Walden

Walden by Thoreau: Exploring Sense of Place in Society

Essential Questions to guide Thoreau & American Dream Unit:
1) What is “place”?
2) What does it mean to have a “sense of place” in society?
3) Where is your “place” and how does this place help to identify who you are, as well as your connection to society?
4) How did Thoreau use Walden to help identify who he was, and what was his relationship to society?
5) How do the characters in the literature we will read this semester struggle to find their own place in a society that presents them with challenges and obstacles? (Note the importance of the “outsider” throughout literary history.)
6) What is the American Dream? (Note differences in ideas about it over time—from beginning of country’s existence to present day society.) Note: This is a question we will discuss in separate lessons at the very beginning of the semester, before starting Thoreau Unit.
7) How does one’s sense of place connect to ideas about the American Dream? What were Thoreau’s ideas related to the American Dream? What would he think of our materialistic leanings now and our lack of connection to real “place” in society? (or do kids even agree?)
8) In the works we study, how does each character’s struggle to find a place in society connect with his/her struggle to achieve the American Dream?

_______________

  • Why is Walden of relevance to young people?
  • What changes were taking place in American society during the time Thoreau wrote?
  • What did the Transcendentalists believe?

Day 1

Objectives: Students will be able to identify fundamental characteristic of the environment Thoreau reminds us of in his essay” Economy”; they will also evaluate why Thoreau’s comments of his society 150 years ago are still applicable to our society.

Aim: Why is it so important to understand fundamental characteristic of the environment Thoreau reminds us of in his essay” Economy”, especially in our age? How is Thoreau’s criticism still valid today?

Resources: 

Do Now: What is your understanding of the term economy? How would describe the economy you know of the United States?

Mini Lesson with Guided Practice

Read the passage on page 4-5 and raise two key points or questions for the class to discuss.

Suggested questions:

  • What’s Thoreau’s purpose to describe in details the young men who own many acres of land?
  • Why does he refer to Greek mythology of creation instead of the one in the Bible?
  • What does he mean by “So much for a blind obedience to a blundering oracle, throwing the stones over their heads behind them, and not seeing where they fell.”?

Independent Discussion

In pairs, select a passage from pages 5-7 and discuss it in details. Prepare two questions to share with the class.

Transfer:

  • Is it important to “look through each other’s eyes” or to understand “all the ages of the world in an hour”? What do we gain? What happens when we don’t?
  • How do you personally find ways to look through another’s eyes? Do you apply the same principle across all areas of your life – for example, relationships, school, your environmental ethic, etc.

Homework:

  • What fundamental characteristic of the environment does Thoreau remind us about? Why is it so important to understand this, especially in our age? Can you think of environmental problems or situations in the world that result from lack of knowledge, perspective, or different interests? Be sure to provide textual evidence.
  • Read and annotate pages 7-14 & pages 14-23. Prepare tow questions and responses that are based on two self-selected passages. Bring 1-2 questions that you want to ask the class based on your reading.

___________________________________________________

Day 2 ( pages 7-14)

Objectives: Students will be able to understand Thoreau’s beliefs on life through his descriptions of human necessities by alluding to history, Greek Myths and the Old Testament.

Aim: How does Thoreau convey to his reader his beliefs on life?

Resources:

CCS

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.9
Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

Do Now: In pairs, share one passage and response as well as the questions from your homework. Copy 1-2 questions you still have on a post-it and bring them up to the front. Share in class.

Mini Lesson with Guided Practice

Select student-raised questions base on reading for class discussion.

In pairs, discuss one of the questions below. As a group, prepare for a response before sharing out.

  1. In the 2nd paragraph on page 8, why is it humorous to read the descriptions about the farmer? What point does Thoreau make through his anecdote?
  2. In the passage, “Nature and human life are as various as our several constitutions. Who shall say what prospect life offers to another? Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant? We should live in all the ages of the world in an hour; ay, in all the worlds of the ages. History, Poetry, Mythology! — I know of no reading of another’s experience so startling and informing as this would be“, what outlook is conveyed?
  3. What does Thoreau say about change and knowledge  as expressed in this passage, “So thoroughly and sincerely are we compelled to live, reverencing our life, and denying the possibility of change. This is the only way, we say; but there are as many ways as there can be drawn radii from one centre. All change is a miracle to contemplate; but it is a miracle which is taking place every instant. Confucius said, ‘To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge’ “?
  4. How does Thoreau view “comfort of life” as implied in the passage, “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind“?
  5. What does Thoreau mean when he asks, “What is the nature of the luxury which enervates and destroys nations?”( page 13)
  6. Why does Thoreau use the analogy of ” seed” ( page 13) to describe human life?
  7. What does he mean through the metaphor ” golden or silver fetter”( page 14)?

