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Approaching Walden

Examples of the Best Curriculum Units Developed by Approaching Walden Alumni

 

 

  

 

Sorted generally by subject

 

 

 

Jamie Pietruska, Dover-Sherborn High School -- English

Acrobat (*.pdf)     Web-published (*.html)

"In wildness is the preservation of the world." -- Henry David Thoreau

In wildness is the DISCOVERY of the SELF

This unit was designed for use in 11th grade AP Language as part of a thematic term on language and place, but it will work in an American Lit, American Studies, or a writing course. 10 days minimum.

 

Janet Burne, Reading High School -- English

Acrobat (*.pdf)     Web-published (*.html)

Living Thoreau as a Means of Approaching Walden

Intended for grade 10 honors American Literature.  This series of assignments is intended to be accomplished over the course of several months, being presented on alternating Mondays and due at the end of two weeks (thus, every other Friday, students will submit a completed journal and on the following Monday, a new assignment will be started).

 

 

Shannon Murphy, Masconomet Regional High School, Topsfield, MA -- American Literature

         

Acrobat (*.pdf)     Web-published (*.html)

 

Thoreau: The Personal Is Political

A Unit Plan for 11th Grade American Literature

 

This unit on Thoreau will fall sequentially between units on Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and the Beat Generation poets and Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. It is intended to parallel the social studies department’s coverage of the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements of the 1960s. The focus of the unit will take a cue from the slogan of second wave feminism, “The personal is political.” Thus, the unit will begin with an examination of the radical consequences of crossing boundaries that are commonly thought to be impenetrable. In the case of Thoreau and Emerson, the boundary was that between God and Man, a boundary mediated only by men of the cloth. After an analysis of Transcendentalism as a religious philosophy, we will expand the discussion to artificial boundaries within education, nature (geography), language, and of course, politics. We will spend one more day edging our way closer to Thoreau by examining the false dichotomy between formal writing and creative writing that seems to be drilled into students brains by the MCAS machine. This will prime them for some truly Wild writing, I hope. The focus will remain on connections between the personal and political, the outside world and the inner world, as we wend our way through analysis of Thoreau’s concepts of the Wild, simplicity, deliberate living, and civil disobedience. Most reading will be completed in class. Homework assignments will focus on students’ own experiences. I will ask them to observe and reflect upon their home places, the people of their communities, the choices they have made, and changes they would like to make in their own lives and in their communities.

 

Beth Hughes, Wakefield High School -- English

Overview of the 19th Century Authors

Target: 11th grade American Literature

Understanding of the Transcendentalist movement and its influence on the writers of the 19th century is the focus of this unit.  Several activities are included to introduce students to each author’s life and works.

 

John Koch, Walpole High School -- English

A Question of Morals

Target: All High School

This unit utilizes works from Thoreau, Emerson, Tim O’Brien and Dr. Seuss to help students come to an understanding of moral issues.  It provides a context in which they can define what issues are important to them and how best to respond when confronted with things they don’t agree with.

 

Gwynne Sawtelle, Westborough High School -- English

Acrobat (*.pdf)     Web-published (*.html)

Paths to Constructing Meaning: Preparing for the MCAS

Intended Students:  9th, 10th, and 11th graders in MCAS preparation courses.  Fourteen lessons long.

 

 

Alison Van Vort, Odyssey High School, South Boston MA --  Interdisciplinary/English

         

Acrobat (*.pdf)     Web-published (*.html)

 

Place in the World

 

Designed for a high school English class, this unit devotes a great deal of energy to the writing process, including reflective journaling, formal prose, and editing (as well as additional language arts components). The main goals of the unit are to heighten students’ awareness of their social, cultural, ecological, and political surroundings, and to get them to think about their own place within these matrices. It is composed of three general sections: learning about where you live through observation, reflection, and first-hand experience; learning about where you live through research and investigation; and learning about your responsibility and power as individuals and writers.

 

Peter Doherty, Tahanto Regional Middle/High School -- English/Interdisciplinary

Introduction of a Theme: the Individual and His/Her Role in Society
Target: 11th grade Honors American Literature.

This unit focuses on what it means to be an individual and what an individual’s responsibility is to society.  Emerson and Thoreau are used as starting points, presenting questions that will be carried through the literature all year.

 

John Warchol, Smith Academy, Hatfield (public) -- English/Interdisciplinary

Acrobat (*.pdf)     Web-published (*.html)

Thoreau and Emerson-- Developing Self: Who am I?

In this 5-7 day introductory lesson, students will discuss and compare Thoreau’s act of civil disobedience in the 1840’s with an act of civil disobedience from tax resisters in the 1990’s in the Connecticut River Valley.

 

 

Robin Strizhak, Lexington High School, Lexington, MA -- Interdisciplinary/English

         

Acrobat (*.pdf)     Web-published (*.html)

 

Transcendentalism Unit Plan

 

This unit strives to introduce students to the concepts of the Transcendentalism movement of ~1830-1860, as championed by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Students will study and connect various texts written by Transcendentalists to both the context of the times in which these writers lived, as well as with our own society today. Thus, students will understand the vast significance of history upon literature and life itself in America. Ultimately, students will reflect personally on these concepts, hold meaningful conversations, begin to act with a social conscience in their daily lives, and continue to come back to Transcendentalism throughout the year.

 

Brodie Miles, Winchester High School, Winchester, MA -- American Studies, English, and History.  

         

Acrobat (*.pdf)     Web-published (*.html)

 

Sauntering Circuitously: Thoreau and American Studies

 

This unit is designed to work with an American Studies course where both English and History are taught in one class. In the History part of the course, Thoreau serves as an excellent connection with the cause of the war, the following reconstruction, and the development of the west. In the English half of the class the following lessons will focus more on the philosophy of Thoreau and how it is reflected in time.

 

Tanja Hiti, Melrose High School -- English and Theater

Incorporating Thoreau and Theatre
Target: 11th grade American Literature

This unit uses dramatization to bring to life the writings of the Transcendentalists.  Students are asked to act out quotes, short passages, a play and an original class creation.  This is designed to broaden the students’ appreciation and understanding of the Transcendentalist writers.

 

    

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