The African American Author Study Assignment

Mr. Dawursk – Central City Cyberschool

Assignment:

1. Choose an African American author from the list at Mr. Dawursk’s desk.

Your study should include an evaluation of the author’s style, use of literary devices, social impact, and contribution to American literature, with special focus on one story or set of poems that you read by the author. An effective presentation will synthesize (combine) your insight with the author’s own observations and third party evaluations of his/her work.

DUE DATES: ALL PROJECTS ARE DUE 2/21/06.
Early bird extra credit “Bye Pass” is awarded for projects completed by 2/20/06.

2. The project must include BOTH of the following:

§ A list of websites about the author, a list of books or poems written by the author, and a list of books about the author.

§ A 3 to 5 minute presentation to the class on the author and your project.
Please be prepared to read a small piece from your author’s writing

3. The project must also include TWO or more of the following:

§ A power point presentation of at least 5 slides about the author’s life and works.

§ A 1-2 page original paper on the author’s life and works.

§ A creative, colorful and detailed poster about the author’s life and works to be displayed as part of the Black History Month event at Cyberschool.

Presentation Due Dates:

Day 1: 2/20	Day 3: 2/21	Day 5: 2/22
Booker T. Washington	Sterling A. Brown	James Baldwin
Charles W. Chesnutt	Arna Bontemps	Eugenia W. Collier
Ida B. Wells	Richard Wright	Alice Childress
W.E.B. Du Bois	Chetser Himes	Dorothy West
Paul Laurence Dunbar	Margaret Walker	Ralph Ellison
James Weldon Johnson	Ann Petry	Paule Marshall
Jesse Faust	Alice Walker	Ernext J. Gaines
Day 2: 2/23	Day 4: 2/27
Claude McKAy	Malcolm X
Jean Toomer	Martin Luther King, Jr.
Langston Hughes	Ishmael Reed
Countee Cullen	Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Zora Neale Hurston	Gwendolyn Brooks
Randolph Fisher	William Melvin Kelley
Reginald McKnight	Diane Oliver