You are hereIlluminated Texts created using Microsoft Power Point
Illuminated Texts created using Microsoft Power Point
Illuminated Texts created by students. Some of these are created using Microsoft Power Point and you will need to be using Windows and either have Power Point or download the Power Point viewer to watch (and listen to) the presentation in your browser. In any case, you can download the Power Point file (without the music) to play on your own computer. A handful of the presentations are written using Adobe Flash and should be easily viewable on any computer (as long as you have the Flash Player - and most computers already do).
Cat in the Rain by Jenny Lee
The Illuminated Text that convinced me of the power and potential of the medium. This project explicates the short story "Cat in the Rain" from In Our Time. About a year and a half after this site opened, someone asked me how I got the idea for Illuminated Texts -- the answer for that one is easy: I saw Jenny Lee's "Cat in the Rain." Note: We now have a movie version of "Cat in the Rain" in case any of you were having problems viewing the Power Point version.
Click Here to View the QuickTime (video) Version of Cat in the Rain
Click Here to View the Power Point Version of - Cat in the Rain Read more »
"i carry your heart" by e e cummings an Illuminated Text
A presentation that I created to use in introducing students to the Illluminated Text concept during their studies of Renaissance Poetry. Though the poem is modern (and American), it is taught in conjunction with a poem by Sidney. After viewing the presentation, I ask that you either comment on the presentation (below) or leave a message on the Guest Book (above). There is also a Flash Version of this same poem that I created a few years after I made this Power Point version.
The House on Mango Street - An Illuminated Text example
A short example, appropriate for demonstration (we now have a Flash Video version of this presentation) -- showing students how and what an illuminated text is, using The House on Mango Street. It focuses on what Esperanza sees herself as and what she wants to become. One thing that this presentation also shows, I hope, is that it is not the technology, but the ideas that are the greatest contributor to making an Illuminated Text successful (though I would never be presumptuous enough to say that this one is). It is interesting that the year that I created this - and was so proud of my work - a student created an Illuminated Text on similar lines that blew this one completely away.
Illuminated A & P by John Updike
This is an illuminated text for John Updike's "A & P" using a literary 3X3 collaboratively created by 12th grade AP Lit students. [In order to hear this Power Point Illuminated Text, you must use Internet Explorer as your browser and choose open rather than save. JRS] I created the Powerpoint in order to model the student assignment of illuminating one story from a month-long short story unit. I am now able to tutor students on how to use Powerpoint (2007) after I spent about 4 hours constructing "A & P". [We now have a Flash Video version of this Illuminated Text - if you've had any problems hearing the sound - click on the link below.]
Bloody Resolve: A Macbeth Illuminated Text by Elizabeth Mucha and Renee Leber
The first Shakespeare Illuminated Text on our site and one of the best. The students use Macbeth's own words to indict his bloody intentions -- the movement of the words, the letters, and the music create a masterful impression of Shakespeare's words. [We now have a Flash Video version of this presentation - if you've had any trouble hearing the sound and/or video choose that version.] Shakespeare works wonderfully for these Illuminated Texts -
Night - An Illuminated Text by Cat Valentine
An examination through text and music of the horrific and unfathomable events and words of Elie Wiesel's novel, Night. Ms. Valentine does a great job here with a very difficult subject. We now have a Flash Video version of this presentation - if you are having any trouble with the Power Point (especially with hearing the sound) that would be the one that you want to click on.
An Illuminated Text of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief
This is a moving interpretation of Marcus Zusak's book narrated by Death, sure to be a classic. Death makes it clear in this novel that he is not the grim reaper we typically picture, as he tells the story of one mortal who he has noticed especially. Illuminated by Amanda Thomas, a student in Debbie Reeves senior English, and one of our illuminated text guinea pigs.
