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Arlene Acevedo-Davis Professor Susan Silverman Fall 2006-EDLA 615 Language and Technology Literature Circle Extension Project Midterm-October 30, 2006
Project Overview: I decided to do the Accordion Book Project found on the Literature Extension website http://www.litcircles.org/Extension/extension.html In order to create this project, I first selected 7 significant scenes from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. Instead of designing an accordion shaped book, I created a PowerPoint presentation displaying the sequence of events throughout the book. Each slide contains a visual image and a written description discussing what is occurring in the scene and why I find it important.
Self EvaluationàDiscoveries: One of the most difficult aspects of this project was deciding which extension assignment to choose. The websites provided in the course syllabus, http://comsewogue.org/~ssilverman/litcircles/index.htm and http://comsewogue.org/~ssilverman/litcircles/resources.htm , supplied an over abundance of examples and resources. So much so, that it became overwhelming at first to process all of the information and select a task to undertake. Once I had decided on the Accordion Book Project, my next step was to select the 5-7 scenes I wanted to incorporate into the assignment. Initially I started off with 11 scenes and then narrowed it down to 7. This process was beneficial in the sense that it made me focus on the themes and events I felt most impacted Cassie and the Logan family. I wanted to choose scenes that defined their lives and themselves as human beings. In order to enhance the impressions left by each slide, I decided to incorporate quotes into my assignment. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry contains many powerful quotes that I felt would capture the essence of what was occurring in the scene and express why each was particularly important to me. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a quote for every slide, but I provided one for the majority of them. Finding just the right image to exemplify the chosen scene was equally as important to me. For example, I wanted to select headlights that looked eerie due to the mental picture I formed after reading Cassie’s description of the Night men’s visit. “But soon, against my will, the vision of ghostly headlights soaked into my mind and an uncontrollable trembling racked my body.” (Page 68) Trying to capture emotions like those felt by Cassie, in an image was difficult and time consuming, but worthwhile in the end. As the background display to my PowerPoint, I selected the scales of justice. This symbolizes what the African American community in this book was trying to achieve on so many different levels. One thing that I am proud of is how I was able to express the tribulations Cassie and her family had to undergo and yet illustrate the strength they embodied in the face of adversity. At the beginning of this month, I was able to see Maya Angelo speak at Pace University. Her theme was the song “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine…” She said that every one of us has a responsibility to shine a light onto someone else and to clear the path for the next generation. By reading and becoming educated we would be able to pay it forward and help someone else. Cassie and her family did their best to help their neighbors and community. Despite the sorrow and frustration the Logan family experienced, they always did their best to shine their light onto others.
To access my PowerPoint, click HERE Self Assessment: I utilized aspects from the Response Project Rubric located at http://www.litcircles.org/Extension/extension.html and the Writing Rubric found at http://www.teach-nology.com to create a rubric from which to assess my assignment. I give my project a score of 20/20
Grading Scale: Total points possible= 20 A= 18-20 (90-100) B= 16-17 (80 & 85) C= 14-15 (70 & 75) D= 13 (65) F= 12 or less (60 and below)
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