Annenberg Foundation
Poetry of Liberation
How do writers use words to protest injustice, challenge the status quo, and shape their own identities? Individuals watch and discuss a video, read author biographies, write poetry and journals, develop a slideshow, and complete a...
Curated OER
Poetry Reading and Analysis Worksheet
"Things are not what they seem" in this poetry activity, which discusses Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life." Your students will see the world through the eyes of the transcendentalists after analyzing the meaning, context,...
Curated OER
Thoreau, Emerson, and Transcendentalism
For this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 13 multiple choice questions based on the Transcendentalist literary movement. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
American Transcendentalism and Buddhism:
High schoolers study American transcendentalism through readings of Emerson and Thoreau. They make cognitive connections to the similarities to Buddhism in these writings. The connection of the literary movement is explained in the art...
Curated OER
The Evolution of Transcendentalism
Key concepts, major writers, and historical events related to Transcendentalism are explored in a student-produced PowerPoint about this movement. The presentation could be used as an introduction to a unit or as a model that class...
PBS
Walt Whitman: Journalist and Poet
Can you love something so much you want to change it? Young patriots investigate Walt Whitman's love of America—and his suggestions to improve it—using primary sources as well as video evidence. Scholars research American issues of the...
Literacy Design Collaborative
In Pursuit of Happiness
What ideas and philosophies guided the Transcendentalist movement in America? Scholars explore the topic, reading texts by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Additionally, they write essays comparing the authors' structural...
Curated OER
Louisa May Alcott
Students explore life of author Louisa May Alcott, define Transcendentalism, discuss the children's books Alcott wrote, read two selections she wrote, and compare the writing style of one of her children's stories with a story she wrote...
Curated OER
Romanticism, Realism and Transcendentalism
Correct two sentences on overhead and complete one analogy,Define word meanings, synonyms, antonyms, variant forms and word parts for five words,interpret ?The Devil and Tom Walker?
-respond to teacher-directed questions
-discuss...
Annenberg Foundation
Spirit of Nationalism
What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...
Curated OER
Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...
Curated OER
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 12 multiple choice questions about Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
Henry David Thoreau
Students explore the life and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau. Students watch a slide show on Henry David Thoreau. They visit a quiet, tranquil location and observe nature. After reading and discussing Thoreau's works, students create...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: Transcendentalism: Walt Whitman
This lesson from a unit on American Transcendentalism focuses on Walt Whitman and his invention of the American free verse. It includes links to his poems "Song of Myself" and "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." It provides...
University of Michigan
American Verse Project: Early Poems of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Read and search for thirty poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson, taken from the book "Early Poems." Includes a brief biography of Emerson.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: Transcendentalism: Emily Dickinson
This lesson from a unit on American Transcendentalism focuses on Emily Dickinson and her poetry. It includes links to a Discovery Education video: "Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886: An Overview of Her Work" (registration required) and four of...
Other
Poems and Biography: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 1882)
A brief biography on Emerson accompanied by links to the text to many of his poems.
Virginia Commonwealth University
American Transcendentalism Web: Ralph Waldo Emerson
This resource includes a short biography of Emerson and links to related sites.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Answer to a Child's Question by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet, literary critic, and a founder of the Romantic Movement in England, as well as a major influence on American transcendentalism. The following poem is, as the title suggests, the...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Poetry of Liberation: Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Rich is featured in this brief biography for her contributions as a contemporary feminist poet and prose author. See "Adrienne Rich Activities" for related artifacts and activities.
![America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf] eBook](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/410155/large/bwluav9tywdpy2symdiwmduymc0yotc0ny0xzhf5cgiwlmpwzw.jpg?1589985629 "America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf] eBook")
Other
America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf]
This online book presents an overview of American literature chronologically. Eras and movements are explained and biographies of significant authors are provided. This is a good way to understand the background and influences of...
The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rwe.org: Timeline of Ralph Waldo Emerson
A chronology of events in the life of Ralph Waldo Emerson and his associates. Also includes information about Emerson's philosophy, speaking engagements, and publications.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: William Cullen Bryant and Philip Freneau
Two poems examining divinity and concluding that while God is benevolent, one appreciates God either through a romantic lens or a rationalist calculation. Poems are William Cullen Bryant's, "To a Waterfowl," and Philip Freneau's, "On the...
Eserver
E Server: The Thoreau Reader: Introduction to the Works of Thoreau
An excellent article detailing the major events of the life and works of Henry David Thoreau. Complete with links to Thoreau's most famous works and interesting details about his life.