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

progress
monitoring

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

“Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson”

Standards

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

Lesson

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

Materials

“Excerpts from "Song of Myself"”

Standards

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

Lesson

Assessment

Performance Task

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

Standards

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

Lesson

Assessment

Performance Task

Outline and draft an introduction to the Being True essay.

Standards

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

Lesson

Assessment

Performance Task

Complete a draft of the Being True essay.

Standards

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

Lesson

Assessment

Performance Task

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

Materials

Peer Review Worksheet (G11, U1, L15)

Standards

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

Lesson

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

Materials

“Epiphany in the Beans”

Standards

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

progress
monitoring

Lesson

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.

Materials

“The Summer Day”
“The Swan”

Standards

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

progress
monitoring

Lesson

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

Materials

“Excerpts from The Book of Delights”

Standards

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

progress
monitoring

Lesson

Writing

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.

Standards

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

Lesson

Writing

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

Lesson

Assessment

2 days

If additional assessment is needed, use the Warm Read and/or Vocabulary Assessments to gauge student understanding of unit content and skills.

Lesson

Writing

Overview

Create an informational slideshow that explains how an individual today embodies key values of transcendentalism and can be considered a modern transcendentalist.

Day 1 - Brainstorming

Brainstorm and select an individual who embodies transcendental values, and identify 2–3 values with initial examples and evidence.

Materials

Transcendental Values Brainstorm Graphic Organizer (G11, U1, L12)
Modern Transcendentalist Brainstorm Graphic Organizer (G11, U1, L12)

Standards

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

Day 2 - Planning

Plan the structure of an informational slideshow by organizing ideas and evidence, selecting relevant quotations, and explaining how they support the thesis.

Materials

Informational Slideshow Outline (G11, U1, L12)

Standards

SL.11-12.4W.11-12.2.aW.11-12.2.bW.11-12.2.fW.11-12.4W.11-12.5

Day 3 - Drafting

Draft an informational slideshow that uses text features to organize and enhance ideas and speaker notes to explain, expand on, and connect the information presented.

Materials