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A group work for 3-5 students designed to have students closely reread the text of the story. Students are asked to find where and how the Doctor is humiliated as well as whose point of view the story comes from.Finally, the group work tries to have students discover the reason that the Doctor took the much too young Nick with him in the previous story, "Indian Camp." There is a revised edition of this group work attached that also includes a bookmark with a reading schedule.
This group work looks at the very controversial chapter on the 7 days; Guitar's justification for their actions -- and Milkman's arguments against those same actions. The work has the students examine 
A short but powerful Illuminated Text by Natalia Washingto and Claire Robinson on the death of Esperanza's grandfather. Their choice of words, movement, color, and the background picture serve to emphasize the terrible sense of loss that Esperanza feels as well as the empathy that she experiences for her own father's loss.
A great example of how an Illuminated Text can take different parts of a books and bring them together under a common theme. This presentation does a terrific job of examining the use of fairy tale lore and imagery in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon. The creators use text from the entire novel to show how these linked ideas bring forth a greater understanding of the book.
When you give as open an assignment as this one (really students can find text from anywhere in this short novel) it is still a surprise to me at how different the choices that the students make are. This presentation by Vinca Merriman, Rehka Vaitla, and Moriah Martinez focuses on one idea -- and though much of it comes from one part of the book -- the students also mine other text on Nenny and Esperanza from throughout the book. The setting is a peaceful river and the students keep that metaphor throughout their Power Point presentation. The fonts appear in waves and ripples -- like the effect that the two sisters have on each other -- constantly in motion and yet what has happened before affects what will happen in the future. 
This presentation by Jeannie Tsui and Imani Muhammad examines Hemingway's story (from In Our Time) from the perspective of the jockey's young son. The musical choice is pitch perfect -- an innocent music box that plays as the son's awareness of what his father truly is and as his beliefs come tumbling down around him (like the horse at the end of the story). The text is expertly moved, conjoled, and colored to accompany the young man's journey. We don't discuss this story in class -- other than to say that it was separate from the rest of the stories in the collection and written much earlier -- and it is a treat to see the students' independant interpretation of the text.
This project by Norberto Rivera and Danny Chan is an inspired look at pieces of the text and Esperanza's search for her perfect house. The words move perfectly to what is happening in the text and the authors masterfully combine different sections of the text to bring together a unified, powerful, vision. [There is now a Flash Video version of this Illuminated Text - so if you've had problems hearing the Power Point Version - click on that one instead.]
The Facebook Project was designed for African American Literature. After students have finished reading Postbellum Literature (1865 - 1919). Students read Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington and The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois. [There are many things that make this such a great (and text-oriented assignment): The handout gives the students very specific criteria for creating their "Facebook" page -- each of those criteria lead the student back to the text of the person that they have chosen. Even the choice of the person's "Friends" requires a close examination of the source material. 
This Illuminated Text shows one wonderful way to use a static image in the background: in this case - a heart in the corner. Like the heart that Leo keeps for Alma - always there - always in the back. All of the wonderful action that takes place here occurs in front of that heart. Two animated lovers act and react - the boy gives the girl a heart - and then turns into a man who ultimately tells Leo's side of the story. This is truly an incredible and inspir
[There are some Illuminated Texts that can stand alone - even without any knowledge of the work that is being illuminated, and they still blow you away - this is one of those presentations. It focuses on Alma (the younger) and her attempts to survive in a world that seem bent on, if not defeating her, getting in the way of her life. The animations are inspired, the music, the time, the movement -- everything makes this one of the best Illuminated Texts on the site. JRS]
This text illustrates the action between Villalta and the bull. The text details the moments when Villalta tempted the bull with the muleta and describes the instance when both became 'one." The scene ends with the Villata stabbing with the bull and bringing him to his death. The very last scene has Villalta's arm raised to the crowd with killing sword in hand while the bull is gushing blood.
In this culminating activity, students create soundtracks to bring selected scenes of Song of Solomon to life. In small groups, the students design, create, and perform their own mini-musical. I find that the activity not only encourages (requires) meaningful collaboration, but that the students consistently find fresh, creative ways to bring the text to life. Zeroing in on powerful scenes (where Hagar scoops up her sodden makeup from the w
After reading Nicole Krauss's The History of Love for a second time - I needed to find a movie to show to my class to go with her novel. I always see movies as an added opportunity to foster connections and critical thinking so it's important to me to find a film that is close - but not to close to what we're reading. After narrowing it down to three movies - I decided on the German film, Wings of Desire. I will confess that I was apprehensive that the movies slow pace and abstract ideas would be too much for my students - but boy was I wrong. The students not only did well with these questions, but most of them had a real affection for the film as well. 
Concept: Teach about rhetorical effect and the use of persuasive techniques through "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards. Also, examine the imagery presented throughout the sermon.Fresh Ink - Most Recent Content
The six most recent lessons or stories.
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3 days 8 hours ago
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3 days 8 hours ago
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3 weeks 5 days ago
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4 weeks 3 days ago
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8 weeks 9 hours ago
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8 weeks 1 day ago
The most recent comments
- The Allure of Thomasina
- Byron's "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" a Cooperative Journey
- Should English Teachers spend time talking about what an author meant?
- Teaching Hamlet
- Teaching The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Earth
- Should English Teachers spend time talking about what an author meant?
- Should English Teachers spend time talking about what an author meant?
- Should students be routinely quizzed to determine if they have read the assigned text?
- Should students be routinely quizzed to determine if they have read the assigned text?
The 10 Most Recent Audio Files to be posted
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Tue, 2013-04-09 00:49
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Mon, 2013-04-08 21:01
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Mon, 2013-04-08 00:57
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Thu, 2013-04-04 23:15
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Mon, 2013-04-01 11:43
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Most Recent Illuminated Text
The most recent comments