Cat in the Rain by Jenny Lee

What a fantastic depiction of this short story!  I've just found this site, and I'm so excited - can't wait until I have 50 points, so I can see  illuminated texts.  I'm definitely going to share this with other English teachers in my district.  I think this particular illuminated text was beautifully done; I love the way that the music pairs with the movement of the words.

Cheers!

Heather

Once again, I used Jenny Lee's "Cat in the Rain" to demonstrate iluuminated text to my students, and with each subsequent viewing I continue to be as impressed as I was the first time I saw it. She captured the essence and emotion so simply, yet beautifully, with her selected animation and audio. I wish I owned a copy of the music!

This project just blew me away!  I am working on an illuminated text project with 7th grade students.  They are to select 8 phrases to illuminate from The Pearl.  We are using Jenny Lee's Cat in the Rain PowerPoint as an example.  I encourage the students to look at her animations as a way to see how this PP was constructed.  SOOOOO helpful!  Thanks for sharing this excellent example with all of us.

I can't believe you can do that much with a powerpoint. Now I have many more questions.

Gorgeous! Poignant illustration of the text. I plan to use with 11th grade American Literature. This story and/or the illuminated text could be paired with Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants"  for dynamics in Male/female relationships.

i absolutely love this text... she made the words come alive literally. The words transitioning into tables, doorways, beds, pillows, and people was a brilliant idea. Even though she had the all white background it still popped out with the use of color. i loved the raining words, that tied the whole thing together. This is a wonderful job and it really makes me want to read the book now.

I really love the way she portrayed words into objects, like turning the phrases into a table. And also making the words falls and jump around like rain. Making an umbrella was a really nice idea. The color was a nice touch. The fact that she made so many forms with the words and phrases, I would like to learn how she did that. Overall the message was nicely portrayed and easily understood.

i really liked the different ways the important words were highlighted through out the illuminated text. the plot behind it, the signora needing love, and its outcome were very interesting. i like the morphing of the words into shapes and what they represented. i liked how the story developed from  a cat out in the rain to a wife needing love.

 I like how she uses color for emphasis. I also like the way the important words were bold and singled out later on.  It was very entertaining to watch and helped me understood illuminated text more by showing different ways that I can show emphasis on a word or phrase

 I like how she uses color for emphasis. I also like the way the important words were bold and singled out later on.  It was very entertaining to watch and helped me understood illuminated text more by showing different ways that I can show emphasis on a word or phrase

Of all the illuminated text, I have seen this one is perhaps the one that was most powerful and striking to me. The choice of music didn't distract from the text and just when the turning point in writing came, the overall tone of the music changed. The pace of the flash movie was excellent. I was not overwhelmed with two much text at once and I had a chance to absorb what was going on in the story. The pace cause an emotional impact infect. Lastly this illuminated text illustrated the words literally and even when this couldn't be done there was use of color. The pictures ENHANCED the piece. My favorite part specifically is when the door was created with words and the umbrella was tilted next to it. This has definitely inspired me to make improvements to my own illuminated text project.

I really enjoy these illuminated texts!  They would really appeal to my students, who are very visual learners.

I've found that incorporating a project for any reading we do in class always deepens the comprehension of the students, but book talks can get monotonous...and posters too. I had my students write a song about the themes  in Snow Falling on Cedars this year, and the results were incredible. Kids brought their own instruments got really creative. Some were funny, some were deep, but it pushed their creative limits and they each saw things in the text that others didn't.

The idea of illuminated text is so creative and I think it will help students to delve deeper into the text. I think they'll surprise themselves. I can't wait to use this for novels and poetry. I had heard the term before , but this is the first time I've really read anything about it or seen one. Can't wait to see more. Thanks for the introduction!

Wonderful.

I also begin summer school tomorrow and plan to teach House on Mango Street.  I am very excited about the idea of having students create illuminated texts.  It gives me many, many ideas!

 My students are going to love this! I couldn't figure out how to get the sound, except for the beginning storm sounds, but I found myself entranced nonetheless, and so did my husband, who happened to come in and stand over my shoulder. What a great way for kids to demonstrate understanding and appreciation of a short story -- everything from character to mood and tone to imagery and theme. Like rendering it in a different artistic medium. Now I have the summer to teach myself how to use this wonderful tool. Jenny Lee -- amazing!

The use of text and movement truly capture mood and tone so appropriately.  I find the idea of illuminated texts a way to merge creativity and technolgy in a useful and meaningful way.  Thank you for sharing!

I think this tool can be of great use to students who tend to learn more visually.  Much of the meaning in Hemingway's writing exists between the lines, (the part of the iceberg under water), and this tool allows students to explore the unstated meaning.  I also use the education version of Glogster, a cool web 2.0 tool that allows students to create interactive presentations as well.

I am in awe of this whole concept of illuminated texts! I am a visual learner and the imagery created by the Cat in the  Rain was absolutely amazing. This has so much potential for student engagement and learning in the classroom. What an oustanding idea and presentation. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have been honoured with seeing such fantastic teaching resources. Thank you so much Jenny Lee for giving us such an awesome, powerful and inspirational teaching resource.... and scotese for sharing this with us! I always go without sleep due to my creative urges with technology ...now I have to learn how I too can create illluminated texts...it's out of this world! The creative process can really make students  think about the true essence of text. It will be fantastic for a poetry unit. Oh, woe is me...there's not enough hours in the day.

Amazing.It's a story I didn't know. And the presentation was mesmerizing. 

And done by a high school student!!!

I'm knocked out by the flow of the images and the music. 

My only quibble would be that I want to know the name of this music.  I can only imagine the amount of time and planning that goes into the initial stages of these pieces.  As you say, the ultimate power comes from crafting a powerful expression of insight. (though the razzle dazzle of some of these Flash projects reveals great expertise)

I am fascinated by these illuminated texts. I'm an English teacher, but I love to do art--altered art, collage, and these illuminated texts incorporate everything I love--words and graphic images.  Since I'm a visual learner, I always try to incorporate visual with each lesson I do in class. These texts give me the best ideas for visual, sound, and having kids then create their own!  I love it!

This is such a great illuminated text, especially on powerpoint. Me and my partner don't know how to use Flash for our lives, and watching this video always inspires us. You use great technique and really utilize every aspect of powerpoint!

Except for some reason, the music doesn't work well on my home computer. Good job. :)