Your favorite magazine or newspaper might provide you with a rich source of a political / social cartoon that lends itself well to language instruction you are planning to teach. Another alternative is to use an online site devoted to such material.
You can spend 15 minutes a week to take an online tour of cartoon sites index and get inspired by suggested activities for elementary, middle, and high school students.
Could you adapt the game of cartoon bingo, for example? A discussion of symbolism used in certain cartoons focuses classroom discussion and prompts higher level thinking in the target language. I have asked my student to create a modified version of the cartoon. Also creating a second cartoon in response to an original one. This task could be done as a warmer,lesson introduction or a sum up.
Cagle’s site allows users to send an e-card with a chosen cartoon. Teachers could use this option to share a cartoon with students as part of a pre-lesson or post-lesson activity. The message section would be an appropriate place to give instructions or pose questions.
An activity I’ve done in the past with cartoons involves creative writing. Simply white out the text in each balloon. Then have students work in pairs to develop the dialog. Each pair presents their version to the class and discussion of the humor can result. Encourage peer correction of the language used. When all pairs have presented, reveal the original text and discuss the message/ viewpoint of the cartoonist. If you want to take it further, additional material can be found in the form of a related article/ research or webquest . For instance, choose a cartoon on global warming or volunteering and let the students find a related article or podcast.
