Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource in the following sequence:

20 mins

Tune In: The power of texts

30 mins

Find Out: Breaking down texts

20 mins

Take Action: Animated cartoons as persuasion

5 mins

Reflection

Tune In: The power of texts

Step 1.

Project the following political cartoon, The End of Poverty by Kyaw Thu Yein, onto the board. It is also on the Student Worksheet.

Step 2

To help students tune in to political cartoon analysis, use the ‘See, Think, Wonder’ thinking routine, which encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations, stimulating curiosity and inquiry.

See	Provide students with some time to look at the cartoon initially. Ask students to pair up and describe to each other exactly what they see in the cartoon. There should be no judgement in what students see. On the whiteboard, model annotating the cartoon, drawing arrows to each of the elements that are correctly identified and labelling these. Encourage students to annotate their Student Worksheets along with you. Students might identify the following elements: an ocean scene with a grey stormy sky in the background; a group of people lined up in front of a camera; a person shouting ‘pull’; hands waving from the water labelled ‘poverty’; a fish jumping out looking surprised.
Think	Ask students to describe what they think about what they are seeing. Considering questions like “What else is going on here?” or “How does this make you feel?” can help students support their opinions with evidence. Add to the initial annotations in a different colour to build on the class’ original identifications. Students might have the following thoughts: people are aware of the issue, but no one seems to be doing anything about it; people are more concerned with pretending to help in front of a camera; people in poverty are drowning in a storm.
Wonder	Ask students to express what other thoughts this cartoon evokes. It could be a question or a related issue that comes to mind. Prompt students to wonder about issues of power, compassion, or ignorance. Students might wonder why people can see others in need but do nothing more than pose in front of a camera, or ask why people would pretend to be pulling a rope that isn’t there.

Find Out: Breaking down texts

Step 1

Explain that political cartoons are an effective method of conveying a point of view in an efficient and accessible way—a picture speaks a thousand words, as they say! However, there are some technical elements that cartoonists employ as a means to communicate their point of view.

Students can find these elements on the table on their Student Worksheet (also reflected below).

Step 2

Ask students if they have heard of any of the words from the table and if anyone can define them. If their definition fits the sample below, move forward with the student’s definition—this will give them confidence with the terminology.

Otherwise, move through each of the terms, giving a definition and using the ‘Tune In’ cartoon if students need an example to help them understand each.

Element	Definition	Cartoon 1: Technology Against Poverty	Cartoon 2: Privilege
Subject	A person, issue, idea or event that is recognisable.
Target	The focus of the cartoon. Likely being impacted in some way.
Symbolism	Expressing a general idea through a particular item
Context	The setting should be immediately recognisable (ie place, time of day, historical or social context)
Stereotypes	Oversimplified and generalised images or ideas to add to humour and make a point.
Caricature	A deliberately distorted depiction of a person’s physical appearance.
Captioning	Words sometimes used to label elements or otherwise ensure clarity of meaning
Tone	The author’s attitude towards the topic. Might range from compassionate or sarcastic to bitter or angry.

Step 3

Students may have questions despite having a working understanding of each of these terms,but you can address these 1:1 when the class moves into this group activity. Organise students into pairs or triads, depending on what works best for your context.

You may like to organise your groups to leverage the skills of your class best. Sometimes, choosing groups can be more effective than allowing students to work with their direct friendship group, but you will know your classroom context best.

Assign each pair or triad either Cartoon 1 or Cartoon 2 (this will decide which of the two cartoons from their worksheet they will be breaking down together). There will be multiple groups working on Cartoon 1 (Technology Against Poverty by Alfredo Martirena) and multiple groups working on Cartoon 2 (Privilege by Daniel Garcia).

Step 4

Instruct students that in their groups, they will identify techniques listed in the table above used in their assigned cartoon. They will have about 10 minutes for this task.

