rise buildings going up all over town. New brands, some homegrown, have replaced the flagship stores like Zara and H&M, which departed after the invasion began in February 2022.
“We continue to work, to live and to raise our children,” said Anna, 41, as she walked by a sidewalk memorial marking the death of the Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin. She said she worked in a government ministry, and like others interviewed, she did not give her last name because of a fear of retribution.
But for some, the effects of war are landing harder.
Nina, 79, a pensioner who was shopping at an Auchan supermarket in northwestern Moscow, said that she had stopped buying red meat entirely, and that she could almost never afford to buy a whole fish.
“Just right now, in September, the prices rose tremendously,” she said.
Nina said that sanctions and ubiquitous construction projects were some reasons for higher prices, but the main reason, she said, was “because a lot is spent on war.”
“Why did they start it at all?” Nina added. “Such a burden on the country, on people, on everything. And people are disappearing — especially men.”
When asked about the biggest problems facing Russia, more than half of the respondents in a recent poll by the independent Levada Center cited price increases. The war, known in Russia as the “special military operation,” came in second, with 29 percent, tied with “corruption and bribery.”
“In principle, everything is getting more expensive,” said Aleksandr, 64, who said he worked as an executive director in a company. His shopping habits at the grocery store have not changed, but he said he had not traded in his luxury Western-branded car for a newer model.
“First of all, there are no cars,” he said, noting that most Western dealerships had left Russia and that Chinese brands had been taking their places on the roads.
The war has made itself evident outside supermarkets and auto dealerships. Moscow may be one of the few cities in Europe without sold-out showings of the movie “Barbie.” Warner Bros, which produced the film, pulled out of Russia shortly after Mr. Putin invaded Ukraine, and bootleg copies of “Barbie” were shown only in a few underground screenings .
Theaters regularly show movies that premiered more than five years ago because of licensing issues and strict new laws banning any mention of L.G.B.T.Q. people.
Advertisements to join the military are plastered on roadside billboards and on posters in convenience stores. Moscow’s metro recently stopped making announcements in English, with a Russian-language voice announcing every stop twice.
Cosmetically, Moscow is changing, too. A statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet political police, was inaugurated this past week in front of the headquarters of the foreign intelligence services. It is a copy of a statue that stood in front of the headquarters of the K.G.B. until it was torn down in 1991 by Russians hungry for freedom.
The election for mayor also underscored the sea change in Russian politics. A decade ago, the opposition politician Aleksei A. Navalny stood as a candidate against Sergei S. Sobyanin. Now, Mr. Navalny is in jail, and there was no real competition for Mr. Sobyanin, who won a third term with an unprecedented 76 percent of the vote.
Other parties, including the Communist Party , fielded a candidate against the incumbent, but they are all considered “systemic opposition” parties, or groups in Parliament nominally in opposition but who align their policies with the Kremlin on most issues.
“Before the war, I still voted,” said Vyacheslav I. Bakhmin, a chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, the oldest human rights group in Russia. “I don’t want to vote now because, well, the result seems to be clear, right?”
Many in Moscow chose not to vote, though turnout was at a two-decade high because of electronic voting that allows Muscovites to cast a ballot online. There is also heavy-handed encouragement of public sector employees to vote.
Mr. Sobyanin, 65, benefited from a carefully cultivated image as an effective manager, and Moscow’s cleanliness and ease of getting around are praised even by people who oppose his political party. He has made transportation a hallmark of his tenure, and he not only keeps the trains running efficiently, but is opening brand-new stations.
The elections in Moscow and in more than 20 Russian regions are widely seen as a test run for presidential elections in March. Mr. Putin has not declared his candidacy, but he is widely expected to run.
As Mr. Putin presides over a war with no end in sight, the authorities have worked to limit public expressions of dissent and make things seem as normal as possible. Aleksei A. Venediktov, who headed the liberal Echo of Moscow radio station before the Kremlin shut it down last year, said that the government had engineered the war’s absence from political spaces.
“This war, it is mainly on TV, or on Telegram channels, but it is not on the street, it is not even discussed in cafes and restaurants, because it is dangerous, because the laws that have been adopted are repressive,” Mr. Venediktov said. He noted cases in which people expressing antiwar views were denounced — or in some cases reported to the police — by those sitting next to them on the subway or in restaurants.
“People prefer to tell one another, ‘Let’s not talk about it here,’” Mr. Venediktov said. “And that’s why you can’t see it in the mood.”
In Moscow City, an area of skyscrapers that is the Russian capital’s answer to New York’s Financial District, many people casually dismissed a series of drone strikes that damaged some of the buildings there but resulted in no casualties.
One woman, Olga, who said she worked nearby, just nodded as a colleague shrugged off the potential risk.
Later, Olga sent a New York Times journalist a message on the Telegram messaging app: “I couldn’t say anything, because at work they don’t talk about a position like mine,” she wrote. “I am against war and I hate our political system.”
When there is a drone strike inside Russia, she said, “I always hope that maybe someone will think about what it means to live under shelling, and regret the loss of our normal life before the war.” She said that if the explosions do not cause casualties, then “I don’t regret damage to the buildings at all.”
