If you presented a slideshow about an author's life... (See honors contract for details.)
Name the author you researched. Describe how you feel about the process and product (minimum 200 words). Skip a line between paragraphs. If you are willing, post a link to the slideshow.
I presented a slideshow on Sandra Cisneros, the author of The House on Mango Street. I chose Cisneros because she was the only female and the most recent author out of the four we were allowed to choose from, and that set her apart.
Since the assignment required 10 slides, I decided to begin by brainstorming 10 different slide topics that I could base my research off of. I started with the standard topics that are appropriate for a presentation about an author—awards received, notable works, and the like. Aside from that, I knew that I wanted to explore how Cisneros' early life affected her work, since I had heard that The House on Mango Street was based loosely on her childhood experiences. I wanted the inspiration for her work—where she got it from, and why it was important to her—to be a big part of the slideshow, and that idea branched off into several different slide topics.
I started my research by reading Cisneros’ Wikipedia page. I got a lot of my information from that page, and as I researched each individual slide topic, I looked up interviews and articles regarding it to supplement what the Wikipedia page had to offer. I noticed that Cisneros offered a lot of good, thought-provoking quotes about her work and the subjects that inspire it, so I began to add quotes that I felt encompassed the idea I was trying to convey in that particular instance to the bottom of every slide that I could.
It was also a requirement of the assignment to ask an open-ended question to the audience. So, in regard to the fact that Cisneros was the first female Mexican-American author to be published by a mainstream publisher, an accomplishment she made in 1989, I asked whether the audience was surprised that up until relatively recently, no Chicana author had ever been supported by a mainstream publisher and why they thought that was. Most of the students who responded said that they were surprised, and that they thought it was because Mexican-American culture was not accepted by mainstream American culture, an issue that our country is still struggling with today. That was the reason one student said they had for not being surprised—that sexism and racism are still contemporary problems.
Overall, this was a very thought-provoking project for me. I enjoyed learning about the inspiration behind The House on Mango Street as well as learning about the life of its author; the challenges she faces and the changes she hopes for us to make as a society.
URL for the slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TovI96swhIsKJ39YxiXiWZ1hDWoCy4QdeB-NxdOeYnQ/edit#slide=id.p
Layla, your presentation was awesome. I loved that you have a quote from the author on each slide. I think that added to the understanding of the author, and her opinions and thoughts. I was also interesting to learn about her early life and how that effected all her works. I also liked how you explained Chicana, which I had never heard about before. You did a good job and the slide show was interesting, informative and creative!
I presented in class about John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men. My slideshow came along slowly. It was easy to find writing about John Steinbeck, but everyone seemed to be saying the same thing. I assumed this was because he was born in the early 1900s and there just was not a ton of documentation about him and his life. I decided to add a slide about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl because it seemed relevant considering the fact that Of Mice and Men is set during this time. However the more I researched about the Great Depression, the more confused I got. Eventually I had to ask my mom to explain to me what I was reading. We talked for at least a half an hour and eventually I was able to feel like I actually knew what I was talking about. During my presentation I was very pleased to see the class listening and giving me there undivided attention. At the end a lot of hands were raised to talk about a fact they liked in my slideshow. I think this was a really fun assignment because I always love to learn more about the author of a book I read. I appreciate Of Mice and Men more now that I’ve done the research about John Steinbeck. I think this is mostly because it was interesting to learn that he wrote about events that were current at the time. Background wasn’t necessary to enjoy the book, but it certainly makes the book have a different effect on you.
I presented a slideshow on Sandra Cisneros, the author of The House on Mango Street. I chose Cisneros because she was the only female and the most recent author out of the four we were allowed to choose from, and that set her apart.
ReplyDeleteSince the assignment required 10 slides, I decided to begin by brainstorming 10 different slide topics that I could base my research off of. I started with the standard topics that are appropriate for a presentation about an author—awards received, notable works, and the like. Aside from that, I knew that I wanted to explore how Cisneros' early life affected her work, since I had heard that The House on Mango Street was based loosely on her childhood experiences. I wanted the inspiration for her work—where she got it from, and why it was important to her—to be a big part of the slideshow, and that idea branched off into several different slide topics.
I started my research by reading Cisneros’ Wikipedia page. I got a lot of my information from that page, and as I researched each individual slide topic, I looked up interviews and articles regarding it to supplement what the Wikipedia page had to offer. I noticed that Cisneros offered a lot of good, thought-provoking quotes about her work and the subjects that inspire it, so I began to add quotes that I felt encompassed the idea I was trying to convey in that particular instance to the bottom of every slide that I could.
It was also a requirement of the assignment to ask an open-ended question to the audience. So, in regard to the fact that Cisneros was the first female Mexican-American author to be published by a mainstream publisher, an accomplishment she made in 1989, I asked whether the audience was surprised that up until relatively recently, no Chicana author had ever been supported by a mainstream publisher and why they thought that was. Most of the students who responded said that they were surprised, and that they thought it was because Mexican-American culture was not accepted by mainstream American culture, an issue that our country is still struggling with today. That was the reason one student said they had for not being surprised—that sexism and racism are still contemporary problems.
Overall, this was a very thought-provoking project for me. I enjoyed learning about the inspiration behind The House on Mango Street as well as learning about the life of its author; the challenges she faces and the changes she hopes for us to make as a society.
URL for the slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TovI96swhIsKJ39YxiXiWZ1hDWoCy4QdeB-NxdOeYnQ/edit#slide=id.p
Layla, your presentation was awesome. I loved that you have a quote from the author on each slide. I think that added to the understanding of the author, and her opinions and thoughts. I was also interesting to learn about her early life and how that effected all her works. I also liked how you explained Chicana, which I had never heard about before. You did a good job and the slide show was interesting, informative and creative!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wrote the response above but I was not logged into my email account.
ReplyDeleteI presented in class about John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men. My slideshow came along slowly. It was easy to find writing about John Steinbeck, but everyone seemed to be saying the same thing. I assumed this was because he was born in the early 1900s and there just was not a ton of documentation about him and his life. I decided to add a slide about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl because it seemed relevant considering the fact that Of Mice and Men is set during this time. However the more I researched about the Great Depression, the more confused I got. Eventually I had to ask my mom to explain to me what I was reading. We talked for at least a half an hour and eventually I was able to feel like I actually knew what I was talking about. During my presentation I was very pleased to see the class listening and giving me there undivided attention. At the end a lot of hands were raised to talk about a fact they liked in my slideshow. I think this was a really fun assignment because I always love to learn more about the author of a book I read. I appreciate Of Mice and Men more now that I’ve done the research about John Steinbeck. I think this is mostly because it was interesting to learn that he wrote about events that were current at the time. Background wasn’t necessary to enjoy the book, but it certainly makes the book have a different effect on you.
ReplyDeleteLink: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HJk1pBMs3tZQlJP3SjUaYCqOMVQ2xb-QzfLu9CyR5yM/edit#slide=id.p