Curriculum / ELA / 11th Grade / Unit 1: Living Deliberately: Transcendentalism Then and Now / Lesson 20

Living Deliberately: Transcendentalism Then and Now

Lesson 20

ELA

Unit 1

11th Grade

Lesson 20 of 20

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Lesson Overview

Objective

Write a short essay or free verse poem that uses a moment of observation of the natural world to reflect on something about life.

Lesson Map

Build background knowledge on Transcendentalism and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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

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

“Excerpts from "Self-Reliance"”

Standards

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

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

“Chapter 1 from Nature”

Standards

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

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

“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

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

“Excerpts from Walden” — Paragraphs 6–10

Standards

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

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

“Excerpts from Walden” — Paragraphs 11–16

Standards

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

Socratic Seminar

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

“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

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

“Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?”

Standards

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

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

“Excerpts from "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience"”

Standards

RI.11-12.2RI.11-12.6

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.

“Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson”
Chart paper
Colored markers

Standards

L.11-12.1L.11-12.5RL.11-12.2RL.11-12.4

Analyze how Whitman uses imagery and figurative language to convey his central themes in "Song of Myself."

“Excerpts from "Song of Myself"”

Standards

RL.11-12.2RL.11-12.4RL.11-12.5

Performance Task

Review the expectations of a personal essay assignment, gather related quotations from Emerson and Thoreau, and brainstorm a chosen personal subject.

“Excerpts from "Self-Reliance"”
“Excerpts from Walden”

Standards

RI.11-12.1RI.11-12.2W.11-12.4

Performance Task

Outline and draft an introduction to the Being True essay.

“Excerpts from "Self-Reliance"”
“Excerpts from Walden”

Standards

W.11-12.1W.11-12.2W.11-12.4W.11-12.5

Performance Task

Complete a draft of the Being True essay.

Standards

W.11-12.1W.11-12.2W.11-12.4W.11-12.5

Performance Task

Provide peer feedback and make revisions to the Being True essay.

Peer Review Worksheet (G11, U1, L15)

Standards

W.11-12.1W.11-12.2W.11-12.4W.11-12.5

Analyze Kimmerer's central idea about reciprocity and how she develops that idea in her essay.

“Epiphany in the Beans”

Standards

RI.11-12.2RI.11-12.3RI.11-12.4RI.11-12.5

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.

“The Summer Day”
“The Swan”

Standards

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

Analyze Gay's tone, structure, and overall purpose in essays from his The Book of Delights.

“Excerpts from The Book of Delights”

Standards

RI.11-12.3RI.11-12.4RI.11-12.5RI.11-12.6

Brainstorm and plan a short essay or free verse poem that uses a moment of observation of the natural world to reflect on something about life.

“Epiphany in the Beans”
“Excerpts from The Book of Delights”
“The Summer Day”
“The Swan”

Standards

L.11-12.3L.11-12.5W.11-12.10W.11-12.4

Write a short essay or free verse poem that uses a moment of observation of the natural world to reflect on something about life.

Standards

L.11-12.3L.11-12.5W.11-12.10

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