teaching transcendentalism unit

8/14/2019 Teaching Transcendentalism Unit

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Teaching Transcendentalism Unit

Timeline: About 4-6 weeks, depending on how much time is spent in class discussing

and what extension activities are chosen.

Day One:

1. Reading Journal Entry #1. Share and discuss student entries.

2. Introduce Transcendentalism. Pass out lecture notes (Handout 1) and discuss with

class.3. Go over Emerson bio on pg. 238. Discuss the quote, The end of the human race will

be that it will eventually die of civilization. What do students think that means? How

might that quote fit within Transcendentalism?4. Read chapter one of Nature by Emerson. Stop to discuss and explain as needed.

5. After reading, have students complete the questions about Nature. (Handout 2) If

not completed in class, it is homework.

Day Two:

1. Reading Journal #2. Share and discuss student entries.2. Go over questions from Nature as a class to ensure all students understand the

excerpt. Mark student papers that were not completed as homework as these will only

receive half credit for completing assignments during class discussion.

3. Read excerpt from Self-Reliance. Stop to discuss and explain as needed.4. After reading, have students complete the questions about Self-Reliance. (Handout

3).

Day Three:

1. Reading Journal #3. Share and discuss student entries.

2. Allow students some time to finish Self-Reliance questions (10 minutes max). Thengo over questions as a class, again marking those who did not work on the assignment

prior to class discussion.

3. Read Henry David Thoreau bio on pg. 250

4. Begin reading selections from Where I Lived and What I Lived For from Walden.(lit book pg. 253-255).

Day Four:


2. Finish reading excerpts from Walden.

3. Have students complete the Walden questions (Handout 4). Go over questions as a

class, marking those who did not work on the assignment prior to class discussion.

Day Five:

1. Reading Journal #5. Share and discuss student entries.2. Start reading Civil Disobedience excerpt pg. 258. Stop to discuss and explain as

needed.

3. Have students begin working on Civil Disobedience questions (Handout 5). If theydo not finish in class, it is homework.


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Day Six:

1. Reading Journal #6. Share and discuss student entries.2. Go over Civil Disobedience questions as a class, marking those who did not work

on the assignment prior to class discussion.

3. Have students read copies of Martin Luther Kings speech, I Have a Dream(Handout 6). Students must mark I Have a Dream and answer the questions (see

Handout 7 and 8).

Day Seven:

1. Pass out and explain the essay assignment (see Handout 9).

2. Work on comparing passages; students are in lab typing up essays.

Day Eight:

1. Work on comparing passages; students are in lab typing up comparisons. Essays are

DUE today.

Day Nine:

1. Reading Journal #7. Share and discuss student entries.1. Read Robert Frosts poem, The Road Not Taken. Have students do Road Not

Taken questions (see Handout 10 and 11) and discuss with classhow is this poem

Transcendental??

Day Ten:


2. Pass out the Themes of Transcendentalism chart (see Handout 12).3. Play songs that show Transcendentalist themes (see Handout 13). Students must mark

on their charts where they see examples of Transcendentalism in the songs.

4. At the end of each song, discuss possible Transcendental elements.

Day Eleven:

1. Pass out a new Themes of Transcendentalism chart (Handout 12). Students workedon identifying the themes while hearing Transcendentalist songs, and now they must

go back through the literature read during the unit and identify at least one example of

each theme in the literature. This is to help students review for their final project.

Day Twelve:

1. Go over Themes of Transcendentalism chart for the literature. Collect assignments.

2. Begin test review (I used a copy of the test and asked questions from the test).

Day Thirteen:

1. Pass out Transcendental test (see Handout 14). Students can use their literature booksand/or copies of the literature read in class.

Day Fourteen:


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1. Pass out Transcendental Final Project (see Handout 15). Explain the project, rubric

(see Handout 16), and answer student questions.

2. Have students begin working.

Day Fifteen:

1. Continue working on booklets.

Day Sixteen:

1. Booklets due.2. Have students share their booklets with the class. Students must read at least 2 quotes

that were important to them and explain their importance.


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Transcendentalism Reading Journal Entries

Reading Journal #1: Conformity and Nature

Ralph Waldo Emerson encouraged people to think for themselves and resist the bonds of

conformity. Have you ever resisted the bonds of conformity? What did you do? How did others

react to you? How did you feel? Do you believe you will resist the bonds of conformity in thefuture?

Do you think conformity is good or bad for society? How might conformity be a good thing?

