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Question 1: According to the passage, what is an editorial cartoon?

Sample student answer (responses may vary but should resemble the following): An editorial cartoon is a cartoon that makes a person laugh and think, drawn to express the artist’s opinion about an issue in the news.

Question 2: Explain why an editorial cartoon might make someone think. Support your answer with evidence from the passage.

Sample student answer: Responses may vary, as long as they are supported by the passage. For example, students may respond that an editorial cartoon might make someone think because of its use of symbolism. A person may need to think about what the symbols in the cartoon mean and put them together in order to figure out the artist’s opinion. Looking at Mike Thompson’s Iraq war cartoon, for instance, a person might need to think about what a bald eagle tossing the “NEW IRAQI GOV’T” egg off a cliff represents.

Question 3: Tyree Guyton created an art installment for the United We Walk program that featured an iron, an ironing board, an American flag, and shoes. Describe what this art installation looked like.

Sample student answer (responses may vary but should resemble the following): The art installation showed an American flag being ironed. The ironing board was surrounded by shoes.

Question 4: What might this art installation make people think about? Why?

Sample student answer: Responses may vary. Some students may give literal-minded responses, such as “ironing” or “walking.” Encourage them to think more deeply about the relationship of objects in this installation to each other. They may see the work as a representation of American problem-solving—the shoes representing the people of the United States gathered around an ironing board, where they are trying to smooth the country out. Or maybe the shoes show that lots of people are just standing around waiting for someone else to come along and iron out their country’s problems. Many interpretations are possible here.

Question 5: What are some differences between editorial cartoons and Tyree Guyton’s art installations?

Sample student answer: Responses may vary but should reflect the texts. For example:

• Editorial cartoons are meant to make people laugh, but not all of Tyree Guyton’s art installations are meant to make people laugh.
• Editorial cartoons appear in newspapers, but much of Tyree Guyton’s work is found on a street in Detroit.
• Editorial cartoons are two-dimensional, but Tyree Guyton’s work is three-dimensional.

Question 6: What are some similarities between editorial cartoons and Tyree Guyton’s art installations?

Sample student answer: Responses may vary but should reflect the texts. For example:

• Both editorial cartoons and Tyree Guyton’s art installations use symbolism to communicate ideas.
• Both editorial cartoons and Tyree Guyton’s art installations address ideas about war, politics, and society.

Question 7: Based on your responses to Questions 5 and 6, are editorial cartoons art? Explain why or why not.

Sample student answer: Responses may vary, as long as they are well-supported. Students responding that editorial cartoons are art may point out that both editorial cartoons and Tyree Guyton’s art installations have a similar function: getting people to think. They both get people to think by using symbolism to communicate ideas about important issues involving government and society. On the other hand, students responding that editorial cartoons are not art could point out that the focus on laughter and the “lighthearted” quality of an editorial cartoon may differentiate it from full-fledged art that takes itself seriously.