Remember to Laugh (n42)

of political cartoons from 9/11 and just after,

1: Conduct a brief discussion on the tone of life

immediately after 9/11. Do you remember the cancellation

of the Emmy Awards…What an event the return

of David Letterman and Jay Leno to the regular

TV schedule was? (try to get a recording of the

Letterman show from your local affiliate if you

can). Why was it inappropriate to laugh? What

finally made it ok? What did we laugh at?

Step 2: Divide the class into small groups of

3 or 4. Give each group a sample of political

cartoons. Have them write down the topic and qualities

of each cartoon . Observe differences in style,

type of humor. What tools did the cartoonist use?

(satire, irony, physical humor, plays on language

etc.)

Step 3: Briefly share and discuss observations

with class.

Step 4: In your small group, create your own cartoon

based on a current event (local or national)…make

it quick …don’t get hung up on the

“art”…content is the point of

this class…Stick figures can work if the

message is right.

Step 5: Share

Step 6: Closing Activity…..

In a tight circle facing in (if your class will

do it, have everyone lie on the floor with their

head on someone else’s stomach creating

a mob of connected people…it definitely adds

to the fun…but the level of discomfort must

be low.) Count off the class by ones. Beginning

with “One” student say Ha! (as in

Ha!Ha!) as many times as their number. “One”

says one Ha!, Two says Ha!Ha!, Three says Ha!Ha!Ha!

and so on…in order without missing a beat.

If someone misses their cue or fails to do the

correct number of Ha!’s the group needs

to start over again. Rarely does the group succeed

as the game falls apart in laughter…REMEMBER