Global Learning and Cartoons
Introduction
Cartoons can be funny, educational, satirical, challenge norms – put simply,
they can change the world. They are a powerful communication tool, with
great potential to support global learning.
Cartoons have been around for centuries, but the term was first used to
describe a satirical drawing in 1843. ‘Cartoon No.1’ by John Leech appeared
in Punch Magazine and satirised government spending plans.
‘The poor ask for bread, and the philanthropy of the State accords
— an exhibition’ .
In the curriculum
(Key Stage 3)
Activity 1 brings a global dimension to
History through the topic ‘Britain as the
first industrial nation – the impact on
society’. By comparing historical and
contemporary cartoons, learners can
critically evaluate economic and social
development in a variety of contexts.
Activity 2 fits into English and literacy,
and looks at how language and visuals
in cartoons combine to present meaning,
often on several levels.
Both activities are also relevant to RE;
providing opportunities to focus on
issues of global importance, issues of
right and wrong, and what it means to
be human.
View image: bit.ly/cartoonno1
Why not use cartoons in Geography to
examine the interplay of people with
their environment, migration or
development? Use the examples in
Activity 2 as a starting point or check out
some of the Resources listed at the end.
Cartoons express their creator’s experience of the world around them, to entertain, persuade or express outrage.
A cartoon can be controversial, provoking strong emotional and political responses; some cartoons have been banned or
led to violence. Many are hugely popular, for example the animated films that young people might watch over and over
again tell stories about social justice, conflict resolution, and sustainability.
With this activity kit teachers and learners can:
• examine why people use cartoons to
communicate,
• investigate how cartoons express people’s
opinions, beliefs and experiences, and
• use cartoons to bring global learning into the
classroom through a wide variety of topics.
The ‘Getting started’ section provides introductory activities
for students to begin exploring global issues through cartoons.
The ‘Getting critical’ section explores global themes in
cartoons and animations, looks at the effect cartoons can
have on society, and gets young people thinking about how
and why they are created.
The ‘Resources’ section provides links to further information
and case studies.
The global dimension in my classroom activity kit is brought to you by Think Global www.think-global.org.uk.
We aim to support all teachers to bring a global dimension to their classroom. Join thousands of teachers and become part of
the Think Global Schools Network to receive free resources and up to date information about training and support.
Author credit: Thanks to Kate Jones for researching and writing. Photo credit: Simpsons stamps by Mrs Magic on Flickr
Getting started Exploring cartoons and animation
1.
One way to bring global learning into the classroom would be to get pupils to choose their favourite cartoon or animated
film, explain their choice, and use it as a starting point to investigate a range of topics such as injustice, human rights and
conflict resolution.
2.
Why not get them to vote from a shortlist of cartoons you’ve selected for popularity, potential or relevance to other topics?
For instance, they could vote between Frozen (exploring diversity and the challenge of overcoming intolerance), Despicable
Me 2 (looking at ideas of family and inclusion), and Dr Seuss’ The Lorax (environment, unsustainable development, and how
change happens)? Discuss the results and work in teams to focus on an issue that comes up in each one, or choose your own.
3.
Or start the discussion by asking learners to share their thoughts on one of these questions:
What is a cartoon?
Why do people create cartoons?
Where and when do people use cartoons?
How do people draw cartoons?
Can you recognise the cartoonist?
What styles are there?
Getting critical
Activity 1: John Leech, political cartoons and social issues
Use old and new cartoons to compare and contrast topical issues
through history, giving learners a valuable opportunity to draw out
commonalities and contrasts between life today and life in the past.
Here we focus on John Leech’s work, but check the Resources
section for links to other cartoon archives.
Learning objectives
• Learners analyse and critically evaluate cartoons from across
different continents and times.
• Learners develop their understanding of society by drawing
parallels between historical and modern-day global issues.
Start by getting learners to look at some of Leech’s cartoons from
www.john-leech-archive.org.uk, links below or through a web
John Leech: Capital and Labour. View image: bit.ly/capitalandlabour
search, alongside some more recent cartoons:
• Compare ‘Capital and Labour’ (above right) with ‘One Little Letter’
by American cartoonist Stephanie McMillan (below right).
• Compare ‘Cheap clothing’ (bit.ly/cheapclothing) with American
cartoonist Jen Sorensen’s ‘Big box o’ Poverty’ (bit.ly/boxopoverty)
• Compare ‘The water that John drinks’ (bit.ly/waterjohn) with
‘Water Pollution Vultures’ by Chinese cartoonist Jianping Fan
(cagle.com/2013/03/vultures/)
• Compare ‘Snow Flakes 1’ (bit.ly/snow_flakes_1) with ‘Snitch’ by
American cartoonist Mike Leech (bit.ly/mksnitch)
• Compare ‘Husband-taming’ (bit.ly/husbandtaming) with this Matt
cartoon from the Telegraph (bit.ly/mattmen)
• Compare ‘Grand Show of Prize Vegetarians’ (bit.ly/prizeveg) with
Jen Sorensen’s ‘The War on Vegetables’ (bit.ly/waronveg ).
