Day 15

Do Now: Share one of your five quotations with a neighbor.

Then, with your group, brainstorm:
-3 Things that you absolutely need in your life.
-3 Things that you have, but don’t really need. (3 min.)

SWBAT identify central ideas of Thoreau’s writing

Agenda:
1. Group Discussion: WHY do you need that thing? Why do you hang onto the things that you don’t need?
MAKE 3 COLUMNS on paper:
I) 3+ Things we all need;
II) 5-10 Things we find convenient/helpful but don’t technically need to survive;
III) 5-10 Things we enjoy but don’t need at all- fill out list with your group; class share.

Thoreau's Cabin, Walkthrough

With just $1000 at your disposal, design your own cabin/dwelling, which you think you could happily live in for 2 years by yourself in the woods; imagine the cabin materials cost $100, but you have to pay for all other supplies to live on- $900 left over.

Use chart paper/boards and label furniture/supplies/non-essentials and essentials, including food/clothes/food preparation.)

How will you: stay warm, dry, and fed?

HW: 1) Read and annotate (5 quotations) “Where I Lived and What I Lived For” (pp 90-109)

Day 14

DO NOW: Please put your string journal on your desk, and talk with your group for a moment about your experiences. What could you learn from your repeat visits to this specific place?

SWBAT identify central ideas of Thoreau’s writing

Agenda:
1. Transcendental Tunes

2. Where I'm From

3. What does researching where we're from reveal about what we do/don't know? What could we potentially learn from a closer look at where we're from?

Homework: Read and annotate (at least 5 quotations) these specific “Economy,” selections:
-Paragraph 1
-Page 12, “Let us consider”- page 18 “silver fetters”;
-Page 23 “As this business” - page 34 “on these terms”
-Page 45 “Near the end of March” - page 50 “as the Iliad”
-Page 60 “Before I finished…”- page 62 “as well off as before”

Day 13

DO NOW: Please open up to your 7 responses. I will do a spot check.

Individually, reflect on Emerson’s ideas in your notebook:

3+ Emerson’s Ideas to “take with you” in life	Emerson’s ideas you plan to “leave behind”

Agenda:
1. Recap In2Out
2. Quiz on Self Reliance
3. Transcendentalism in music?
4. Where I'm From

HW: String Journal #1 due Friday.

Day 12

What's on your transcendentalist playlist?

Do Now: Share one of the quotations you copied into your notebook. Why did you choose it?

Today's Learning Target(s): 
I will be able to discuss a short passage from Emerson's "Self-Reliance" and explain the purpose of one of his stylistic choices.
I will know that I have hit the learning target when...
-I can use annotation strategies to make my own thinking visual while I read a challenging passage.
-I can read and annotate a passage of Emerson's, paying attention to big ideas and literary methods.

Agenda:

1. Selected quotations
2. In2Out protocol with "Self-Reliance"
3. Beginning journal responses 

HW: Respond in your notebook to seven of the "Self-Reliance" questions.

Day 11

Do Now: Share your annotations on the article about "Self-Reliance."

Objectives: Define Emerson’s concept of genius.

Agenda:
1)Silently Writing in Comp Book: What does the word GENIUS mean to you? Who is one? How do you know genius when you “see” it?
2) Group discussion: What is Emerson’s definition of genius in “Self-Reliance”? Examples of genius?
3) What are some examples of “genius” that fit Emerson’s definition? Find 3 examples of “genius” with your group through collective brainstorming and/or research- consider art, writing, inventions, music, ideas- from any time period.
4) Begin HW reading/quotation annotations with group, pausing to figure out difficult passages together. Remember: “To be great is to be misunderstood!”

Summarizer: Do you agree with Emerson’s definition of genius? Why or why not?

Homework: Read and closely annotate the abridged "Self Reliance" (Copy 3 quotations and annotate them in your journal.)

-String Journal #1 due Friday. 

