Page 135 - SpringBoard_ELA_CA_Smapler_Flipbook

acTIVITY 4.7
aCTIVITy 4.7
elements of Humor: Comic Characters and Caricatures
PLaN
Materials: The Simpsons (opening credits clip), sample drawings or images of caricatures, audio recording of “The Open Window” (optional) Suggested Pacing: 2 50-minute class periods
Teach
Teacher
learNING sTraTeGIes: GTOraCp_hSicidOer_gAaCn_izTerx,tNote-taking, DTOiffCu_sSinidge,_MAaCr_kTinegxthe Text, VTOisCu_aSlizidineg_,ADCi_sTcuexstsion Groups, RTOehCe_aSrisdael_AC_Text
aCademIC VoCabUlary
To use a caricature or to caricaturize someone is to exaggerate or imitate certain characteristics to create a comic or distorted idea of a person.
Characters
Sketch the caricature.
Details
Describe the characterization.
Interpretation
What idea is conveyed through the characterization?
Bart
Bart is repetitively writing sentences on the board that say ...
He is the stereotype of the bad kid in the classroom.
Homer
Marge
Lisa
Family
TO Teacher
Prior to the activity, find examples or have students bring to class examples of caricatures from newspapers, magazines, comic books, and/or stories.
1 Have students read the definitions of caricature and characterization. Lead students in a discussion of caricatures in movies, television programs, books, and cartoons. Use the examples you and students brought in to guide the discussion.
2 Help students understand that comedies often achieve humorous effects with caricatures. For example, a cartoonist may imply that a politician is a liar by drawing him with a long nose like Pinocchio. Discuss the two-dimensional nature of caricature. Rather than being true representations, they present a narrow view of a person.
3 Use The Simpsons to illustrate caricature, not just in the visual,
but in the stereotyping. Show the opening clip of any episode and ask students how each family member
is a caricature. Discuss what truth (theme) the caricatures convey. Model how to complete the first
row of the graphic organizer with Bart Simpson, using a think aloud
to analyze the text. Then, direct students to view the clip and take notes themselves on the organizer. Have students share their responses in discussion groups.
If you cannot use a clip from The Simpsons, you might show a political cartoon or another visual that uses caricature.
Learning Targets
• Define and recognize comic characters and caricatures.
• Collaborate to analyze characters and caricatures in a literary text.
Comic Caricatures and Characters
Characterization is the way a writer reveals a character’s personality through what the character says, thinks, and feels or through how the character looks, acts, or interacts with others.
A caricature is a pictorial, written, and/or acted representation of a person who exaggerates characteristics or traits for comic effect. Caricatures are often used in cartoon versions of people’s faces and usually exaggerate features for comic effect.
1. You will next view some comic scenes. As you view the opening sequence, take notes in the graphic organizer.
282 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
my Notes
282 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8 cOMMON cOre STaTe STaNDarDS
Focus Standards:
9781457304644_TCB_LA_SE_L8_U4.indd 282 15/04/15 1:48 AM
RL.8.3: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
Additional Standards Addressed:
RL.8.1; RL.8.2; RL.8.4; RL.8.6; RL.8.10; W.8.10; SL.8.1a; SL.8.6; L.8.4a; L.8.6
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.