Content Focus: Literary Genre Study (Transcendentalism)

Language Focus: Listening and Writing

Vocabulary Focus: Transcendentalism, Nature, Self, Climate Change, Biotic/Abiotic Factors, Noise Pollution, Conservation, etc.

Standards:

• ELA – Reading: Text Analysis and Inferencing.
• ELA – Writing: Task Appropriate Development, Organization, and Style.
• US History – Patterns of Continuity/Change: Evaluate Primary and Secondary Sources of Major Eras
• US History – Contextualization: Evaluate Effect of Historical Context.
• Biology – Environmental Change: Predict Impact of Environmental Change on Stability of an Ecosystem.
• Biology – Human Harm Reduction: Design a Solution to Reduce Human Activity on the Environment.
• Environmental Studies – Energy Resolution: Design a Sustainability Plan for Your Location.
• Environmental Studies – Population Growth: Design a Sustainability Plan to Reduce Your Individual Contribution.
• Art Production – Craftsmanship: Applies Craftsmanship and Neatness Throughout Art Production Process.

Arts Integration: Sketching and Bookmaking

Lesson Objectives: Students are exploring the early nineteenth century literary movement of Transcendentalism through foundational texts by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Using this knowledge, students become transcendentalists themselves using sensory observational techniques to explore their own environments. Culminating their learning is research into climate change and the ways in which their environment(s) might change in the future. Their final product is a journal consisting of sketches, observational notes, and a personal climate pledge that integrates standards from ELA, US History, Biology, Environmental Science, and Art.

Activities: Text Analysis, Sketch Map, Sound Map, Diagramming, and Ecological Application

Engagement/Introduction: Reading and Analysis of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essay “Nature”

Assessment Procedure:

• Formative – Day by Day Activities (Sketch Map, Sound Map, etc.)
• Summative – Final Book (Compilation of ALL Sketches and Project Pieces)

Materials: Paper and THE GREAT OUTDOORS!

Supporting Documents: Presentation

Contact: Darien Olson