Day 10

Do Now: Please take out your annotations on Barry Lopez's "The Naturalist." Talk to your group about connections to Emerson.

SWBAT practice close reading, using “steady intention”; paraphrase difficult material

Agenda:
1) Group read-aloud: "Beauty"
2) Discussion of Emerson’s “Beauty”:
3) Group analysis of assigned Important Quotations in “Beauty”- what do they mean?
4) "American Scholar," "Nature," "Beauty" - what is Emerson's vision? Find a quotation from each piece that emphasizes Transcendentalist ideas. Given what you know now, what would you add to or remove from your poster?

HW: 1) Read “Emerson’s Self-Reliance and the Ethics of Authenticity”

2) String Journal #1 Due one week from today (9/27)

Day 9

DO NOW: Share a connection you made with nature from the outdoor activity.

Objectives:
-Practice close reading, using “steady intention”
-Paraphrase ideas by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Agenda:
1) Important Quotations, Discussion: 5 “Nature” Quotations (one assigned to each group). Discuss for 5 minutes, then we will share out.
2) Write a haiku (or short poem) about:
a) Emerson’s belief in the power of nature from his essay, b) a powerful moment in nature you have experienced, OR c) the central idea in your assigned quotation.

Haiku = a poem with 3 lines of 5/7/5 syllables that highlights some sort of contrast, e.g., Basho's "In Kyoto"

In Kyoto,

hearing the cuckoo,

I long for Kyoto.

3)Sharing poems
4)Walking in nature is good for your mental health! : “time in nature was found to have a positive effect on mood and aspects of cognitive function, including working memory, as well as a dampening effect on anxiety [and depression].”

String Journals assignment- write once/week, due on Fridays - put it in your calendars (first one is due 9/27 and last one is due 11/1).
5) (if time) Begin reading “Beauty” as a group, pausing to interpret/annotate difficult passages together. (Tip: Read challenging sentences more than once!)

HW: Read and annotate "The Naturalist" by Barry Lopez. Look for connections to Emerson's "Nature."

Day 8

Do Now: Please take out your annotations on Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers." Share a question, connection, or comment with your group.

Today's Learning Target(s):
I will be able to read and annotate a short passage from Emerson's "Nature" and describe the purpose of one of his stylistic choices.
I will know that I have hit the learning target when...
-I can use annotation strategies to make my own thinking visual while I read a challenging passage.
-I can read and annotate a passage of Emerson's, paying attention to big ideas and literary methods.

Agenda:

1. Emerson and Baldwin on Education
2. Nature and You
3. Reading Emerson: Emerson wants you (i.e., his readers) to engage in your own thinking. He doesn’t supply an easy answer. Rather, he makes you feel your potential and then reminds you you’re not there yet. We’re never “there,” we’re always striving. 
4. String Journals

HW: Read and annotate the excerpt from "Nature." Be prepared to share one of your questions/observations. Also, consider where you will go for your string journal entries.

Day 7

Emerson delivered his lecture on "The American Scholar" at Harvard in 1837.

Do Now: "The state of society is one in which the members have suffered amputation from the trunk, and strut about so many walking monsters, - a good finger, a neck, a stomach, an elbow, but never a [person]." (Emerson 84)

Locate this quotation in "American Scholar" and consider whether your education helps you work towards becoming a whole person or one who is "metamorphosed into a thing, into many things"?

Today's Learning Target(s): 
I will be able to discuss a short passage from Emerson's "The American Scholar" and explain the purpose of one of his stylistic choices.
I will know that I have hit the learning target when...
-I can use annotation strategies to make my own thinking visual while I read a challenging passage.
-I can read and annotate a passage of Emerson's, paying attention to big ideas and literary methods.

Agenda:

1. Finishing group posters and gallery walk
2. Emerson's "American Scholar"
3. Close reading
4. Exit Ticket: What is a belief you have about your education?

HW: Read and annotate James Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers" and consider how it compares and contrasts with "American Scholar."