Eleventh graders are introduced to Transcendentalism through the writing of Emerson and Thoreau. They keep a journal in which they respond to quotes and prompts. Students write longer essays on conformity, being alone and a "field...

If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...

The words of Henry David Thoreau on Civil Disobedience seem particularly relevant today, as are his writings and those of other transcendental thinkers who ask what it mean to live deliberately and what are the responsibilities of...

Eleventh graders examine their natural surroundings as a way to begin thinking about an abstract idea. They analyze and compare or contrast the rhetorical stategies of two essayists. Students interpret and evaluate images culled from...

Students participate in a panel discussion on materialism, assuming the identities of Henry David Thoreau and other experts on materialism.  In this Walden instructional activity, students create a panel discussion of prominent...

Eighth graders appreciate and better understand nature by reflecting on Henry David Thoreau's quotes, making observations of the outside world, and using nature in their writings of stories and/or poems.

Students recognize the writings of a prominent American writer. They analyze written text making connections to personal prior experience. Students discuss in small and large groups their findings. They organize ideas in writing using...

Students research and report on the life and times of Henry David Thoreau. In this Thoreau research lesson, students visit the given website and freewrite about Thoreau's life and home. Students work in groups to research and report on...

Sixth graders write journal entries o school site at least once during each season, including sketched and written observations of present environment. They can use sample topographical maps and student's own maps. Students can use...

Henry David Thoreau and Linda Ronstadt? Ann Tyler and Pete Townshend? Joyce Carol Oates and Pearl Jam? This richly detailed plan pairs classic literature with contemporary music and asks learners to analyze how the theme of conformity is...

Students engage in a series of activities geared towards studying the author Henry David Thoreau. They use different sources to obtain information to create context for future lessons. Students attempt to model their own lives to that of...

Eleventh graders answer the question Why Westborough? Why did their town develop as it did, what types of industry were here and why. They are introduced to journal writing. Students free write about ideas that stand out from class. ...

Students read and discuss excerpts from the writings of Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass and Sarah Parker Redmond. They compare and contrast the views of the three abolitionists concentrating on the experiences and reasons for...

Seventh graders create a final project called Industry X (which was previously researched in the unit) has plans to build in town. There is a special town meeting scheduled to discuss this matter and allow everyone to express their...

Students study American transcendentalism through readings of Emerson and Thoreau. They make cognitive connections to the similarities to Buddhism in these writings. The connection of the literary movement is explained in the art of the...

Twelfth graders study Thoreau as "philosopher" and developing a personal philosophy of life (both metaphorically and literally). They come to an understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world. Students come to a realization...

Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and  "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the...

Students criticially read an unfinished creative writing piece, answer factual questions concerning the piece, and then finish the story or create their own story about their own neigborhood and possible environmental issues.

Students red and discuss an example of a biographical essay. They read The Last of the Falling Tide by Car Hiassen, answer factual questions concerning the work, and create their own story about a natural place they are familiar with ,...

Eleventh graders analyze how American literature shows a lot of different genres. In groups, 11th graders create a short report about the passage they have chosen.