How might conformity be a bad thing?

Reading Journal #2: Self-Reliance

Emerson suffered the loss of his father when he was young, one brother who died from

tuberculosis, and two who had mental illnesses. Emerson himself suffered from lung disease and

bouts of blindness. He also endured the death of his first wife and child. How do you think

dealing with these hardships may have affected Emerson? Could they have influenced his ideasof divinity and truth? Relate a personal story of a time you dealt with hardships and how it

changed your views on life.

Reading Journal #3: Walden

What kind of life do you hope to someday lead? What kind of person do you want to be? Do you

want a family? Career? Fame? Fortune? Simplicity? Thoreau writes that he went to the woods

because, I did not wish to live what was not life. What would be living life for you? What

would NOT be life for you?

Reading Journal #4: Walden, cont.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different

drummer. What do you think this quote means? What does this quote mean to you? Relate astory about someone you know (or even yourself) who has heard a different drummer. What

was that person like? How were they different? How did others react to them? Relate a personal

story about a time you either resisted or went with conformity. What was it? How did you feel?Would you do it again?

Reading Journal #5: Civil Disobedience

What do you think of when you hear disobedient?

If there was something you believed in, would you fight for it? What would you do?

Reading Journal #6: I Have a Dream

What are you dreams for yourself and the country? Why?

MLKs speech was given almost 50 years ago. Do you believe that our country has achieved

some of what MLK dreamed it would? Why or why not?

Reading Journal #7: The Road Not TakenHas there ever been a choice youve made that seemed to change everything for you? How did

this one choice change the path your life took? Do you wish you could go back and change it?

Why or why not?

Reading Journal #8: Themes of Transcendentalism and music

Is there any music that you listen to that changes your mood? What music is it and how do you

think it does that? What do you think makes music so powerful?


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Handout 1

In the 1830s, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prominent Unitarian minister, left the church toseek a more meaningful religious experience. Emerson argued that individuals could

discover truth and God within themselves without belonging to a church or holding to a

particular set of religious beliefs. He began to lecture and write about religion and theworld, and formed a discussion group with other men and women who had also broken

from the church. This group of people accepted Emersons idea that truthtranscends (or goes beyond) what people observe with their senses in the physical

world. They called their group the Transcendental Club, and soon they established a new

religious, philosophical, and literary movement. At first focusing on the inner self,many Transcendentalists later became involved in social reform.

And so Transcendentalism was born. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "We will

walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own

minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himselfinspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men."

Henry David Thoreau joined Emersons circle of Transcendental friends, and built a hutat Walden Pond on property owned by Emerson. For a few years, Thoreau lived off the

land, meditated, and wrote about nature. Thoreau agreed with Emersons view that

reform begins with the individual, and began to stop paying his taxes in protest againstslavery. The tax collector ignored his tax evasion until Thoreau began to publiclycondemn the U.S. invasion and occupation of Mexico. Thoreau was then arrested for tax

evasion and spent a night in jail. Thoreau wrote his famous essay, Civil Disobedience

after this night in jail. Thoreaus minor act of defiance led him to conclude that it was notenough to simply be against slavery and the war. Thoreau decided that a person of

conscious needed to act. Unlike other advocates of civil disobedience like Martin Luther

King, Jr., Thoreau did not rule out using violence against an unjust government.

Transcendentalists believed in the unity of all creation and that human nature contained

something that transcended, or went beyond, ordinary experience. They believed that

every person was divine, and so to trust or rely on the self was to trust God who spokewithin us. Transcendentalists maintained that through intuition we transcend the limitsof our senses and reason and come to know higher truths.

Themes of Transcendentalism:

Universal Spirit: Emerson found divine energy in all living things. Emerson called this

energy the universal spirit, universal consciousness, over-soul, or God. In Emerson sway of thinking, this universal spirit gave all life meaning and purpose. From it came all


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truth, beauty, and goodness. Emerson believed that God was present in every form in

nature, as well as in every human being, regardless of race, religion, or social status.

Transcendentalists believed that everyone needed to find and form their own meaningfulrelationship with the universal spirit.

Self-Reliance/ Intuition: Emerson counseled his followers to seek God by lookinginward. Individuals should rely on their own heart and moral compass to guide their lives.

He advised followers to trust your intuition, since the source of this insight was God.

