Illuminated Texts
By Wendy R. Williams
An illuminated text is an animated PowerPoint show. Putting one together requires an understanding of a book's (or a short story's) plot, characters, mood, conflict, and theme. Students make PowerPoint slides filled with text boxes of quotes. Then they animate these boxes in meaningful ways and select appropriate music for the mood. Illuminated texts might contain pictures, color, and different fonts. Here is a great example of an illuminated text for Hemingway's short story "Cat in the Rain": https://sites.google.com/site/ghsenglishclasswebsite/home/period-1/-a-cat-in-the-rain-learning-activity.
I first heard of this project idea when Kathy Deakin and Tricia Sindel Arrington presented their students' illuminated texts at a session of the Arizona English Teachers' Association Conference. Afterwards, I used this project in my sophomore English classes in Phoenix. Students had selected YA novels, and this project helped them to read closely. Watching their illuminated texts was a wonderful celebration of their reading and a way to promote great books.
Click the icon below to see a student example of an illuminated text for Laurie Halse Anderson's book, Wintergirls. Play it to the song "Soothsayer" by Buckethead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adV8-_hgL4g&feature=kp.
I first heard of this project idea when Kathy Deakin and Tricia Sindel Arrington presented their students' illuminated texts at a session of the Arizona English Teachers' Association Conference. Afterwards, I used this project in my sophomore English classes in Phoenix. Students had selected YA novels, and this project helped them to read closely. Watching their illuminated texts was a wonderful celebration of their reading and a way to promote great books.
Click the icon below to see a student example of an illuminated text for Laurie Halse Anderson's book, Wintergirls. Play it to the song "Soothsayer" by Buckethead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adV8-_hgL4g&feature=kp.
wintergirls.pps | |
File Size: | 468 kb |
File Type: | pps |
Click the icon below to see my first slide of an illuminated text for Laurie Halse Anderson's book, Speak.
Play it to the song "I Cut Class" from the Speak soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CRgkCIontc.
Play it to the song "I Cut Class" from the Speak soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CRgkCIontc.
speak_-_first_slide.pps | |
File Size: | 87 kb |
File Type: | pps |
Teaching Tips:
* Ask students to keep a log of key quotes while they read their books.
* Students could work alone or in groups. I asked each student to contribute four slides to the presentation.
* We spent only three days in the computer lab. To make the most of this time, students first storyboarded their work. These
plans included text boxes of quotes, animation ideas, special colors, and the order text boxes would occur.
* If time allows, consider scheduling an opportunity for students to present drafts of their projects. They may catch issues like
these: not enough time to read a line, clashing colors, font too small, etc.