Walter Scott Lesson Plans

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.

Students examine the idea of artistic movements in the visual arts. They explore various websites, compare/contrast paintings, complete a chart, and write an essay.

Students watch a video that introduces some of Vermont's diners to illustrate the historical significance. They read a handout about the history of diners and the diner style guide. Students participate in a teacher lead discussion

Students use the library to find historical information about each Afro-American. They use magazines, articles from newspapers, and oral histories from video tapes and slide presentations to write biographical sketches about each Afro-American mentioned in the unit.

Students, while reading and analyzing Harriet Beecher Stowe's, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and Harriet Jacobs', "Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl," evaluate two different views on perspective, both in person and in race. They write how each literature selection impacted them personally in their journals.

Students develop an appreciation and understanding of the people, their attitudes, values and beliefs as reflected in their architecture. They use slides and or a walking tour showing the various styles of architecture, in New Haven, during the Victorian Age.

Students explore the idea of movements in the visual arts. They differentiate between some of the most well known movements in Western art. Students classify Impressionist and Neoclassical movement paintings.

Students analyze the role of the forest in literature. They read various literature selections, analyze the role the forest played as a setting, character, or symbol, and complete a writing activity.

Students study and discuss various entrepreneurs from their home state and then prepare a proposal for a business they would like to own and operate in the future.

Students view numerous artifacts from the life of Frederick Douglass. Using the objects, they discover the many parts of his life and develop a hypothesis about the significance of the objects in his life. They identify the relationship between the Civil Rights movement and activism in Douglass' time period.