Students read writings by Ralph Waldo Emerson to analyze transcendentalism and analyze photographic essays depicting environmental issues. In this art and history lesson plan, students read excerpts of Nature by Emerson to identify...

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...

What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...

A gold mine for American history teachers, this presentation cascades through the middle of the 19th century with the central themes of moral and social reform. Between the blossoming Mormon church, the tightening of the Temperance...

Students discover the interaction of American Literature, politics and the environmental movement. They explore the changing concept and philosophy of wilderness, and explain the development of The National Park System. They read...

Eighth graders investigate philosophy and meditation techniques by discussing Emerson and Thoreau.  In this philosophical traditions lesson, 8th graders identify the men Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, their work, and...

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...

Students complete a variety of activities that go along with the study of and possible field trip to Keys' Desert Queen Ranch in Joshua Tree National Park, east of Los Angeles.

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...

High schoolers formulate their own opinions about the issues in an election campaign through a critical examination of political advertisements, candidate debates, and political cartoons.

In groups, 8th graders read different documents and answer questions on the Civil War period. Students read documents by Thoreau, Stowe and Frederick Douglas.

Students focus on interpreting difficult texts and analyzing the impact these texts can have on their own lives. They think more about who they want to be as individuals, and realize some of the constraints we have due to the real or...

Sixth graders participate in a skit, "Henry Gets it Right." They discuss the skit and qualities of a friend. They discuss an example of a wild animal taking care of animals of a different species. They consider the behavior versus the...

Students discover the resources that are available for consumer protection. In a database, they are responsible for entering two new vocabulary words each semester along with a sentence using the word. In groups, they create a...

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...

Young scholars research heroism online. In this heroism lesson, 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 participate in...

Students read about romance in order to develop a variety of reading skills.

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.

Students 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.

This website from a professor at Brandeis University provides a biography on Ralph Waldo Emerson in which his childhood, writing career, and his transcendentalist views are discussed. Included are links to related essays and a list of...

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.

At this website, read about the significant events in Emerson's life and learn about the major themes present in his writing.

The Transcendentalist movement of the 1820s-1830s promoted the ideas of intuition, independence, and inherent goodness in humans and nature. This excerpt comes from Emerson's most famous essay. "Self-Reliance," which discusses similar...