Self and Society: Emerson rejected the Puritan belief that all humans are born as sinful

creatures. He held a much more optimistic view that all men and women possessed a

natural capacity to do good and for society to progress. Emerson taught, however, that

individuals would first have to reform themselves before they could change society.Transcendentalists believed that social activism was a direct result of an increased

relationship with God and self.

Direct Relationship with God and Nature: Transcendentalists believed that man hadremoved himself too far from enjoying, appreciating, and learning from Nature. They

believed that in nature you could fully commune with God, learn of your relationship inthe world, and eschew modern conveniences in favor of using your mind to help you

learn higher truths about the human experience.

Transcendental influence went beyond literature:Transcendental reformers took Emersons advice to Be an opener of doors for those who

come after us; and they were able to open doors for many others to discover their own

paths to a better America. Transcendental ideas later opened the door for the abolition ofslavery, womens rights, progressive education, and in the 1960s, Martin Luther King,

Jr. and anti-Vietnam war activists revived Transcendental arguments for civil

disobedience.

Much of the Transcendental movement was influenced by the writingsof Immanuel Kant, who wrote: "I call all knowledge transcendentalwhich is concerned, not with objects, but with our mode of knowingobjects so far as this is possible a priori [that is, independent ofreason]."


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Handout 2

Ralph Waldo Emerson, NatureMake sure to answer ALL PARTS of the questions!

1. What does Emerson mean when he says, I am not solitary whilst I read and write,though nobody is with me?

2. Why should a man who wishes to be alone look up at the stars?

3. What might Emerson mean when he says, The stars awaken a certain reverence,because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a

kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence? What does he mean

by natural objects? How might someone open his or her mind to a natural objects

influence? What is meant by kindred impression?4. Emerson believes that if we were to find out Natures secret, man might lose his

curiosity by finding out all her perfection. What does that mean? How can you relate

this quote to modern-day life?

5. If the sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart ofthe child, how might we all be able to enjoy and understand Nature? How must we

act? What spirit must we retain?6. Can someone be glad to the brink of fear? What might that phrase mean?

7. Emerson believes that in the woods, we return to what two things?

8. In the woods, Emerson becomes what? What can this thing he becomes do (there are

two things)?9. In the tranquil landscape man beholds what? How does this relate to

Transcendentalism?

10. What do you think Emerson means when he states, Nature always wears the colorsof the spirit?

11. How can people in modern times connect with nature in a meaningful way?

12. Write down and then summarize what you feel are the 5 MAIN POINTS ofEmersons essay. What points would you need to mention in order to share

Emersons insights with others?


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Handout 3

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

1. According to Emerson, what things are genius?

2. Why does Emerson say men like Moses, Plato, and Milton are so admired? What did

they do that was different than others?

3. In every work of genius, what do we recognize?

4. What is bad about keeping your original and spontaneous ideas to yourself?

5. Emerson says that, There is a time in every mans education when he arrives at the

conviction that what?

6. When Emerson says, God will not have his work made manifest by cowards, whatdoes he mean? Who would be the coward and why would God not want that?

7. According to Emerson, who should you trust and why? What THEME of

Transcendentalism does this fit with?

8. Emerson believes that society demands of its citizens one thing. What is that thing?

9. What is the thing from #8s aversion?

10. Why is the answer to #8 the aversion to #9? Why are they polar opposites?

11. Complete the quote Whoso would be a man

12. What does Emerson believe is sacred?

13. What does Emerson say is easy?

14. What does Emerson believe makes a great man? Include the WHOLE QUOTE.

15. Do you think it is possible for people today to live as Emerson recommends? Why or

why not?

16. Write down and then summarize what you feel are the 5 MAIN POINTS of

Emersons essay. What points would you need to mention in order to share

Emersons insights with others?


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Handout 5

Henry David Thoreau, Civil DisobedienceMake sure to answer ALL PARTS of the questions!

1. What kind of government is Thoreau most supportive of? What motto does heheartily accept?

2. Men can only have this type of government when?

3. The government is equally liable to be what TWO things before the people can actthrough it?

1.

2.

4. Thoreau believes this American government is but a ________________.5. What power does a single man have over the government?

6. What does Thoreau believe governments show?

7. What THREE things does the government NOT do?

1.2.

3.8. Thoreau states that the American people could have accomplished even more if what?

9. Why does Thoreau believe that the majority is allowed to rule, even if the majority is

wrong?