Stephanie McMillan: One Little Letter. View image: bit.ly/littleletter
Working in groups or pairs, learners choose one pair of cartoons and
discuss:
• What is each cartoon about? Do you think it is effective in
conveying its message?
• What does Leech’s cartoon show us about life in the Victorian era?
How does it do this?
• What does the modern cartoon show us about our world now?
• What do the two cartoons have in common? How are they
different?
• How do you respond to the cartoons?
Learners could finish this activity by taking
another of John Leech’s cartoons or another
historical cartoon, and thinking about what a
cartoonist might draw if they were trying to
convey a similar message today. Try
‘Knowledge is Power’ (bit.ly/jlknowpower) as a
stimulus, or many others from the John Leech
archive. Learners could work individually or in
groups or pairs to create their own version of a
historical cartoon.
Getting critical
Activity 2: Why do we use cartoons?
Use cartoons and animations to focus on communication, techniques and
meaning, involving a range of global learning topics, from climate change to
development, government to trade. Here we suggest two topics: natural
resources and children’s right to education.
Learning objectives
• Analyse a selection of cartoons for
meaning and communication
technique.
• Examine and draw conclusions
about why and how cartoons can
communicate ideas.
• Use knowledge to create an
effective cartoon.
Start by showing learners a cartoon
chosen because it makes everyone
laugh, it’s your favourite cartoon or just
at random. You could try Gary Larson’s
Far Side series, Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a
Wimpy Kid, or even something from the
Beano.
Ask: Is this cartoon funny / interesting?
Why or why not?
As a class, watch either of the
following animations:
The Story of Water
from Greenpeace Water Warriors
bit.ly/waterwarrior
The Change We Want
Ugandan children’s animation from
War Child UK YouTube channel
You could ask learners to pick out aspects of how the characters are drawn, the
writing style, or anything else. Ask learners what they see in the picture and
what they think the cartoon is trying to tell them. Is there any difference
between what they see and the ‘message’?
Explain that some cartoons have a ‘bigger picture’ – the one you see
immediately, and the message it tells you. Show learners a satirical cartoon
chosen from a news article on a current topic – national newspaper websites
are a good source. Ask learners again what they see in the picture and what
they think the cartoon is trying to tell them. You could show them a written
article about the same thing, and ask them which they would be more likely to
engage with – probably the cartoon. What are the main differences between
the two cartoons they’ve seen, and what do they have in common in terms of
style, content, language?
Now learners have looked at some specific cartoons, get them to quickly explore
in groups all the reasons why someone might choose to draw a cartoon about
something – you could prompt them with a few ideas like making people laugh
or giving an opinion in a way that lots of people can really quickly understand.
Groups share with their neighbouring group and come up with a few common
threads to share with the wider class.
As a class, watch one of the animated clips featured in the column on the right
and go through the suggested questions.
Finally, ask learners to work on their own or in small groups to produce their
own cartoon – designed to tell the rest of the class something about what’s
going on in their local community. They could use a local news article, a school
newsletter or anything else as inspiration, and aim to educate, make people
laugh or even satirise a situation using the notion of using a ‘bigger picture’.
Resources
youtu.be/nNObI3aGzkQ
(If time, include the ‘behind the
scenes’ clip that describes how the
project came about.)
Ask learners some key questions:
• Do you find it interesting?
• What issue is the animation
about?
• What’s the bigger picture – what
is it trying to communicate?
• How does it do this? What
techniques does it use?
• Who made this and why?
• Why did the charity decide use
an animation? Was the reason
to do with the viewer or the
people who made it?
• Is the cartoon effective at
getting its message across?
Graphic novels, animations, searchable cartoon archives
Over under sideways down tells the story of Ebrahim, a teenage refugee: bit.ly/sidewaysdown. There are learning resources
from the British Red Cross: bit.ly/brcresource
Red Shoes by Mandy Coe explores discrimination solely through illustration, making it engaging for a range of learning styles
and abilities: bit.ly/mandycoe. School case study using Red Shoes: globaldimension.org.uk/pages/8694
Persepolis is a graphic novel about a young girl growing up in Iran. It has been made into an animated film and there are
teaching resources at filmeducation.org/persepolis/ and bit.ly/filmclubpersepolis
Film Education and Into Film have resources about animated feature films: bit.ly/filmedanim and filmclub.org/resources/#id/1
Search for cartoons at: Cagle cartoons caglecartoons.com British Cartoon Archive cartoons.ac.uk DE Ireland bit.ly/deicartoons