This document outlines a lesson plan on the Transcendentalist movement. The lesson will introduce students to the history and major themes of Transcendentalism through a PowerPoint presentation. Students will then research influential Transcendentalist authors Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, or Henry David Thoreau and create a 10-minute presentation on their assigned author. The presentation should include the author's biography, major works, and historical context. For homework, students will read a selection from Emerson's Self-Reliance to discuss in the next class.

1. Introduction
- Intro to Transcendentalism
- 90 minute lesson
- 10.11. f) Use technology to access information, organize ideas, and develop writing.
Cognitive Objectives
- Students will be introduced to the history of the Transcendentalist Movement
- Students will discover the prevailing themes of the Transcendentalist Movement
- Students will research some of Transcendentalism’s major figures
- Students will organize their research into a PowerPoint presentation and deliver it to
the class
Materials
- Transcendentalism PowerPoint
- List of things to address in presentations for next class
- Selection from Emerson’s Self-Reliance
Teaching/Learning Sequence
- Anticipatory Set – What does it mean for something to “transcend” another? (10
minutes)
- Lesson Development
o Introduce the general idea behind the Transcendentalist movement (5 minutes)
o Run through PowerPoint of Transcendentalism’s general history, major
themes, and major works (45 minutes)
o Have students break into groups to research 3 of the main Transcendentalist
authors (Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman) and prepare a 10-minute presentation
for next class (30 minutes). Presentations must address:
 Authors’ date of birth and death
 Listing of other historically significant events of the time
 1 page bio of author
 List of major works
 Other authors influenced by your author

2. - Closure – Close with a selection from Emerson’s Self-Reliance essay
Homework
- Students will read Emerson’s Self-Reliance in order to discuss main points next class.
Assessment
- Formative – students will actively participate in the anticipatory set; questions will be
answered periodically throughout the lecture.
- Summative – students will be graded on their group presentations prepared as well as
their discussion abilities/contributions next class
Transcendentalism Presentation Handout
In preparation for our unit on the Transcendentalism movement, you will be broken into 3 groups
and each group will be assigned one of the movement’s most prominent figures. Each group will
research either Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, or Henry David Thoreau. Use the
remaining time in class to research your assigned author and prepare a 10-minute in-class
presentation that your group will give next class. In your presentations, please be sure to address:
 Authors’ date of birth and death
 Listing of other historically significant events of the time
 1 page bio of author
 List of major works
 Other authors influenced by your author
Be sure to address each item but make sure you focus on the author bio and list of major works.
Also make sure your presentations meets the 10-minute restriction.

3. Selection from Emerson’s Self-Reliance
Man is timid and apologetic; he is no longer upright; he dares not say `I think,' `I
am,' but quotes some saint or sage. He is ashamed before the blade of grass or the
blowing rose. These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to
better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God today. There is no time to
them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence. Before a
leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more; in the
leafless root there is no less. Its nature is satisfied, and it satisfies nature, in all moments
alike. But man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted
eye laments the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoe to
foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the
present, above time.