Lesson 1/Activity 1 - Build Your Knowledge, Shape Your Experience

“At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be infinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable” - Henry David Thoreau^[1]

A sketch of the small cabin that was built and inhabited for more than two years by Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau lived an extreme version of the Transcendentalist philosophy. This sketch was made by Thoreau’s sister Sophia. (http://www.4peaks.com/thwalden01.jpg)

Benchmark:                 

11.4.9 -Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including American Indian and other diverse cultures’ texts and how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

Learning Target:         

I can locate basic information around a new concept and use it to shape a general summary.

Essential Question:        

What is Transcendentalism and how does its philosophy relate to modern day American beliefs and customs?

You will need:        One Day

Internet Access

                        A way of taking notes

                        1 or 2 - 50 minute sessions

Activity:         Please follow the four (4 )steps in order.

STEP 1:

Access the internet and complete the prompts below. Compile your findings as notes that will be used later.

• Find at least three ideologies or beliefs that make up transcendentalism.
• Find at least 5 major players in the transcendentalist movement. (Make        sure you include at least one male, female, caucasian American, Native American, and author) - ex. A Native American Male Author would satisfy three criteria.
• Identify the region where transcendentalism originated and how widely it spread in America.
• Name at least 10 texts (novels, novellas, essays, poems) that promote a        transcendentalist way of life.

STEP 2:  

Organize your findings in chronological order by concepts that came surfaced in your research.

STEP 3:

Write “A Brief Summary of American Transcendentalism”

        Criteria:

• Must be typed in paragraph form
• All of your search criteria findings must make it into the summary
• Summary should be free of grammatical errors

        Summaries typically cover the big ideas, people and events around a topic or time period. Be thinking about your audience as those who know nothing about Transcendentalism in America and offer them the basics.

STEP 4:

Submit your summary assignment.