Curated OER
Friendship
Students investigate the concept of friendship with the help of two different quotations. The quotations are used to compare and contrast two facets of friendship and what is needed to encourage fruitful relationships. They read "The...
Curated OER
Exploring Heroism
Young scholars research heroism online. In this heroism instructional activity, students use the documentary of Heroes of Ground Zero to explore the theme of heroism. Young scholars complete five days of activities to research and...
Curated OER
Territorial Expansion
Eleventh graders brainstorm a list of characteristics of adolescence. They use selected websites and draw a parallel between the characteristics of adolescence and the characterisitcs of Romanticism, as seen in visual art and literature.
Curated OER
Zen Buddhism and Modern Utopia
Learners work collaboratively to analyze the various religious beliefs of Zen Buddhists. Emphasis is placed upon class discussion and the ideal of a Utopian environment or society.
Curated OER
Louisa May Alcott
Students explore life of author Louisa May Alcott, define Transcendentalism, discuss the children's books Alcott wrote, read two selections she wrote, and compare the writing style of one of her children's stories with a story she wrote...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: Individualism in Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self Reliance"
Lesson on Emerson's views about self-reliance and individualism and how embracing those ideas affects society. Contents include teacher notes, vocabulary, background information, text analysis and Close reading questions.
Other
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Transcendentalist Philosopher
Information and lesson ideas pertaining to the famous American thinker. The yellow, left side of the page contains teaching ideas, and the white, right side of the page contains background.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: A Literature of Democracy [Pdf]
In this lesson, 11th graders explore the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and his call for literature that was uniquely American. They then consider how Emerson would have responded to writings by Henry Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Harriet...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: The Romantic Period, 1820 1860: Essayists and Poets
This lesson focuses on the Romantic Period's essayists and poets such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, the Brahmin Poets, and more.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Examining Transcendentalism
Interactive lesson plan that allows students to view the works and ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau through the popular culture of their time. Students use multiple genres to grasp the concepts of Transcendentalism,...
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Henry David Thoreau
Learn more about the author Henry David Thoreau when you explore this resource. This site provides links to lesson plans and activities for some of his works.