Lesson 17 | Living Deliberately: Transcendentalism Then and Now | 11th Grade English

Lesson Overview

Objective

Analyze how the diction, imagery, and structure of Mary Oliver's poems contribute to her message about the role of nature in an individual's life.

Readings and Materials

Poem: “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver

Lesson Notes

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Poem: “The Swan” by Mary Oliver

Lesson Notes

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Lesson Map

Lesson

Build background knowledge on Transcendentalism and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Materials

Four Corners Questionnaire (G11, U1, L1)
“Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Beauty of the Everyday”

Standards

RI.11-12.2RL.11-12.2SL.11-12.1SL.11-12.6

Lesson

Identify Emerson's central ideas and how he develops those ideas in excerpts from "Self-Reliance."

Materials

Excerpts from "Self-Reliance"

Standards

L.11-12.5RI.11-12.2RI.11-12.4

Lesson

Analyze Emerson's use of literary devices and rhetoric to convey his argument about the relationship between man and nature.

Materials

Chapter 1 from Nature

Standards

L.11-12.5RI.11-12.4RI.11-12.6RL.11-12.9

Lesson

Build background knowledge on Thoreau, and identify his purpose and audience for Walden.

Materials

Excerpts from Walden — Paragraphs 1–4
“Walden (the Walden Woods Project)”
Walden Film Viewing Guide (G11, U1, L4)

Standards

L.11-12.5RI.11-12.4RI.11-12.6RL.11-12.9

Lesson

Analyze Thoreau's use of figurative language and rhetorical devices to convey his central ideas in Walden.

Materials

Excerpts from Walden — Paragraphs 6–10

Standards

L.11-12.5RI.11-12.4RI.11-12.6RL.11-12.9

Lesson

Analyze how Thoreau uses imagery and figurative language to develop his central ideas.

Materials

Excerpts from Walden — Paragraphs 11–16

Standards

L.11-12.5RI.11-12.2RL.11-12.4

Lesson

Assessment

Socratic Seminar

Engage in a Socratic seminar about poetry, making connections to ideas from Emerson and Thoreau and supporting arguments with strong textual evidence.

Materials

“Transcendentalism Socratic Seminar Poems”

Standards

L.11-12.5RL.11-12.2RL.11-12.4SL.11-12.1.aSL.11-12.1.bSL.11-12.1.cSL.11-12.1.d

Lesson

Analyze Sherry Turkle's purpose and how she persuades her audience using rhetorical appeals.

Materials

“Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?”

Standards

RI.11-12.2RI.11-12.6SL.11-12.3

Lesson

Analyze Thoreau's central ideas and rhetorical strategies in his essay "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience."

Materials

Excerpts from "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience"

Standards

RI.11-12.2RI.11-12.6

Lesson

Engage in small group discussions of Emily Dickinson poems, as well as a Gallery Walk, analyzing Dickinson's central ideas and how she communicates those through diction, imagery, and other literary devices.

Materials