Mr. Venediktov said that even if changes on Moscow’s surface were hard to see, and increasingly harder to discuss, people were truly transforming inside.
“People are starting to return to the Soviet practice, when public conversations can lead to trouble at work,” he said. “It’s like toxic poisoning — a very slow process.”
An earlier version of this article misstated which birthday Moscow is celebrating this year. It is No. 876, not No. 867.
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Valerie Hopkins is an international correspondent for The Times, covering the war in Ukraine, as well as Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. More about Valerie Hopkins
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Letovo Schoolcampus / atelier PRO
- Curated by Fernanda Castro
- Architects: atelier PRO
- Area Area of this architecture project Area: 39000 m²
- Year Completion year of this architecture project Year: 2018
- Photographs Photographs: NARODIZKIY , Dmitry Voinov , atelier PRO
- Interior Design : Atelier PRO , Thijs Klinkhamer
- Landscape Designer : Buro Sant en Co
- Client: Letovo
- Project Architects: Dorte Kristensen, Pascale Leistra, Karho Yeung
- Design Team: Thijs Klinkhamer, Abel de Raadt, Alessia Topolnyk
- Russian Co Architect: Atrium, Moscow
- City: Moscow
- Country: Russia
- Did you collaborate on this project?
Text description provided by the architects. The official grand opening of a special school, Letovo School , took place in Moscow last September. The assignment entailed a 20 hectare schoolcampus with educational facilities, student housing and school staff housing. The school campus offers extended outdoor sports facilities with a soccer stade, a running track, tennis courts and basketball courts. In addition there is a greenhouse, a treeyard and ample space for wandering and relaxation in the green.
While the architecture and interior of the school were designed by atelier PRO, the landscape design was developed by Buro Sant en Co landscape architecture. Russian firm Atrium Architectural Studio was responsible for the technical execution. In 2014 Atelier PRO had won the international design competition, the construction began mid-2016 and the campus was taken into use by mid-2018.
Letovo, a dream come true Letovo School is a special school for gifted and motivated children aged 12 to 17. The idea to create the school came from entrepreneur and philanthropist Vadim Moshkovich: ‘My dream was to offer talented children from all over the country access to high-quality education, regardless of their parents’ financial means. This school makes it possible for them to continue their studies at the 10 best universities in the country or at one of the top 50 universities in the world.’
Landscape-inspired design and shape Located in Novaya Moskva,southwest of Moscow ,the campus sits atop a beautiful plot of land that slopes down to a forest-lined river. Distinctive level variations were applied in and around the school to integrate the architecture into the landscape.
The shape of the large complex brings it down to a human scale for the children: the building appears to dance across the landscape due to its dynamic design. Due to the perspective effect one only ever sees part of the building's full size when walking around, which gives the impression of a refined scale. The building’s contours and flowing curves create surprising indoor and outdoor spaces as well.
The heart of the school: the central hub The central hub is the place where day-to-day life at the school unfolds. This flexible, transformable space will be used throughout the day as an informal meeting place. The dance studio on the ground floor can be transformed through a few simple adjustments into a theatre with a stage, a cosy living room or an auditorium that can accommodate 1,000 people for special events such as graduation ceremonies and large celebrations, as seen at the grand opening. This central hub connects the building’s three wings: the art wing, the south wing with science- and general-use rooms and the sports wing
Learning environment with a diversity in working spaces Letovo envisioned an innovative and modern take on existing education in Russia. In the spatial design, this perspective translates into space for theoretical education as well as special areas for group work and independent study in the tapered building wings. In the library wing there are silence spaces workshop spaces and a debating room. These are all supportive to the student’s personal development.
Sports programme In addition to the extended sports outdoor facilities, the indoor supply of sports facilities is substantial. These cover fitness rooms, martial arts rooms, a swimming pool, a small and a large sports hall. Around the sports hall there’s an indoor running track which can be used throughout the year. It is available to school staff and external users as well.
The interior, also designed by atelier PRO, is tailored to the aims of the ambitious programme. The design of the interior also focuses extensively on the various spaces where students can go to chill and meet up with friends. The extreme cold in this area makes the school’s indoor atmosphere important for relaxation.
Ambitous learning environment The Russian client has established a private, non-profit school which aims to be the most prestigious school in the country and to offer the best educational programme through a Russion and an IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum. Students’ personal development is paramount, with the school adopting a holistic approach. It is a true learning environment that provides scope for a range of disciplines, areas of interest and recreational opportunities to foster children’s development. This aim is supported by the campus facilities and functions.
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Project location
Address: zimenkovskaya street, sosenskoye settlement, moscow, russia.
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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.
Jump to: Preparation Procedure Evaluation 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 ...
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...
1. Make copies of three political cartoons taken from recent newspapers and magazines. Then make copies of three political cartoons from your history textbook. Try to choose clear, concise cartoons on issues familiar to your students.