Sylvia Plath "Mad Girl's Love Song"
This powerpoint illuminated text was born out on an assignment exploring modern poetry. Students were allowed to pick their poet and work to illuminate. Kiara's presentation of Sylvia Plath's "Mad Girl's Love Song" does a wonderful job of conveying the power of love to lead to madness. Through emphasis on such lines as "I shut my eyes and the world drops dead" and "I think I made you up inside my head" the mix of obession and depression is immediately felt. The instrumental music matches the decent into an erie mood that illustrates the insanity of this girl's mad love.
Song of Solomon - Illuminated Text Exercise - A Sense of Where You Are
This is the handout for The Song of Solomon illuminated text excercise and it differs from other such assignments as the students are given a wider range of choices: they may create a traditional illuminated text (as seen throughout this website) or they may illustrate one of the historical backdrops (such as the sitins at lunch counters) that are brought up thoughtout this novel. It's funny but after students see what others have been doing with the text of the book -- very few if any opt for the historial presentations. It must also be said that Song of Solomon is so well written with so many textual layers that it truly lends itself to the creation of Illuminated Texts.
Gil's Furniture - A House on Mango Street Illuminated Text by Laura Nelson and Christina Wang
This impossibly intricate and detailed presentation examines Esperanza's encounter with the "junk store," and its echoes and implications in the rest of her life. The music box that makes music that is not for sale - the lovely music that it makes - all having echoes in the life, and of the life of Esperanza. To hear sound in the Power Point version of this Illuminated Text you will need to use Internet Explorer and a PC.
"Leaning into the Afternoons" an illuminated text of Pablo Neruda's poem by Amy Chiu & Lily Situ
An illuminated text by Amy Chiu and Lily Situ of Neruda's poem. Each year, when we study Pablo Neruda - I allow students to do an Illuminated Text as extra credit - each year a number of students do just that. [There is now a QuickTime Video version of this presentation.]The text, the animation, and the music do a wonderful job of pondering the poet's words: Leaning into the afternoons I cast my sad nets/ towards your oceanic eyes. There in the highest blaze my solitude lengthens and flames,/its arms turning like a drowning man's.
Betrayal and Red Clowns - A House on Mango Street Illuminated Text by Saquina Haque, Beata Kasiarz, and Michael Hernandez
This illuminated text pushes the envelope of textual animation (as well as the viewer's emotions) as it pulls together the many times that Esperanza is betrayed by those around her as she seeks that ideal home that proves more and more elusive. Looking at this Illluminated Text after three years I have to say that it has lost none of its power or impact. Please note that there is also a Quicktime Video version of this presentation if you have any trouble seeing or hearing the Power Point Edition.
"Now I Lay Me" - An Illuminated Text by Drew Johnson and Chassity Santiago
This is the first presentation that my students have done on this text. I teach "Now I Lay Me," by Ernest Hemingway after we have discussed "Big Two-Hearted River" and it seems that the students have come up with a plausible theory about the level of detail and other specifics of this story. Well, "Now I Lay Me," nicely undercuts that theory -- with its own "Twilight Zone" possibility. The Illluminated Text, complete with chirping crickets, done by these two students does a wonderful job of explicating the entire story as well as its possible links with other Nick Adams stories.
Grendel the Destroyer: An Illuminated Text of John Gardner's Grendel
This presentation by Briana Ryan and Kalissa Kakarous focuses on the destructive nature that Grendel embraces (reluctantly) after his meeting with the Dragon. A simple background - a tree encircled by mist -- with blood red text tells of Grendels journey from innocent to a jaded monster who bitterly accepts his fate. [There is now a Quick Time Video version of this Illuminated Text - if you have had any problems viewing the Power Point version].
An illuminated text on Shakespeare's Sonnet 60 by Beilin & Elaine Ye
A student Power Point presentation illuminating Shakespeare's Sonnet #60. This Illuminated Text was created before the Sonnet Research Project -- and these moving poems helped lay the foundation for that activity. There is now a Flash Video version - if you have any trouble viewing the Power Point Illuminated Text. If you do click on the Power Point edition and if you wish to hear the sound you must use Interent Explorer, on a PC, and be sure to choose Open in Browser, rather than saving it to your disk.
