A Way to Teach | The Text is a Terrible Thing to Waste

The War Prayer - An Illuminated Text Project

A project for using Illuminated Texts to explicate Mark Twain's long poem, "The War Prayer." The assignment divides the poem into sections so that various part can be done by different students -- without replication. The teacher can then choose to show the parts of the poem in order to create a "larger" effect. This particular incarnation of the project has students (to great effect it turned out) utilize the Library of Congress's American Memory project to obtain their images and sounds. After assigning this for a number of years it has been possRead more

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Putting on the Beowulf and putting on the world: Beowulf Plays and The HIstory of Love continues

Posted 2008-10-06 14:29 by scotese

In British Literature, the long-awaited Beowulf Plays will be performed. Students have come up with their own themes and settings but will act out the last part of Beowulf (Wiglaff, the dragon, etc) using a published translation (each group will use a different translation - something different this year). Much fun should ensue!Read more

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Welcome to AWayToTeach. Internet Explorer no longer works on our site, until the problem is solved please use another browser such as Firefox, Safari, Opera, or Chrome. Full access to the website can only be gained when you register. Registration is quick, free, and easy, and once you register you'll be able to access the full content of this site including - over 200 lessons, over 100 Illuminated Text (in Flash and Power Point), take part in forums on your favorite books and authors, listen to audio of classes, see videos and still photography (over 3000 pictures) related to the lessons and authors found here.

Viewing Illuminated Texts at AwaytoTeach

Posted 2008-09-06 13:22 by scotese

How do you view the Illuminated Texts that are found on this website? Any of the Illuminated Texts written in Flash (see the menu at the top - these are still a small minority of all of the presentations on this site) can be viewed with any browser - you may need to download the newest Flash Player from Adobe -- if you do your browser will prompt you to do so.

Power Point Illuminated Texts on a PC
For those Illuminated Text written in Power Point -- it becomes a bit more problematic. If you want to see and hear the Illuminated Text your best bet is to use Internet Explorer 7 or later. If you don't have the latest edition of Internet Explorer (from Microsoft) you'll probably want to upgrade. You will also need to have Power Point on your computer or download the free Power Point viewer from Microsoft. When you click on the Illuminated Text link your browser (Internet Explorer) will ask you (if this is your first time) if you want to download or view the presentation. Choose view. If this is not your first time -- it will do whatever you did the last time, and you will have to go into your browser settings to change the default action. At that point, the Illuminated Text should play within your browser and you should hear any music and/or sound.Read more

Hamlet - An animated film by Kerry Ferrantella

Posted 2008-02-11 20:45 by scotese

a drawing of Hamlet's father ghost appearing in Act 1, scene 1 This animation of Act 1, Scene 1 of Hamlet is done with skill, wit, and creativity by Kerry Ferrantella and his classmates. Kerry used the free program Windows Movie Maker to animate the still drawings that he had created and then they created the voice overs. The overall effect is astonishing and original. Mr. Ferrantella's teacher is Ian McCarthy, also of Whitney Young High School -- and I am greatful to him and Kerry for allowing us to share this on the website. I can't wait to use the project with my own students. Be patient when you click on the link below -- it is a large file and may take a minute to load.

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Grendel - On Our Own - Group Work Chapters 9 & 10

Posted 2006-09-29 11:00 by scotese

A significant reworking of an earlier group work focusing on Chapters 9 & 10 -- the high priest Ork and the death of the Shaper and how it has left us alone. I print this as a two-sided handout: on one side this group work, on the other a short account on the death of Verdi, and how the people of his town lined the streets with straw as he lay dying so that he would not be disturbed. I also have the lyrics to the Simon & Garfunkel song, "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright," and invite the students to make comparisons.Read more

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Beowulf, Heroism, and 9/11 - A Presentation

Posted 2006-08-27 18:02 by scotese

This brief slide show begins with the moving, translated words of Beowulf where he states that he would not race ahead of his friend Brecca, because he had promised him he would stay by his side. The presentation next recounts some of the heroes of 9/11while subtly (I hope) comparing it ideas of heroism from Beowulf. It ends with the fiery funeral of Beowulf and the casket of the last 9/11 firefighter being carried away on his fire truck. This is used with a group work on the same subject.

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Cat in the Rain by Jenny Lee

Posted 2006-08-20 15:57 by scotese

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. It was created by Jenny Lee at Whitney Young Magnet High School. One year and a half after this site opened, someone asked me how got the idea for Illuminated Texts -- the answer for that one is easy: I saw Jenny Lee's "Cat in the Rain."Read more

14 comments

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - Movie Questions and Extra Credit

Posted 2006-10-25 11:10 by scotese

When I teach the Romantics, I use this wonderful, underrated movie as a bridge between the Enlightenment (Age of Reason) and the Romantic Era. When you see the movie, it almost feels at though that was the director's intention: the Romantic and imaginative Baron versus the forces of reason and reality that battleRead more

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Fevered Love - A Flash Illuminated Text on Shakespeare's Sonnet 47 by Carmen Au and Sabrina Britecevich

Posted 2008-06-20 12:15 by scotese

A Renaissance Doctor with bird mask This Illuminated Text was created as the end product of a research project where students worked with partners and investigated one particular sonnet. The result here, for Sonnet 47, is outstanding. The students focus on Shakespeare's medical teRead more

The Treasured Key: A Flash Illuminated Text of Shakespeare's Sonnet 52

Posted 2008-06-24 12:32 by scotese

a jeweled skeleton key Students, Eric Jang and Yucong Feng created this outstanding Adobe Flash-based Illuminated Text of Shakespeare's Sonnet 52. For the discordant music to the choices of animation and movement -- they get everything right. As has been said earlier, the IlluminatRead more

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The Once and Future Exam and The Harmony of War

Posted 2008-01-08 15:39 by scotese

In English III the students will take a total of 4 tests on The Once and Future King, a book that they read during break. In Journalism/World Literature, we will start watching the Illuminated Texts that the students created on All Quiet on the Western Front.