Step 5

Ask groups to match up with another pair/triad focused on the same cartoon to share answers for 5 minutes. Explain to students that their goal is to employ a ‘+1 Routine’ (Harvard Project Zero) and to add at least one new insight to their group.

Step 6

Groups should now switch to joining a group that focused on the other cartoon. Encourage students to share different elements so students can discuss the similarities and differences between the cartoons.

Step 7

Wrap up the discussion by asking the class what they have learned about the power of political cartoons to represent particular values, beliefs and attitudes.

Ask students about the additional techniques they identified from sharing with another group and their effect on the cartoonist’s message.

Student responses will vary, but it is hoped they will identify that cartoonists use the elements or features of cartoons to explicitly and implicitly convey their point of view. If needed, prompt them to identify explicit and implicit ideas the cartoon expresses.

Regarding Cartoon 1, Technology Against Poverty, make a point of asking students how the poor are characterised, as this is a good example of caricature.

Student responses will vary but might include: unkempt, poorly dressed, primitive, laid-back (and possibly lazy). They should be as specific as possible in identifying aspects of the image that give each impression.

Take Action: Animated cartoons as persuasion

Preparation

To give some context around this Take Action and the resources students will use in the following steps, you might like to explain to your students that this lesson builds off of the work of an organisation called The Life You Can Save. The Life You Can Save works to eliminate poverty. They conduct research to identify non-profits running highly impactful programs that address the multiple dimensions of poverty. They also help connect people who want to donate money and resources with these non-profits to maximise the impact of their gifts. They aim to create a world where everyone has an opportunity to build a great life and where there’s no suffering or death due to extreme poverty.

Step 1

Explain to students that it is time to apply their skills to a slightly different medium: an animated cartoon.

Play this clip (3 minutes) to the class, narrated by Peter Singer about his original scenario for The Life You Can Save:

The Shallow Pond: Would You Save a Drowning Child? - The Life You Can Save (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu-WUHD6mKg)

Step 2

Instruct students to make some brief notes against each of the elements in the ‘Cartoon 3 The Shallow Pond’ column.

Step 3

Facilitate a class discussion about each of the elements.

Were students able to make notes on all of them? Why/why not?
Was it evident the cartoonist was using similar techniques?
- Students should be able to see the parallels between political cartoons and this cartoon, especially thematically. However, it is likely they note there are some differences in the media, especially as the animation used a voice-over to highlight the ethical dilemmas.

Step 4

Explain that the animated cartoon is based on the work of Peter Singer and his book The Life You Can Save and the ethical dilemma of what motivates people to help a child in a life-threatening situation.

Read the following excerpt to students from The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer (p3-5) or ask a student(s) to read this to the class:

“Think about something like that happening hundreds of times every day. Some children die because they don’t have enough to eat. More die from measles, malaria and diarrhoea—conditions that either don’t exist in developed nations or, if they do, are almost never fatal. The children are vulnerable to these diseases because they have no safe drinking water or no sanitation and because when they do fall ill, their parents can’t afford any medical treatment or may not even be aware that treatment is needed. Oxfam, Against Malaria Foundation, Evidence Action, and many other organisations are working to reduce poverty or provide mosquito nets or safe drinking water. These efforts are reducing the toll. If these organisations had more money, they could do even more, and more lives would be saved.”

Step 5

Re-watch the animated clip one more time. This time, ask students to identify the most persuasive features of the cartoon individually. This is particularly about the words, phrases or visuals students find are the most persuasive. Remind students to be mindful of emotional reactions and appeals to logic and reasoning.

Ask students to note the top 3 most persuasive features from the clip.
Prompt students that they could identify an emotion evoked, an element of the animation, or that the narrator is building some credibility or using logic and reasoning to persuade the viewer.

Reflection

Invite students to reflect on the impact of the cartoons from this lesson. They could write a short reflection at the bottom of their worksheet or you might like to conduct this as a classroom discussion.

How have these cartoons affected your awareness of communicating messages?

Values and Attitudes in Political Cartoons

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