08.+Cartooneracy--Reading+Cartoons+and+Images

= **Cartooneracy: "Reading" Cartoons and Images** =

A. GOAL


 * The goal of the strategy is encourage students to arrive at "big idea statements"--inferences--on their own through a guided series of easy-to-follow steps that analyze what is hopefully an intrinsically engaging subject matter: cartoons (such as from //The New Yorker// magazine. As with any analysis and inference exercises, the process of arriving at a "big idea" involves a constant back and forth between the //parts// and the //whole//.
 * The audience is students.
 * Prior knowledge or teaching is minimal; the only ground that might need to be covered is the teaching of terms that are used on the worksheet that students use as their guide (the worksheet can be used in conjunction with any cartoon or image). The strategy can be used solely as a means to developing the skills of analysis and inference, or the strategy can be applied in the context of any story or text that is being used as long as an accompanying image that is relevant to that text can be displayed, analyzed, and written about.
 * The entire process can be covered thoroughly in a 45 minute class; similarly, the process can be extended to involve more writing and more deliberate discussion of each step and can become the focus of the majority of an 80 minute block class.
 * While variations of this exercise are plentifully discussed by other authors, the document presented is my own work and represents my own findings on what works via trial and error.

B. STEP-BY-STEP
 * VARIATION 1: FOCUS ON SKILL-BUILDING ||
 * The following chart is featured on a document distributed to students:
 * **Cartoon name** || **State the facts** (what’s in the picture?) || **Interpret** (What is //implied// in the picture?) || **Inference statement** (What is the author trying to say with this cartoon?) ||
 * Students are told at the beginning that their ultimate output task will be to write a paragraph that discusses their interpretation of a cartoon—this awareness of a tangible, eventual output task leads to more active engagement with the reading process (reading with a purpose). Connections are made regarding the fact that "reading" or "analyzing" a cartoon is no different in essence from analyzing a poem or story--the only difference is that one is text and one is text and images together (this usually excites students as I think most humans naturally have a certain engagement with cartoons as they often convey humor). Further, connections are made that the "inference statement" they will arrive at in the last step of their document is virtually the same thing as a "theme statement" that they might arrive at after studying a poem or a piece of literature, and most students in high school have an at least generic understanding of what a "theme" is if for some reason they have not been taught specifically by myself or a colleague who would formally introduce the idea of theme.
 * To begin the work of analyzing and interpreting, we first cover each step in the process before revealing the cartoon or image. Students need to know that:
 * Step 1 "State the facts (what's in the picture?)" involves ONLY observations--no interpretations or judgements are allowed.
 * Step 2 "Interpret" (what is implied in the picture?)" involves interpreting details and making reasonable guesses as to what the artist/author intended by what he/she included.
 * Step 3 "Inference statement (What is the author trying to say with this cartoon?)" involves a synthesis of the parts--combining together the details of the image together with what students know about the subject or life in general (text-to-life connections) to arrive at a general statement of truth regarding the cartoon that is not explicitly stated in the cartoon itself. The inference statement itself must meet a few criteria that are common to theme statements as well:
 * 1. it must be an independent clause
 * 2. it must not be easily identifiable as cliche
 * 3. it must be a general statement of truth that is both applicable to this specific work as well as to life in general (and often, when encountered by others, elicits a--if only mental--nod that says, "Ahh, yes, that IS true.").
 * 4. it often uses phrases like "often" or "tends to" so as to avoid the interpretive pitfall of suggesting to your readers that your interpretation is THE only interpretation that is possible (which is an unattractive habit).
 * For students new to this, it can be a big moment because they are introduced to the idea that every piece of art--whether poem, essay, story, advertisement, cartoon, etc.--contains a specific contextual message that the creator intended to convey. And while, of course, each message might be differently interpreted or received by each reader, the message itself is never devoid of meaning is only as meaningful as the reader can cogently explain in an analysis of parts and a synthesis of the whole.
 * Now it is time to start interpreting! An effective way to illustrate the above steps is to use a "practice cartoon" (one that is perhaps easily accessible to your student demographic) and to walk through the steps. "Showing" rather than "telling" is, of course, an often more efficient way of arriving at understanding. One particularly tricky step is Step 1 "State the facts." Though this step represents a less complex thought process, the urge is often to jump straight into interpretation before clearly stating the facts; the problem inherent with this is that if the facts are not clearly and correctly understand first, then the interpretation will, of course, be flawed. So pay special attention to Step 1.
 * As cartoons are studied this way more often, practice a greater level of release--less teacher support and more active practicing of skills on the students' part (either individually or with partners/groups).
 * An always-intriguing and seemingly unending source of cartoons can be found at //[|The New Yorker] [| website.] //
 * VARIATION 2: FOCUS ON USING SKILLS IN CONTEXT ||
 * Variation 2 is follows the same process as above, but uses an image from, inspired by, and/or connected to a literary work being studied in class. The following is an easy example for illustrative purposes:
 * English 8 students read the famous novel //The Outsiders//. When students are approximately one-third of the way through the novel (and have had plenty of time to become acquainted with characters and plot), do this:
 * As students enter class, they receive the document with the charted steps.
 * When the bell rings, reveal an image that corresponds to a scene from later on in the book (there are plenty of such images from the film version of the story available on the Web).
 * Students have, for example, ten minutes to thoroughly complete each step of the chart.
 * When time is up, students may share their thoughts with class, with a partner, or in a group.
 * The exercise at this point has students predicting the story based on knowledge they already have, and is but one of the many ways the basic steps can be used in any context.

C. EXTENSION (OPTIONAL)


 * The basic exercise lends itself very nicely to turning into an interpretive paragraph where the “inference statement” becomes the major claim of the paragraph and the information from the “interpret” and “state the facts” sections become supporting ideas that are examined and explained in context.

D. CONTROVERSY/WARNINGS IN USING THIS STRATEGY?


 * Allow for much practice (follow the basic “I do, we do, you do” model of gradual release) with the exercise before requiring students to do their own interpretation by themselves. Students develop these skills at wildly different rates, and students benefit immensely from hearing the thinking and explaining of other students.