The ClipArt ETC website offers over 300 political cartoons for classroom use. Although you may have to do a little searching to find specific topics, many of the cartoons have been tagged with specific time periods or topics: All political cartoons Cartoons by Thomas Nast Election of 1868 Grant Administration Election of 1872 Election of 1876
Here are my go-to spots for grabbing high-resolution current and historical political cartoons: Daryl Cagle's searchable database of current cartoons The Week's and US News's collections of recent cartoons
Common Assignment 2. HS History Task 2: Cartoon Analysis—Teacher Instructions. Standards. • Common Core: RH.11-12.1. • Colorado: SS.HS.1.1.a. Performance Outcome. Students can analyze political cartoons to accurately identify the cartoonist's point of view and how the historical context of the cartoon impacts that perspective.
Analyzing Political Cartoons A Lesson from the Education Department The National WWII Museum ... TIME REQUIREMENT: One class period, and possible homework assignment. DIRECTIONS: 1. Using the attached information sheets, have a brief, introductory discussion of political cartooning ... After he graduated from the local high school, he attended ...
Summary In this lesson, students will analyze 16 political cartoons drawn by Clifford and Jim Berryman during the early to mid-20th century. They will search through the Constitution and associate each cartoon with a specific clause. Through networking exercises, students will analyze all 16 cartoons and read the entire Constitution. They will learn about the outline and structure of the ...
Political Cartoons Lesson Plan Grades 10 - 12 4. Individual Have students pick a theme and draw a political cartoon, using the questions in Activity 1 as a guideline. 5. Small-group or open-ended class discussion Examine political cartoons from various local papers, regions of Canada or foreign countries. Do the papers have
This guide is intended to demonstrate potential uses of the Etta Hulme Political Cartoon Archive in University (and K-12) classrooms. The Etta Hulme Papers are held by UT Arlington Libraries Special Collections.
How do I begin to create a political cartoon? First you must ask yourself, "What is the issue I want to write about?" There are so many choices, I'm going to try and help you narrow these down. Here is a brief list to help you think about what topic might be interesting to you, as well as some things to think about as you begin. Topic Ideas:
Benchmark 5: The student engages in historical thinking skills. 1. (A) analyzes a theme in United States history to explain patterns of continuity and change over time. 2. (A) develops historical questions on a specific topic in United States history and analyzes the evidence in primary source documents to speculate on the answers.
Political cartoons are an excellent way to assess the popular culture of a particular time period. This lesson will combine history and language arts by asking students to examine various political cartoons in order to analyze point of view, symbolism, analogy, captions/labels, and irony, as is recommended in Pennsylvania's Core Standards.
Level: Grades 10 - 12 Author: This unit was created by Todd Solar as part of a Media Education course taught by John Pungente at the Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba, 1992. Overview . In this lesson, students decode and explain the relevance of editorial cartoons. The class begins with a teacher-led deconstruction of a political cartoon, after which students decode editorial ...
NEXT ASSIGNMENT: - For this assignment, your cartoon must pertain to a current event in or be related in some direct way to EAST ASIA: (China, Taiwan, Japan , N. Korea, or S. Korea) - A due date for this and future assignments can always be found on my daily homework page under your class' section. - The political cartoon above is for example only.
A lesson that uses political cartoons go occupy students in a depth understanding of Get Washington's presidency. Apprentices examine political animate, created in 2005 by well-known political cartoonists from newspapers cross the country in of Donald WATT. Arnold Museum and Education Center at Mount Vernon, to forschend issues related the the president's title, the Jay Treaty, plus the debate ...
Political Cartoons Cartoon 1 for Practice/Introduction "Fire!" Created by Herb Block. Published in the Washington Post (25) June 17, 1949. Reproduction from original drawing. Link for enlarged picture: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/herblocks-history/fire.html Cartoon 2 for Common Assignment Student Work Sample "It's Okay...We're Hunting Communists"
Political cartoons often use visual metaphors and caricatures to explain complicated political situations, and thus sum up an event with a humorous or emotional picture that reflects the political situation or event. ... In this assignment you are to create a political cartoon for one of the Kings or Queens of England that we learned about in ...
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the National Fraternal Order of Police are denouncing a social studies assignment that included political cartoons depicting the treatment of Black people in American ...
About Ms. Bonzo. Welcome to 4th Grade! Raise the Roof! A little background: My teaching career started in St. Augustine, Florida, after graduating from the University of South Alabama. Then, my husband and I lived, taught, and traveled overseas for almost a decade in Algeria, Singapore, and the Dominican Republic before coming to Idaho.
Almost 19 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Muscovites are experiencing dual realities: The war has faded into background noise, causing few major disruptions, and yet it remains ever-present ...
Sep 9, 2023 Updated Sep 9, 2023. Six candidates are vying for three Moscow City Council seats ahead of Latah County's Nov. 7 general election. Incumbents Sandra Kelly and Drew Davis are each ...
Completed in 2018 in Moscow, Russia. Images by NARODIZKIY, Dmitry Voinov, atelier PRO. The official grand opening of a special school, Letovo School, took place in Moscow last September. The ...