Share the responses in class to check understanding.

Student Independent Practice

In pairs,

  • Share the 2nd passage and responses.
  • Pick one question you don’t know the answer and explore it as a group before sharing in class.

End of the Lesson Assessment: Quick Write-

How is Thoreau critical of the way in which people in his society tend to lead their lives? According to Thoreau, are people in today’s society “living deliberately”? Support your claim with evidence.

Homework: Complete the lesson assessment. Read and prepare for discussion questions based on pages 24-33.

_________________________________________________________

Day 3 Lesson (pages 15-33)

Objectives: Students will debate whether Thoreau takes up at Walden Pond demonstrates his indifference to other humans as described by the poet, Pound.

Aim: What essence does Thoreau discover through his Walden Project concerning economy or the human race? How?

Do Now: In pairs, examine the ideas that the three quotations share in common-

  1. How does Thoreau view “comfort of life” as implied in the passage, “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind“?
  2. What does Thoreau mean when he asks, “What is the nature of the luxury which enervates and destroys nations?”( page 13)
  3. What does he mean through the metaphor ” golden or silver fetter”( page 14)?

Mini Lesson with Guided Practice

Activity 1: In pairs, discuss: Why does Thoreau use the analogy of ” seed” ( page 13) to describe human life?

Share in class.

Activity 2: Share responses to the questions posted by your peers. Discuss in class.

Independent Practice:

Activity 3: In pairs, ask your partner  the two questions you have prepared. Be sure to share your responses based on textual evidence.

Activity 4: Copy at least one question that you have on  a post-it and attach it on the poster paper on the board.

End of the Lesson Assessment: Argue whether Thoreau takes up at Walden Pond demonstrates his indifference to other humans as described by the poet, Pound. Be sure to use supporting evidence to support your claims.

Homework:

  • Complete the lesson assessment.
  • Read and comment on two passages on pages 31-44.  Prepare at least two question that you know the answer to.
  • Prepare two questions that you have no answer to and bring them to the class for discussion.

_________________________________________________

Day 4 Lesson “Economy” pages 31-44

Objectives: Students will  examine why Thoreau uses direct comparison to trade and business, the antithesis of spiritual and poetic values, to express spiritual and poetic realizations.

Aim: What is the overall tone in this passage? Why does Thoreau refer to trade and business to express spiritual ad poetic realization?

Do Now: In pairs, share one question based on a specific passage and your response to one another.  Copy one question you have no answer to on a post-it and attach it to the poster paper.

Share a few student-raised questions and their responses in class to check understanding.

Respond to :

One day, when my axe had come off and I had cut a green hickory for a wedge, driving it with a stone, and had placed the whole to soak in a pond-hole in order to swell the wood, I saw a striped snake run into the water, and he lay on the bottom, apparently without inconvenience, as long as I stayed there, or more than a quarter of an hour; perhaps because he had not yet fairly come out of the torpid state. It appeared to me that for a like reason men remain in their present low and primitive condition; but if they should feel the influence of the spring of springs arousing them, they would of necessity rise to a higher and more ethereal life.(34)

Mini Lesson with Guided Practice

Read the passage in pairs and discuss  how Thoreau discuss his poetic and spiritual fulfillment through trade and business. Examine what connects the three  passages.

A. To anticipate, not the sunrise and the dawn merely, but, if possible, Nature herself! How many mornings, summer and winter, before yet any neighbor was stirring about his business, have I been about mine! No doubt, many of my townsmen have met me returning from this enterprise, farmers starting for Boston in the twilight, or woodchoppers going to their work. It is true, I never assisted the sun materially in his rising, but, doubt not, it was of the last importance only to be present at it( page 14).

