literacy

by: Ashley Kennedy and Amanda Burleson

Audience
The intended audience for this media project is fourth and fifth grade students at Bethel Elementary.
Our fourth and fifth graders at Betel School are between the ages of nine and eleven years old. At this point in their school careers, students are learning to become more analytical, and our goal in developing this lesson is to allow students to critically analyze media in the form of political cartoons.

Our Instructional Goals for this Lesson

to create an understanding of political cartoons; their purpose as a tool of communication of ideas and opinions.
develop skills of analysis that students will use in their everyday encounters with media.
to use the study of the cartoons to aid in teaching NC Social Studies (4) and US Social Studies (5) or current political issues, such as the upcoming Presidential campaigns and primaries.
Foster student’s comprehension and creativity through the creation of their own political cartoon to express their views and opinions (the topic can vary from national concerns to concerns within their own school and community).
Practice determining fact from opinion.
Practicing the writing process through an opinion paragraph on a cartoon of their choosing.

How this cartoon lesson will meet the goals of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study in Language Arts, Information skills, and Social Studies:

Grade 5 Language Arts Curriculum

2.07 Evaluate the usefulness and quality of information and ideas based on purpose, experiences, text(s), and graphics.

2.10 Identify strategies used by a speaker or writer to inform, entertain, or influence an audience.

Grade 4 Language Arts Curriculum

1.04 Increase reading and writing vocabulary through writing process elements.
writing as a tool for learning
examining the author’s craft.

5.03 Elaborate information and ideas in writing and speaking by using:
    simple and compound sentences
    regular and irregular verbs
    adverbs
    prepositions
    coordinating conjunctions

5.04 Compose multiple paragraphs with:
    topic sentences
    specific, relevant details
    logical progression and movement of ideas
    coherence
    elaboration
    concluding statement related to the topic

2.05 Evaluate inferences, conclusions, and generalizations and provide evidence by referencing
the text(s).

2.06 Analyze choice of reading materials congruent with purposes (e.g., reading for information, reading to extend content area learning, reading for pleasure, entertainment).

2.07 Evaluate the usefulness and quality of information and ideas based on purpose, experience, text(s), and graphics.

2.09 Listen actively and critically by:
    asking questions.
    delving deeper into the topic
    elaborating on the information and ideas
    presented
    evaluating information and ideas.
    making inferences and drawing conclusions.
    making judgments.

Information Skills Curriculum for Fourth and Fifth Grade

1.08 Select and use independently, both within and outside the school, a variety of resources (print, non-print, electronic) and formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia) to extend content of resources used.

1.09 Recognize that ideas are produced in a variety of formats
(print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia, web based).

1.10 Identify characteristics and advantages of various media formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia, web based) for a specific task.

2.06 Recognize the power of media to influence.

3.05 Describe how information and ideas are influenced by prior knowledge, personal experience, and social, cultural, political, economic and historical events.

4.09 Present information in a variety of formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia).

4.10 Evaluate the product.

5.01 Respond to reading, listening, viewing experiences orally, artistically, dramatically, through various formats (e.g. print, multimedia).

5.02 Produce media in various formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia) appropriate to audience and purpose.

Social Studies Curriculum for Fourth and Fifth Grade

2.3 Analyze economic, social, and political situations which involve ethical and moral dilemmas.

The Structure of the Lesson

Teacher Materials: overheads of political cartoons, overhead of funny pages cartoon, handouts of 5 political cartoons, index cards with questions

Student Materials: white paper, colored pencils, markers

Launch:
We will first expose our students to political cartoons themselves. A cartoon with which they are familiar will be shown on the overhead. Ask: How many of you read the funny pages? Today we are going to talk about another type of cartoon. These cartoons are still funny, but they also express a political opinion. Has anyone ever seen a political cartoon? Show political cartoon on the overhead. Ask- take a look at this cartoon and then write down what you think it means… what does the author want you to think after you read this cartoon? Discuss answers and talk about the cartoon's implications. Ask- Who do you think wrote this cartoon? Which perspective are they coming from? When we read political cartoons, we need to analyze them- we can do that by figuring out its meaning and how the author expressed his/her opinion. Then we connect the cartoon's message to real and current politics, and finally compare the author's opinion to our own.
Explore:
Class will be divided into groups of 5. Each group will be given a cartoon to analyze. They should answer the following questions-
What issue does the cartoon address?
What is the author's opinion on this issue? How do you know?
Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Has the cartoon changed your opinion in any way or made you more aware
of the issue?
These questions will be on index cards for each group.
The groups will give a mini presentation of their cartoon by explaining their cartoon with the given questions- each cartoon will be presented on the overhead.   By doing this, students will gain experience in interpreting and analyzing cartoon, a and seeing how their classmates do the same. They will also be made aware of current issues and varying political opinions. We will then discuss fact and opinion. Ask: How do we tell the difference between facts and opinions? Do the political cartoons present facts, opinions, or both?
Now students will return to their desks. For the independent assignment, they will be given two options-

1. Addressing one of the five cartoons previously presented, write a paragraph addressing fact and opinion. This should include whether the author presented facts, opinions, or both. Students will then agree or disagree with the author's perspective/ paper about why the issue is important to them.
2. Create a political cartoon addressing an important issue to the student- this may include school, local, state or national issues.
How the Lesson Went
   Changes-
    We modified the original lesson, due to circumstances, to teach the political cartoons lesson to a smaller group than we had previously anticipated. Also, instead of teaching to both the fourth and fifth grades we only taught to the fifth grade.
   When teaching the lesson-
-We were extremely pleased with how well the groups interacted. Each group followed directions and appeared to be interested in the topic and proceeded to answer the posed questions to the best of their ability.
-All of the students ended up creating their own cartoon rather than taking advantage of the other avaliable option which was
to write a fact/opinion paragraph about your political cartoon. Therefore, in the future when teaching this lesson, if we wanted the students to write the fact/opinion paragraph we would not give them an option.
-When the students actually began to draw their cartoon was about what they were interested in or current events with which they were familiar. In addition, before the students began creating their own cartoon, as a class we brain stormed about topics they could use in creating their personal political cartoons.
   Things to consider when using this lesson again-
-Students appeared to have a limited understanding of politics and many current political issues. This limited knowledge in turn limits their understanding and opinions of political cartoons.

Links to media literacy materials on the web.

http://www.krohm.com/tewsp/rk/rk_hist.htm: A site about the history of Political Cartoons
http://www.yahooligans.com/:
A search Engine for Children
http://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/:
The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson and Political Cartoons