• discuss characteristics of various stereotypes in our society.
• develop an understanding of the impact of stereotypes in television and print media, in particular cartoons and comic strips.
• develop the insights necessary to evaluate critically the messages disseminated by the mass media.
• practice applying a formal strategy for analyzing, critiquing, and rethinking print media that combines visual and text elements (in particular cartoons and comics).

• Comic Strip Planning Sheet
• "Cartoons Still Stereotype Gender Roles" Press Release
• Comic Character Makeover Rubric
• Comic Makeover Project Assignment
• Comic Creator Student Interactive
• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet

• Daily copies of newspaper comics for a two-week period, or access to comics online (see Web Resources for options)
• Copies of the Comic Strip Planning Sheet and Comic Makeover Project Assignment
• Copies or online access to the "Cartoons Still Stereotype Gender Roles" Press Release
• Comic Creator Student Interactive
• (Optional) Cartoon Analysis Worksheet

• If you have not discussed the use of gender-fair language with your students, it's useful to do so before they begin analyzing the cartoons and comic strips so that they are tuned in to the ways that language use can communicate bias and stereotypes. The Purdue OWL's handout on Non-Sexist Language is a good place to start. The ReadWriteThink lesson Avoiding Sexist Language by Using Gender-Fair Pronouns is another useful resource.
• Preview available comics and choose a selection that is appropriate for your classroom. When you explain the comic makeover project to your class, you will need to explain how students will access the comics—will they go to online comics sites? will you provide them printouts? will they check the daily newspaper?
• (Optional) If you're using online comics, you may want to print the comics that your students are examining so that you can cut away and discard bordering material on the pages (such as advertisements, some of which may be inappropriate for your class). Prior to the first class meeting, you may want to have students brainstorm a list of comics that they are interested in so that you can print selections that they will enjoy working with for this project.
• Make copies of the Comic Strip Planning Sheet, Comic Makeover Project Assignment, and, if desired, the Cartoon Analysis Worksheet
• Test the Comic Creator Student Interactive on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

1. Share the "Cartoons Still Stereotype Gender Roles" Press Release with your class. Since it's a short piece, you can read it to the class, but they will benefit from a copy of the article or having the article's URL so that they can refer to it over the course of this project as needed.
2. Once you've read the press release completely, ask students to point out details from the piece that help prove the researchers' point that cartoons stereotype gender roles (e.g., male characters outnumber female characters; and female characters are flatter than male characters). Make a list of these characteristics on the board or on chart paper. Note that you will return to this list in later sessions, so chart paper would be preferred if your board is likely to be erased between sessions.
3. Turn students' attention to other kinds of stereotyping—unfair or unrealistic representation of race, ethnicity, religion, and class. Ensure that students understand each of the terms. Customize the list to fit your class and other projects you're working on. For instance you might want to add ageism to the list of stereotypes to consider.
4. Divide students into small groups, and have each group choose a television cartoon to explore in class. Students will need to be familiar enough with the cartoon to discuss its representation of characters; thus, it's probably best to let students select the cartoons themselves than to assign cartoons. However, you should probably remind students to choose a cartoon that is acceptable for class discussion (e.g., Powerpuff Girls, The Fairly OddParents, and SpongeBob SquarePants). If necessary, you might also point out cartoons that you deem unacceptable, telling students why so that they understand the limitations.
5. Have students explore the cartoon that they've chosen for the stereotypes that have been identified in the discussion. Ask them to work with two large goals in mind:
   
   
   1. Look at the portrayal of gender in the cartoons, considering the list of characteristics gathered from the APA press release. Has the portrayal of gender changed since 1997, and if so, how?
   2. Look at other features of the characters in the cartoon—race, ethnicity, religion, class, and so forth. Create a list of the characteristics that demonstrate that the cartoon your group is examining is or isn't stereotyped.
      
      
6. Allow students the rest of the session to work on their analysis. Explain that they will present and discuss their findings with the rest of the class during the next session. Each group will have up to five minutes to share their findings.
7. Circulate among students as they work on this project. The purpose of this activity is for students to practice the skills that they'll use in the focused, individual examination of the comic strip; therefore, provide positive feedback on the analytical skills that they'll need to use in later sessions. Likewise, make suggestions for issues that students may be missing in their observations of the cartoons (e.g., what do the different species of sea life represent in SpongeBob SquarePants?).
8. For homework, students may want to watch the cartoon that their group is analyzing. (That's one homework assignment that they're sure to enjoy!)

1. Remind students of the goals of their group analysis of a television cartoon. Answer any questions students have.
2. Give students five to ten minutes to make last-minute preparations and to practice their presentation.
3. Have groups present their findings, sticking closely to the five-minutes-per-group guideline that you've established. As students work, ask them to connect to the list of characteristics created during the previous session.
4. Ask students to listen for details from the presentations that help prove whether the cartoons stereotype gender roles, race, ethnicity, religion, class and so forth.
5. Once all presentations are complete, ask students to point out details from the piece that help prove the groups' points that cartoons stereotype (or don't). Make a list of these characteristics on the board or on chart paper. Again, you will return to this list in later sessions, so chart paper would be preferred if your board is likely to be erased between sessions.
6. By the end of class, arrange the lists into a series of checklist questions that students can use to analyze comics.
7. (Optional) This can be a good opportunity for a mini-lesson on parallelism. Note how to make sentence structure and verb tense match as you revise the brainstormed list into the checklist. Talk aloud as you write the sentences so that students understand the composing choices that you are making. Provide positive feedback when students create parallel items for the checklist themselves.