10. Finish the quote: I think that we should be what?? (pg. 259)11. What does Thoreau believe is his only obligation?

12. Why do you think Thoreau relates the story about the clergyman? What is the

importance of that story?13. Why does Thoreau not feel confined while in the jail?

14. What is really the most dangerous part of Thoreau?

15. Why does Thoreau refuse to support the state? What is his reasoning?16. What does spending a night in jail do to Thoreaus perception of his town?

17. Who does Thoreau say he will cheerfully obey?

18. What progress does Thoreau believe that America has made?19. Does Thoreau believe that a democracy is the last possible improvement in Americas

government? Why or why not?

20. What does Thoreau suggest should be the relationship between government and the

individual?21. Thoreau mentions the Mexican-American War as an example of government acting

against the peoples will. What other examples of unpopular government actions can

you think of? Explain.22. Do you think Thoreaus essay is optimistic or pessimistic? Explain.


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Handout 6Martin Luther King I Have a Dreamspeech, delivered 28 August 1963

I am happy to join with you today inwhat will go down in history as thegreatest demonstration for freedom inthe history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American,in whose symbolic shadow we standtoday, signed the EmancipationProclamation. This momentous decreecame as a great beacon light of hope tomillions of Negro slaves who had been

seared in the flames of witheringinjustice. It came as a joyous daybreakto end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negrostill is not free. One hundred years later,the life of the Negro is still sadly crippledby the manacles of segregation and thechains of discrimination. One hundredyears later, the Negro lives on a lonelyisland of poverty in the midst of a vastocean of material prosperity. One

hundred years later, the Negro is stilllanguished in the corners of Americansociety and finds himself an exile in hisown land. And so we've come here

today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects ofour republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration ofIndependence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fallheir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, wouldbe guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Itis obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as hercitizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America hasgiven the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficientfunds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe thatthere are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we'vecome to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedomand the security of justice.


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We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency ofNow. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizingdrug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is thetime to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial

justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to thesolid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's

children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This swelteringsummer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigoratingautumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Andthose who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content willhave a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will beneither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. Thewhirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the brightday of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold

which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, wemust not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom bydrinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle onthe high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest todegenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heightsof meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead usto a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by theirpresence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrorsof police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with thefatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of thecities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smallerghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of

their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannotbe satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New Yorkbelieves he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not besatisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations.Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come fromareas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms ofpersecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans


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Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from everyvillage and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed upthat day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles,

Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the oldNegro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!


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Handout 7Allusion

An indirect reference to some piece of knowledge not actually mentioned. Allusions

usually come from a body of information that the author presumes the reader will know.

For example, an author who writes, She was another Helen, is alluding to the

proverbial beauty of Helen of Troy.

Anaphora

A literary or oratorical device involving the repetition of a word or phrase at thebeginning of several sentences or clauses, as in the well-known passage from the Old

Testament (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2) that begins: For everything there is a season, and a time

for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and atime to pluck up what is planted

Alliteration

The repetition of the beginning sounds of words, as in Peter Piper picked a peck of

pickled peppers, long-lived, short shrift, and the fickle finger of fate.

Metaphor

The comparison of one thing to another without the use of like or as: A man is but a

weak reed; The road was a ribbon of moonlight. Metaphors are common in literature

and expansive speech.

Allusion

An indirect reference to some piece of knowledge not actually mentioned. Allusions

usually come from a body of information that the author presumes the reader will know.

For example, an author who writes, She was another Helen, is alluding to theproverbial beauty of Helen of Troy.

Anaphora

A literary or oratorical device involving the repetition of a word or phrase at thebeginning of several sentences or clauses, as in the well-known passage from the Old

Testament (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2) that begins: For everything there is a season, and a time

for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and atime to pluck up what is planted

Alliteration

The repetition of the beginning sounds of words, as in Peter Piper picked a peck ofpickled peppers, long-lived, short shrift, and the fickle finger of fate.

Metaphor

The comparison of one thing to another without the use of like or as: A man is but a

weak reed; The road was a ribbon of moonlight. Metaphors are common in literature

and expansive speech.


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Handout 8

I Have a Dream

1. Using colored pencils, create four categories for your speech. Your categories are:Alliteration, Allusion, Anaphora (repetition), and Metaphor/Simile/Symbolism. These

categories describe the various writing methods MLK Jr. uses to make his speech

more powerful. Then in the text, mark places where you see these writing devicesbeing used. For example, use blue to underline metaphors, red to underline allusions

to Christianity and historical founding documents of the United States, etc.

