Political Cartoon Analysis Template

Identify and explain the symbols, characters, and objects used in a political cartoon.

Determine the current event and message a political cartoonist is conveying.

Evaluate a political cartoon for evidence of bias versus objectivity, citing specific evidence.

Write a persuasive paragraph using a mini-thesis, supporting evidence, and a conclusion to agree or disagree with the cartoonist's perspective.

Gather and record peer responses to assess how clearly a message is being communicated.

Provide the list of approved current-events cartoon websites referenced in the instructions ahead of time, since the template assumes students already have a source to choose from.

Model the arrow-and-comment-bubble labeling technique on a sample cartoon before students glue in their own, since the symbol-identification task (page 1) has no worked example.

Save the four-classmate interview task (page 2) for a second class period or homework, since it requires students to circulate and record other students' responses after finishing their own analysis.

Visual symbol interpretation — students identify and explain characters, symbols, and objects within a political cartoon (page 1).

Bias evaluation — students judge whether a cartoon is objective or biased and support their judgment with evidence (page 1).

Persuasive paragraph writing — students construct a mini-thesis, evidence, and conclusion to argue their own position on the cartoon (page 2).

Peer data collection — students interview four classmates and record numeric and short-answer responses about the same cartoon (page 2).