Lesson Plans and Worksheets
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- Independence, IA
- 08-31-11
Existentialism Lesson Plans
Find teacher approved Existentialism lesson plan ideas and activities
Young scholars discover the ideas of enlightenment by reading historical poetry. For this philosophical lesson, students read poems by Sir Walter Scott and Sergeant Joyce Kilmer while discussing the themes of the writing with classmates. Young scholars view the Bill Murray film Groundhog Day and complete several activities based on the characters and existential viewpoints from the film.
Tenth graders explore the genre of Existential literature. In this literature lesson, 10th graders view portions of Fight Club and then read excerpts of works by Kierkegaard, Kafka, Nietzche, and others existential thinkers. Students write an analytical comparative essay.
Young scholars analyzes different worldviews as divergent as Christianity and B.F. Skinner's behaviorism, Platonism and Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism, and shows that these different world views can be compared in terms of four topics: They each present an idea of the nature, and sometimes origin, of the world and a theory of the nature of the human being
Learners examine a theatrical performance of Waiting for Godot. In this theatrical analysis lesson, students discuss the topic of existentialism and the Theatre of the Absurd. This lesson includes multiple activities to engage learners in.
Young scholars explore the psychological coping mechanisms of cancer patients and relate individual cancer survivors' stories to Dr. Kubler-Ross' stages of grief. They use first-person accounts, discussion and journals to explore these concepts.
Students explore how artists depict wartime historical events. Then students create their own works of art depicting a historical event that has taken place during their own lives. They create a classroom gallery.
Students examine a variety of songs, poems, and books exploring and analyzing the theme of self reliance and being true to one's self. They write a poem, essay, or letter that captures their true spirit and individuality and then they present this to the class using music, video, collages, or any other media source of their choice that demonstrates their personality and individuality.
Third graders study the human body. In this health lesson, 3rd graders discuss that everyone's body is growing, measure body parts using a tape measure, and color the body worksheet.
Students explore the relationship between an author's life and their work. Students research the historical and personal events surrounding a Nobel Prize winning author and how they are reflected in the author's writing. They create a timeline that makes the connection among his or her life, local and world events during his or her lifetime, and text publication dates. Students write short stories revealing the influence of their homelands.
Tenth graders complete a variety of activities related to the first two chapters of the book "The Outsiders." They define metaphor, simile, idiom, metonmy, and hyperbole, and take a vocabulary pre-quiz. In small groups they write a character description of a character from the book, and participate in the game "Metaphorical Baseball."