Then answer the following questions. Each answer should be at least 3 sentences:

2. How does an authors word choice influence a readers impression? For example,

what if Martin Luther King, Jr. would have said I have a vision, instead of I have a

dream? What is the effect on the reader when MLK Jr. says, I have a dreamtoday?

3. Consider that MLK Jr. alludes to The American Dream. What is The American

Dream? Write a composite definition for this commonly used term.

4. Evaluate the connotation the concept of The American Dream has, and explain why

it is appropriate that King uses it in his speech.

5. Now again, how does his word choice relate to his purpose and the type of audience

present for the speech?

King was assassinated for his work in civil rights. A quotation from the Bible on thetombstone at his gravesite reads, Behold the dreamer. Let us slay him, and we will see

what will become of his dream.

6. What do you think has become of Kings dream? In what ways has the dream been

fulfilled? What yet remains to be accomplished?


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Handout 10

Robert Frost,

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Handout 11

Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

1. When viewing the two paths in the woods, why do you think Frost might say that he

was sorry I could not travel both?

2. Summarize, in about 2-3 sentences, stanza 1 of the poem. What is going on?3. What might the road beyond the bend represent?

4. Summarize, in about 2-3 sentences, stanza 2 of the poem. What is going on?5. Why does Frost state that one path had perhaps the better claim. What might that

mean?

6. Summarize, in about 2-3 sentences, stanza 3 of the poem. What is going on?

7. Why does Frost state that he doubts if he should ever return to the first path?8. Summarize, in about 2-3 sentences, stanza 4 of the poem. What is going on?

9. Why will Frost be telling this with a sigh? What does that imply about his decision?

10. What THEMES of Transcendentalism do you see in this poem? (List at least 2)


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Handout 12Examples of Transcendental Thought

Transcendental Theme ExamplesExplanation

Nonconformity

Self and Society

Self-Reliance/ Intuition

Universal Spirit

Importance of Nature/Direct relationshipbetween God andNature

Handout 13


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Transcendental SongsThese are the ones I used in class, there are many others that I thought of but did not

use:

Drive by Incubus

Answer to Yourself by Soft PackGet up, Stand up by Bob Marley

Straight Lines by Silverchair

New Soul by Yael NaimGreat Escape by No Kids


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Handout 14

Transcendental Test

1. What man started the Transcendental movement?

2. Who was this man greatly influenced by?

3. Why did the man from question #1 start the Transcendental movement in the firstplace?

4. Why did these authors name themselves Transcendentalists?

5. Transcendental authors believed that you could change society, but first you had to

change what?

6. Name at least three future movements that were influenced by Transcendental ideas:1.

2.3.

Nature pg. 242

7. If the sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart ofthe child, how might we all be able to enjoy and understand Nature?

8. Emerson believes that if we were to find out Natures secret, man might lose hiscuriosity by finding out all her perfection. What does that mean?

9. Emerson believes that in the woods, we return to what two things?

10. In the tranquil landscape man beholds what? How does this relate to

Transcendentalism?

Self-Reliance pg. 245

11. In every work of genius, what do we recognize?

12. Emerson believes that society demands of its citizens one thing. What is that thing?

13. What does Emerson say is easy?

14. What does Emerson believe makes a great man?

Walden pg. 253 and handout

15. Why did Thoreau go to the woods in the first place?


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16. What does Thoreau mean when he says, We do not ride the railroad; it rides upon

us?

17. What happens when we are unhurried and wise?

18. How can a man achieve success?

Civil Disobedience pg. 258

19. What THREE things does the government NOT do?1.

2.

3.

20. Why does Thoreau believe that the majority is allowed to rule, even if the majority is

wrong?

21. What does Thoreau believe is his only obligation?

22. What does Thoreau suggest should be the relationship between government and theindividual?

I Have a Dream handout

23. List at least ONE dream that Martin Luther King has for this country:

24. List at least ONE thing that Martin Luther King alludes to in his speech:

25. America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back

marked insufficient funds. What does Martin Luther Kings metaphor mean?

