Little Orphan Annie (3–5)
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Political Cartoons and Comic Strips Table of Contents Political Cartoons and Comic Strips Overview ................................170 Quick Ideas for Examining Political Cartoons and Comic Strips ...............172 Exemplar Lessons Bowery Boy Detective (K–2) ................................................173 Lesson Plan .............................................................173 Student Resources . 176 Little Orphan Annie (3–5) ...................................................179 Lesson Plan .............................................................179 Student Resources . 182 Standard Oil (6–8). 185 Lesson Plan .............................................................185 Student Resources . 188 ABCs for Baby Patriots (9–12) ...............................................193 Lesson Plan .............................................................193 Student Resources . 197 © Shell Education #51478—Analyzing and Writing with Primary Sources 169 Political Cartoons and Comic Strips Overview What Is Their Importance? Political cartoons and comic strips are primary source documents that give us a visual of life during the times in which they were created. Through these documents we learn how people dressed, how they talked, and the hot topics of that time period. Some of the primary sources included in the exemplar lessons are a comic book cover, Little Orphan Annie comic strip, Standard Oil political cartoon, and excerpts of cartoons from a children’s book during the age of British imperialism. These are only a very small sampling of what can be included in the category of political cartoons and comic strips. Political Cartoons and Strips Comic How Have They Changed Over Time? Political cartoons and comic strips have changed over time. Long ago, these visual documents had more text and detailed images that told a story. Today, these images have grown simpler, but have no less satire. In one way or another, comic strip topics tend to reflect the concerns of the time. Whether students are analyzing cartoons and comics from long ago or current ones found in newspapers and online, inferential skills are still needed to decode the message being shared. Where Can I Find Them? Political cartoons and comic strips are visual documents that can be found at the prints and photographs division of the Library of Congress, books, newspapers, and online databases in the form of digitized documents. Entire books at the library can contain vintage comic strips from long ago and can be used with a document camera so that all students have access to them. Why Should I Use Them in the Classroom? Visual literacy is the ability to understand communications composed of visual images and the ability to use visual imagery to communicate to others. Political cartoons and comic strips from the past communicate concerns and ideals visually with us today. These documents are reader-friendly because they contain a short amount of text as well as visual images to support the text or dialogue. Sarcasm usually plays a big role, which is often a difficult concept for students to grasp. However, the visuals lend a large amount of support in understanding these documents. As students study these visual documents, they gain an appreciation of past societies, their struggles, and what they valued as a society. This knowledge helps students expand their global view of the past and the present, realizing that, while times and surroundings might change, in many ways what people value has stayed the same. At the same time, students become strong visual readers. Having strong visual literacy skills helps students decode information found in other visual images like charts, graphs, and maps. 170 #51478—Analyzing and Writing with Primary Sources © Shell Education Political Cartoons and Strips Comic Political Cartoons and Comic Strips Overview (cont.) How Do I Use Them for Instruction? Comic strips and political cartoons are great documents to introduce students to a topic. Political cartoons require deep digging to get to the message of the cartoon. Comic strips are often more simplified and carry a dialogue that helps us to understand what is going on. Both of these types of documents can be acted out. Students can analyze these and then create their own in today’s language or images. Scaffolding for First, students should scan the image Elementary Students for the primary focus or main attraction. The creator of the image uses a Grades K–2: Use very simple primary focus or main attraction to cartoons. Consider cartoon grab a reader’s attention. It could be a characters that students are familiar caricature of a person or an object. Then, students should examine the interaction with first. with that primary focus. Is the person Grades 3–5: Guide these students doing something? Is the object doing through a think-aloud as you something or is something being done with that object? Next, students should examine the cartoon or comic strip. use clues to decide on the intended Then, give students a similar one to audience. Often, questions such as “Who analyze in small groups in the same would this appeal to?” and “What point way. of view is this taking?” help students determine the intended audience. Students can then determine the context of the document. Often, political cartoons and comic strips reflect an important news story or event during that time. These events give context to the visual image(s). Students should look for symbols within the cartoon or comic strip. What do these symbols mean? And finally, students should examine any other small themes within the cartoon. These little details often tell us more about the image. Students should be taught to examine the following: 1. Scan to find the primary focus. 2. Look at the interaction that is taking place with that primary focus. 3. Determine the intended audience. Ask, • Who would this appeal to? • What point of view is this taking? 4. Determine the context of the document. 5. Look at the other symbols that are included and determine their meaning. 6. Look for other small details that share important themes or information. © Shell Education #51478—Analyzing and Writing with Primary Sources 171 Quick Ideas for Examining Political Cartoons and Comic Strips Ideas for K–2 Ideas for 3–5 Ideas for Secondary Have students… Have students… Have students… • re-enact the image using • make suggestions for • recreate the primary their physical bodies. changing the language source to make the and symbols to reflect same point using write new dialogue to • today’s society. imagery and symbols replace any dialogue in from today. the primary source. write new or • Political Cartoons and Strips Comic replacement dialogue list the symbols used add new frames or • • to more effectively and describe each images to show what show the author’s symbol with the happens next. purpose. emotions it evokes. add new frames or • write explanations that redraw the political images to show what • • clearly explain the cartoon or comic strip happened before. meaning of the primary from different historical • make new cartoons source. perspectives. about the same subject. • write new captions to • write letters to a accompany the image. newspaper editor arguing with the point compare and contrast • of view shared in the two similar cartoons or primary source. comic strips. • create political cartoons or comic strips that show what happens later. • critique the primary source by writing critical reviews. 172 #51478—Analyzing and Writing with Primary Sources © Shell Education Political Cartoons and Comic Strips Grades K–2 Bowery Boy Detective Teacher Background Information Overview Bowery Boy Comic Book Cover • One of the favorite weekly series of stories for Students closely read a comic book boys in the early 1900s was the Bowery Boy cover and answer questions about the Library. Ernest Avon Young, John H. Whitson, text, supporting their answers with and W. Bert Foster were the actual authors, but references to the text. Then students the stories were all written under the pen name create comic book covers to show John R. Conway. The series was about Bowery their opinion of what heroes mean to Billy, a poor, homeless boy detective who solved them, using the texts as references for mysteries in “the whirlpools and slums” of the creating their own ideas. great city of New York. The stories were about his resourcefulness and courage in the face of great problems. The Winner Library Company published Standards the series. The first Bowery Billy story appeared on October 21, 1905, and the last one was published • Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, on September 14, 1907. why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in Reading Closely a text. 1. Distribute copies of Bowery Boy Comic Book Cover • Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they to students. are writing about, state an opinion, 2. Have students look at the comic book cover in supply reasons that support the pairs. If possible, give students magnifying glasses opinion, use linking words to to see the comic book cover up close. connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or 3. Read the text aloud to students. Have the section. students circle any words that are unfamiliar. Understand changes in community • Begin the discussion by asking students to share life over time. 4. what they observed about the comic book cover. Materials 5. Ask students to share words they circled and discuss their meanings. Use the discussion • Bowery Boy Comic Book Cover questions from the Language section on page 175 (page 176) to help facilitate this discussion. Allow students to make notes or draw pictures to help them Modern day comic book cover • remember the meanings of the difficult words. • Superheroes (page 177) • Looking at Comic Books (page 178) • Opinion/Argument Writing Rubric 1 (page 305) • magnifying glasses (optional) © Shell Education #51478—Analyzing and Writing with Primary Sources 173 Political Cartoons and Comic Strips K–2 Exemplar Lesson Bowery Boy Detective (cont.) Using Text-Dependent Questions Writing for Understanding (Opinion/Argument) 6.