The Romantics

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 
            -Robert Frost (The Road Not Taken)

 

REFLECTIVE ESSAY- After your Socratic Seminar has taken place, you need to write a brief (1-2 page) paper explaining which ideas you found interesting.  You may wish to elaborate on an issue that you feel was not adequately addressed during class, or point out some of the interesting ideas/points that your peers pointed out during the seminar.  You may use quotes from the text (it would be beneficial) but is not required.  Remember to cite them if you decide to do this, “basfaklgfkldghjlsdfhgkdsh” (Thoreau 345). 

SOCRATIC SEMINAR will take place in class B: Mon 1/26 and B: Tues 1/27.  An explanation of the assignment (after reading Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and excerpts from Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”) was handed out in class *Socratic Seminar Explanation*. BE PREPARED!  (50 points)

You will be typing up a 1-2 page reflection after the seminar which will be due Wed/Thu (1/28 and 29). Please note that this is the same day that the “This is Your Brain on Transcendentalism” responses are due (you will have had these for well over a week at this time).  USE YOUR TIMELY WISELY.

We are working on our Transcendentalist Unit.  Here is our tentative schedule for the next week.  During the time that you are reading this literature, you should be thinking of ways to connect it to pop culture.  Your journal assignment handout is here:   “This is Your Brain on Transcendentalism”.  (Title from another teacher!)

B Day: Thursday  1/15                     A Day: Friday  1/16

Your homework is to read the excerpt from Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson on page 364.

Answer the “Thematic Focus” question, and Critical Thinking Questions 3-5.

B Day: Tuesday  1/20                      A Day: Wednesday  1/21

                In class read poems from Emerson and Thoreau.  4 poems  on p. 408+, 415, 368, and 369.

Journal responses to two of these poems.  Be thorough and use details from text to explore themes and ideas presented.  Look for examples of “transcendentalist philosophy” in text, and include this in your responses.  (You do not have to like/agree with the ideas.)

h/w: Read excerpt from Self-Reliance (p. 366+)

Be prepared to discuss the three “Literature and Your Life” questions and questions 1-5 under Critical Thinking (p. 367) *If you are absent, this must be submitted in writing upon your return.

B Day: Thursday  1/22                     A Day: Friday  1/23

Bring  rough draft/materials for Transcendental Journal to class.  Read excerpt from Walden (p. 374) in class and respond to his ideas in your journal.

h/w: Read excerpt from Civil Disobedience (p. 380) and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (p. 157) and bring in questions for a Socratic seminar (I’ll explain in class).

Due Fri/Mon (B: 1/9 and A:1/12) “Because I could not stop for Death” Handout

In class, we will be working on our Emily Dickinson Project Emily Dickinson Project.  You will be creating a “foldable” (like a fancy, interactive poster) in a small group.  It will be due (and presented) on Thurs/Fri (Jan 15/16).