ALEX Learning Activity

  

Flipping Out Over Cartoons: Rhetorical Analysis of Editorial Cartoons

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Julie Powell
System:Elmore County
School:Elmore County High School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 1881
Title:
Flipping Out Over Cartoons: Rhetorical Analysis of Editorial Cartoons
Digital Tool/Resource:
Flipgrid
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

In this learning activity, students will focus on the rhetorical analysis of visual texts to determine an author's purpose and message. First, students will view a video on analyzing political or editorial cartoons. By identifying and analyzing labels, symbols, exaggeration, irony, analogy, and argument, students will be able to infer the artist's/author's intended message of the editorial cartoon. Then, students will practice analyzing other cartoons with the same process utilizing the tech tool Flipgrid (from Common Sense Education:  Flipgrid is a website that allows teachers to create "grids" of short discussion-style questions that students respond to through recorded videos. Each grid is effectively a message board where teachers can pose a question, and their students can post 90-second video responses that appear in a tiled "grid" display.)

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 11
R4. Use digital and electronic tools appropriately, safely, and ethically.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
R4.
  • Digital tools
  • Electronic tools
  • Appropriately
  • Safely
  • Ethically
Knowledge:
R4. Students know:
  • Digital and electronic tools must be used appropriately, safely, and ethically.
Skills:
R4. Students are able to:
  • Engage in safe and ethical behavior when using digital and electronic tools.
Understanding:
R4. Students understand that:
  • Safe behaviors, interactions that keep you out of harm's way, are necessary when using digital and electronic tools.
  • Ethical behavior, interactions that align to one's moral code, are necessary when using digital and electronic tools.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 11
1. Read, analyze, and evaluate complex literary and informational texts written from various points of view and cultural perspectives, with an emphasis on works of American literature.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
1.
  • Analyze
  • Evaluate
  • Complex literary text
  • Complex informational texts
  • Points of view
  • Cultural perspectives
  • American literature
Knowledge:
1. Students know:
  • Necessary skills to read, analyze, and evaluate complex literary and informational texts.
  • Strategies to identify and describe various points of view and cultural perspectives.
Skills:
1. Students are able to:
  • Read complex texts.
  • Analyze elements within complex texts.
  • Evaluate text based on specific criteria provided by teacher.
Understanding:
1. Students understand that:
  • Texts written from various cultural perspectives and viewpoints can provide them with valuable information about the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of others.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 11
6. Analyze a text's explicit and implicit meanings to make inferences about its theme and determine the author's purpose.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
6.
  • Analyze
  • Explicit
  • Implicit
  • Inferences
  • Theme
  • Author's purpose
Knowledge:
6. Students know:
  • Strategies to comprehend explicit and implicit text meaning.
  • Inference skills.
  • Methods to identify the theme and purpose of a text.
Skills:
6. Students are able to:
  • Making inferences about the theme and purpose of a text by analyzing a text's explicit and implicit meanings.
Understanding:
6. Students understand that:
  • Text often has an explicitly stated meaning and an implied meaning.
  • They can combine their explicit and implicit understanding to infer the theme and the author's purpose for writing the text.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 11
15. Analyze digital texts and evaluate their effectiveness in terms of subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
15.
  • Analyze
  • Digital texts
  • Evaluate
  • Effectiveness
  • Subject
  • Occasion
  • Audience
  • Purpose
  • Tone
  • Credibility
Knowledge:
15. Students know:
  • Digital texts, such as online academic journals, social media, and blogs, have various subjects, appropriate occasions, intended audiences, purposes, and tones.
  • A credible source is free from bias and supported with relevant evidence.
  • Strategies to evaluate digital text based on a set of identified criteria.
Skills:
15. Students are able to:
  • Identify and analyze digital texts' subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of a digital text's subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility.
Understanding:
15. Students understand that:
  • It is important to evaluate the credibility of digital text.
  • Digital texts will focus on different subjects, be used on different occasions, are created with different intended audiences, have different purposes, and a variety of tones.
  • The effectiveness of a digital text can be assessed by identifying its subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility.
Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to identify and analyze labels, symbols, exaggeration, irony, analogy, and argument in an editorial cartoon to determine the author's/artist's point of view, message, and purpose.

Students will use evidence (labels, symbols, exaggeration, and irony) to support their analysis of inferences and arguments drawn from the cartoon. 

 

 
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

1. As a class, the students will view a YouTube video titled "Analyzing Political Cartoons" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyrMlkKTB3Y) and take notes on the steps the presenter uses to analyze the political cartoon in the video. (The video is approximately 8 minutes as it analyzes contemporary and historical cartoons; however, teachers may choose only to show the first 5 minutes, which analyzes the modern cartoon on steroid use in baseball.)

2. Divide students into groups of two or three. The students will use online search tools to find an editorial cartoon on a topic (examples: American Dream, gender inequality, pop culture, the economy, etc.). After students locate an editorial cartoon, the students will analyze the cartoon using the steps learned in the video (labels, symbols, exaggeration, irony, analogy, argument). Tying the topic to a theme you will study in class is best.

3. Then, using Flipgrid (see Advanced Preparation steps), the students will video their analysis of the cartoon. The cartoon should be on camera the entire time. They can circle the various features of the cartoon as they voice-over the analysis (much like the YouTube video but with less detail as they only have 90 seconds). Flipgrid videos can be shared with the whole class, in groups, or individually.
Assessment Strategies:
Advanced Preparation:

***Device with internet access and projection capability is needed for the teacher. Devices with internet access are needed for each student group.***

1. Create a FREE Flipgrid account at https://flipgrid.com/

2. Create a GRID and title it Flipping Out Over Cartoons (You can only have one grid at a time for free accounts.) For topic details, enter the following: In a 90-second video, analyze your cartoon concerning labels, exaggeration, irony, symbol, analogy, and an argument. Be specific. Your cartoon should be showcased in your video the entire time. Circle the elements in your cartoon as you explain them. 

3. Share the grid code with students. Students will not need an account, only the code you give them. This will allow them to access the grid and record their video using a laptop or mobile device (with the Flipgrid app).

More information about getting started on Flipgrid:  https://resources.flipgrid.com/
Variation Tips (optional):

Depending on time and student level, the teacher may want to pre-select editorial cartoons for students to analyze.

After viewing the video, the teacher may want to practice analyzing a few cartoons as a whole class to check for understanding before moving into group analysis.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

This makes a great cross-curricular activity between ELA and history.
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: analyzing political cartoons, argument, crosscurricular, exaggeration, flipgrid, irony, research