1. Review the checklist of questions that students composed during the previous class session. Answer any questions, and make any corrections or additions.
2. Share the Comic Makeover Project Assignment with students. As you discuss the assignment, explain how the checklist that you've compiled can be used to analyze the comic strips for the project.
3. Add details on the comic strips that students will use and how they will access them (online, printed handouts from you, daily newspaper, and so forth).
4. (Optional) If you have not pre-selected the comics, remind students of any content guidelines for the comics that they choose. Let them know if any comics are completely off-limits as well.
5. Explain the timeline you've chosen for the analysis. Students can gather and analyze the comics over the next two weeks, or students can gather the comics for two weeks from online comic archives, saved newspapers, or printouts that you provide so that they can begin the analysis immediately.
6. Demonstrate the process of summarizing and evaluating with a sample comic strip.
7. Divide students into small groups and allow them to begin their work on the project in class. The groups should support each other and share ideas. Circulate among students as they work.

1. Distribute the Comic Strip Planning Sheet.
2. Demonstrate the basic steps for rewriting the comic strips using the Comic Creator.
3. Allow students the remainder of the class period to plan their makeover using the Comic Strip Planning Sheet. Alternately, you can share the planning sheet and demonstrate the Comic Creator and then have students use the Comic Strip Planning Sheet to plan their makeovers for homework.

1. Review the use of the Comic Strip Planning Sheet and the Comic Creator.
2. Students will use the Comic Creator during this class period to create their revised and rewritten comic strip. Keep the focus of this session on revising the character's behavior and language as well as the plot, rather than worrying about the visual representation of the comic strip character. It's unlikely that the characters in the Comic Creator will be an ideal match for the characters in the comic strips that your students are making over. Let this part of the project focus on the way that words and situations can create biased or unrealistic representations. Alternately, you can print blank comic strip panes and have students draw their revised comics.
3. While students work, again encourage them to interact with one another, to share and receive feedback on their plans for comic strips.
4. After the comic strips are printed out, students can decorate them with markers or other classroom supplies.
5. Depending upon the pace of the project, you may need to give students additional time in-class or at home to complete the other parts of the project. Ask students to turn in two copies of the comic strip, along with one copy of the supporting materials for their project (one copy of the strip is for you to evaluate, and the other copy can be posted and shared in the classroom).

Cartoons Still Stereotype Gender Roles
http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson207/cartoon-stereotypes.html

This 1997 American Psychological Association (APA) press release outlines a study by two Allegheny College researchers who found stereotyped roles dominated Saturday morning television cartoons. This article defines the basic issue of stereotyping in media and states some of the basic characteristics for students to look for as they analyze the comics they've chosen (e.g., role of character in the comic, character traits, and occupational role).

If you prefer to begin this activity by focusing on a stereotype other than gender, these articles that consider other stereotypes can provide a starting place:

• Speedy Gonzales Caged by Cartoon Network
• WB Cartoons racist
• Depicting Mohammed
  
  

Cartoon Analysis Worksheet from the US National Archives and Records Administration
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon.html

Designed for a lesson plan on political cartoons in the NARA's Digital Classroom collection, this worksheet can provide a nice starting point for your students.

King Syndicate Comics
http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/comics.htm

King Syndicate is the home of such cartoons as Curtis, Dennis the Menace, and Spiderman. The site also includes editorial cartoons. Each comic includes a "The Characters" link at the bottom of the page, where short biographies are available. Links above each cartoon allow you to navigate to four weeks of cartoons. Unlike others listed below, the King Syndicate site is relatively clean: the only references to advertising are for options to purchase an online subscription to the cartoons themselves.

Comics.Com List of Features
http://www.comics.com/categories/index.html

Comics.Com is United Media's homepage for all its comic publications. The collection includes Peanuts, Dilbert, and Tarzan as well as editorial cartoons. For some cartoons, there is accompanying material that would be pertinent to the assignment. For instance, the Peanuts page includes a link to information on all of the characters in the cartoon.

Note that Comics.Com pages do include pop-under advertisements as well as advertisements on the pages with the comics. The advertisements seem to be tied to the content and audience of the comics themselves. For instance, the ads on the page with the Peanuts comics were all for Peanuts merchandise (watches, books, and so forth). The more adult adventures of Tarzan, however, were accompanied by an advertisement for an online dating service. Check the cartoons that you plan to use carefully, and be aware that the ads can change without any notice. Perhaps the safest option would be to print the comics and cut away offending material. You'll gain the added benefit of focusing students' attention on the comic, rather than the surrounding material.

UComics.com
http://www.ucomics.com/

UComics.Com is the Universal Syndicate's collection of comic publications, which includes comics such as Dick Tracy, Doonesbury, Garfield, Ziggy, and Too Much Coffee Man. Editorial cartoons are also included.

Like the Comics.Com site, UComics.Com includes advertisements which may be problematic on all pages (e.g., VISA applications). Additionally, a membership and login is required to access some archives. For this site, too, you are perhaps best advised to print the comics and cut away offending material.

Integrative Art: American Comic Strips
http://www.psu.edu/dept/inart10_110/inart10/cmbk1main.html

This site provides a history of American comic strips, including information on graphic novels that can serve as background on the genre.

Scott McCloud
http://www.scottmccloud.com

Visit the Web site of Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics, for background on the genre, inspirations, and sample comics.

The Museum of Black Superheroes
http://www.blacksuperhero.com/index.html

For explorations of additional comic makeovers, explore the characters profiled on the Museum of Black Superheroes.

NCTE/IRA Standards

1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).