26. Where is there an example of anaphora in Kings speech? Write the example.

27. Where is there an example of alliteration in Kings speech? Write the example.

Road Not Taken handout

28. Why does Frost state that he doubts if he should ever return to the first path?

29. Why will Frost be telling this with a sigh? What does that imply about his decision?

30. What THEMES of Transcendentalism do you see in this poem? (List at least 2)


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Handout 15

This Is Your BRAIN on Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism Final Project

We have read and learned about Transcendental themes, authors, and literature. As your

final project for Transcendentalism, you will be creating a book of quotations from theTranscendental pieces we have read that appeal to you in some way. For each quotation,

you should include an explanation of what the quote means to you. Your booklet must

contain:

A creative and unique cover

Table of Contents At least 10 Quotes (one quote per page)

One paragraph (5-7 sentences) explanation PER quote (on a separate but

facing page)explaining how and why that quote is important to you, why you

chose it, etc.

You may organize your booklet by theme (self-reliance, intuition, Universal Spirit,

nonconformity, simplicity, nature, etc.), or just by quotes that are meaningful to you.I will show you how I want your booklet to lookDO NOT start making your booklet

until you are sure you understand the format required!!

We will work on this booklet the last week of the termFebruary 22nd-26th. Your bookletis DUE Friday the 26th AT THE LATEST!! I will not accept booklets past this date

(unless you have come to talk to me beforehand).


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Handout 16

CATEGORY 100-90 90-80 80-75 75-50QuotationsandExamples

Provides uniqueexamples thatdisplay thecharacteristics ofTranscendentalism. Quotes arepicked based onstudent interest

and show that thestudent read andcarefully chosetheir quotes.

Providesuniqueexamples forthequotations.Quotes showsome studentinterest and

motivation.

Providesexamples forTranscendentalism that areobvious, thoughsomewhatoriginal.

Providesexamples forTranscendentalism that areobvious andshow littleeffort orthought to be

original.Student doesnot seem tounderstandassignment.

Explanation of theQuotes

Makes a completeand detaileddescription of theexamples. Showsinsight andoriginal thinking.

Makes acompletedescription ofthe examples,but notdetailed.

Makes acursorydescription ofthe quotations,shows littleinsight.

Explanationsare brief andincomplete.Student doesnot seem tounderstand the

requirements ofthe assignment.

Cover Creative, original,and shows artisticmerit. Accuratelyrelates to thestudents quotesand overall themeof the booklet.

Somewhatcreative,shows effort.Relatessomewhat tothe studentsthemes in thebooklet.

Little creativityand originality.Shows littlerelation to thethemes of thebooklet.

Sloppily done,with little effortor care. Showsno relation tothe themes ofstudentsbooklet.

Possible Extension Activities:

Transcendentalism Final Project Rubric


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Students can look through comic books or newspapers provided by the instructor and

identify cartoons that show Transcendental characteristics. Calvin and Hobbes oftenhave good examples.

Students can create their own Transcendental cartoons that display their

understanding of Transcendental themes. Go to toondoo.com and have

students create accounts and then design their own cartoons. You can also dothis in class instead of on a computer.

Students must find examples of Transcendentalism in popular culture. They could do

this as their final project, so instead of finding quotes in the literature for a booklet,they have to look in songs, TV, movies, etc. and include those quotes. Then they must

explain how their quotes display the themes of Transcendentalism.

Students could present their own Transcendental songs following yourpresentation of songs. Make sure students approve the songs and lyrics with

you first, then they could present their song to the class and discuss how it

applies to Transcendental themes.

Group these songs into genres and see which genre has more

Transcendental themes: country, pop, rock, alternative, etc. Discuss whichgroup had the most selections and what the reason might be for the genre withthe most songs.

Assign students the short novel Seedfolks. Assign one chapter for each student or

groups of students. Each day, a student or group of students must read their chapter

with the class, then discuss the Transcendental themes that are present in the chapter.

Have a culminating final project where the class discusses the entire novel

and how it is Transcendental. Make posters that advertise the Transcendental

themes in the novel.

Have students read a novel that explores one of the themes from Transcendentalism.

Their selections can be from nonfiction, photography books, fiction, graphic novels,

poetry, etc. Each student must choose their own book and keep track ofTranscendental themes they encounter while reading in their reading journals.

Research Gardners theory of multiple intelligences. Have students take tests to

identify which intelligence they ascribe to the most: linguistic, kinesthetic,naturalistic, etc. Based on their area(s) of strength, allow them to pick their final

project. For linguistic learners, it could be an essay. For kinesthetic, an interpretive

dance. For musical, write and perform a song.

Watch the filmInto the Wild(rated R, for nudity and language). Have students takenotes on the authors they hear referenced, as well as any Transcendental themes they

can identify in the film.

teaching transcendentalism unit

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