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S I T E     R E V I E W
OCTOBER, 1997

A
Professional Cartoonists Index Teacher's Guide
https://www.cagle.com/teacher/
GRADE LEVEL: 6-12

A CONTENT:
This site has lesson plans for a variety of disciplines based on the newspaper editorial cartoons located at the site.

B+ AESTHETICS:
Except for the cartoons themselves, the site is mainly text-based. It uses cartoonish fonts and graphics for its headers and menus.

A ORGANIZATION:
Each of the sections of the site are listed on the home page on the left-side menu bar. The site is divided into a teacher's section and a cartoonist's section, which appear to be distinct. The navigation bar on the side helps in moving around within each section.

REVIEW:
This site claims to have the largest collection of newspaper editorial cartoons on the web (all presented with permission). A large focus of the site is the lesson plans created for elementary, middle and high school classes that use the editorial cartoons for Social Sciences, Art, Journalism and English lessons. The site uses cartoons to interest students in current events. This is accomplished quite easily since the cartoons are constantly updated and the cartoonists center their drawings around particular themes such as the Mars Pathfinder mission or cloning sheep. The lesson plans are generally activity-based and include all necessary handouts. A great feature of the site is the "Teacher's Tour of the Index" which allows teachers to take a guided tour of the site to learn what is available there and how to use it. This is an unique approach to current events. The site could also be used in other disciplines if their field has recently been "newsworthy."