Using DTP to aid understanding of cartoons or pictures

This page consists of several text boxes and arrows arranged around a 1919 German cartoon.

This shows how the use of textboxes, different colours, fonts and fill/background colours can allow teachers to focus on the important bits of a visual source.

In this way, textboxes serve draw students' attention to the things we want them to get from the source.

1. Open your DTP program. You should have a blank page.
   
   
2. Insert a picture frame in the centre of the page about a third the size of the page.
   
   
3. You can download this cartoon or you might wish to import one you are currently using with one of your classes. [Right click here. Select 'Save Target As' or 'Save Link As'. Save the file on to your hard disk]. Then import the file you have just saved into your DTP program.
   
   
4. Make several more text boxes on either side of the cartoon. Add a different colour border to these text boxes.
   
   
5. Insert questions into the text boxes - add more text boxes if necessary.
   
   
6. Draw arrows between the cartoon and the text boxes.
   
   
7. You could also give your pupils the cartoon and blank text boxes and ask them to think about what they would ask or say about this cartoon and then fill in the text boxes themselves.