Unit 3 Political Cartoon Project

For this U.S. History activity, you are going to create a political cartoon. So what is a political cartoon, you may ask? A political cartoon is a cartoon that makes a point about a political issue or event. You can find them in any daily newspaper, but they won't be in the comics section. Instead, look on the editorial pages – they are right next to the editorial columns, and across from the opinion essays.

Your Political Cartoon project will need to contain these requirements. Your Political Cartoons needs to detail 3 concepts/people/events that we have learned and discussed in chapters 13 through 18. The political cartoons need to be historically accurate, be in color, and have 3 concepts/people/events shown in the cartoon. For your Political Cartoons, the 3 concepts/people/events do not have to go together. They can be 3 separate concepts/people/events and have no connection at all. You do not have to be a great artist, but a little effort can go a long way. Stick figures and printed pictures will not be acceptable. You might want to add captions or items that will make your Political Cartoon make sense when someone is looking at it.

After creating your 3 Political Cartoons, you are going to write three 1-paragraph summaries describing in detail each one of your political cartoons. Some questions to think about when writing your 3 summaries. What important historical concept/person/event are you depicting in your political cartoon? Why is this historical concept/person/event import in U.S. History? What impact did this concept/person/event have on American Society?

Political Cartoon Rubric

6 5-4 3-2 1-0

Meets Basic Requirements

Student’s project follows all instruction points.

Student’s project is missing a minor requirement from instructions

Student’s project is missing a major requirement

Student’s project does not conform to more than one major requirement

Organization & Preparation

The political cartoon is of excellent quality & it’s apparent that the student spent time preparing it.

The political cartoon is of good quality and it is apparent that the student spent some time.

The political cartoon is of fair quality and seems rushed.

The political cartoon appears to have been hastily created and appears messy or disorganized.

Knowledge & Concept of the

Topic

The political cartoon demonstrates higher level understanding of an issue.

The political cartoon demonstrates an understanding of an issue.

The political cartoon demonstrates recognition of an issue but not a clear understanding.

The political cartoon demonstrates that the student is still struggling to understand the issue.

Creativity of the Product

The political cartoon’s style, color, & impact align perfectly w/the students ideas.

The political cartoon’s style, color, and impact align well with the students ideas.

The political cartoon’s style, color, and impact do not align well with the students ideas.

The political cartoon’s style, color, and impact seem disjointed and rushed.

Visual Expression of Ideas

The political cartoon is rich with symbolism. The message goes beyond a statement and reflects an in-depth opinion answering more than one of the “questions to answer.”

The political cartoon is rich with symbolism. The message goes beyond a statement and reflects an in-depth opinion answering one of the “questions to answer.”

The political cartoon demonstrates little symbolism. The message does not really go beyond a statement and does not reflect an in-depth opinion answering more than one of the “questions to answer.”

The political cartoon demonstrates little to no symbolism. The message does not really go beyond a statement and does not reflect an in-depth opinion.

Point Breakdown=50 Points 20 Points for the 3 Political Cartoons30 Points for the 3 1-Paragraph Summaries