How do writers use words to protest injustice, challenge the status quo, and shape their own identities? Individuals watch and discuss a video, read author biographies, write poetry and journals, develop a slideshow, and complete a...

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...

Can you love something so much you want to change it? Young patriots investigate Walt Whitman's love of America—and his suggestions to improve it—using primary sources as well as video evidence. Scholars research American issues of the...

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...

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...

A brief biography on Emerson accompanied by links to the text to many of his poems.

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

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...