B.  So many autumn, ay, and winter days, spent outside the town, trying to hear what was in the wind, to hear and carry it express! I well-nigh sunk all my capital in it, and lost my own breath into the bargain, running in the face of it. If it had concerned either of the political parties, depend upon it, it would have appeared in the Gazette (1) with the earliest intelligence. At other times watching from the observatory of some cliff or tree, to telegraph any new arrival; or waiting at evening on the hill-tops for the sky to fall, that I might catch something, though I never caught much, and that, manna-wise, would dissolve again in the sun.( page 15)

C. We now no longer camp as for a night, but have settled down on earth and forgotten heaven. We have adopted Christianity merely as an improved method of agri-culture. We have built for this world a family mansion, and for the next a family tomb. The best works of art are the expression of man’s struggle to free himself from this condition, but the effect of our art is merely to make this low state comfortable and that higher state to be forgotten. (31)

Lead a brief discussion to check understanding.

Student Independent Practice

In pairs, share the 2nd question you have had the answer to. Ask each other the question that you don’t have the answer to. If , after discussion, you still don’t understand the question, bring it to my attention and also copy it on a PINK post in and put it on the poster paper.

Lead a brief discussion to check understanding.

End of the Lesson Assessment:  why does Thoreau use direct comparison to trade and business, the antithesis of spiritual and poetic values, to express spiritual and poetic realizations?

Homework: Read pages 44-54 and prepare questions for discussion.

________________________________________________

Day 5

Text: Economy pages 37-54 ( http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden1d.html)

Objectives: Students will be able to argue for or against Thoreau’s view points on various issues in Life through small group discussion.

Aim: Where does Thoreau stand in today’s American society?

Do Now:

  • Share end of the lesson assessment.
  • In pairs, discuss one idea by Thoreau you feel either strongly agree or disagree. Briefly explains why.

Mini Lesson with Guided Practice

Read a passage about education on page 41. Do you agree? Why?
Read a passage about architect. Discuss in pair.

Independent practice
In small groups, discussed an assigned passage. Prepare for an interpretation and argument. Be sure to support it with evidence that can be drawn from Thoreau’s time or today’s world.

  1. There is some of the same fitness in a man’s building his own house that there is in a bird’s building its own nest. Who knows but if men constructed their dwellings with their own hands, and provided food for themselves and families simply and honestly enough, the poetic faculty would be universally developed, as birds universally sing when they are so engaged? ( page 37)
  2. Those things for which the most money is demanded are never the things which the student most wants. Tuition, for instance, is an important item in the term bill, while for the far more valuable education which he gets by associating with the most cultivated of his contemporaries no charge is made. The mode of founding a college is, commonly, to get up a subscription of dollars and cents, and then, following blindly the principles of a division of labor to its extreme — a principle which should never be followed but with circumspection — to call in a contractor who makes this a subject of speculation…( page 41)
  3. The student who secures his coveted leisure and retirement by systematically shirking any labor necessary to man obtains but an ignoble and unprofitable leisure, defrauding himself of the experience which alone can make leisure fruitful. “But,” says one, “you do not mean that the students should go to work with their hands instead of their heads?” I do not mean that exactly, but I mean something which he might think a good deal like that; I mean that they should not play life, or study it merely, while the community supports them at this expensive game, but earnestly live it from beginning to end. How could youths better learn to live than by at once trying the experiment of living? ( page 42)
  4. As with our colleges, so with a hundred “modern improvements”; there is an illusion about them; there is not always a positive advance. The devil goes on exacting compound interest to the last for his early share and numerous succeeding investments in them. Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at;…( page 42)
  5. No doubt they can ride at last who shall have earned their fare, that is, if they survive so long, but they will probably have lost their elasticity and desire to travel by that time. This spending of the best part of one’s life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it reminds me of the Englishman who went to India to make a fortune first, in order that he might return to England and live the life of a poet. He should have gone up garret at once. “What!” exclaim a million Irishmen starting up from all the shanties in the land, “is not this railroad which we have built a good thing?” Yes, I answer, comparatively good, that is, you might have done worse; but I wish, as you are brothers of mine, that you could have spent your time better than digging in this dirt.( page 44)
  6. All things considered, that is, considering the importance of a man’s soul and of today, notwithstanding the short time occupied by my experiment, nay, partly even because of its transient character, I believe that that was doing better than any farmer in Concord did that year.( page 45)
  7. I am wont to think that men are not so much the keepers of herds as herds are the keepers of men, the former are so much the freer. Men and oxen exchange work; but if we consider necessary work only, the oxen will be seen to have greatly the advantage, their farm is so much the larger. Man does some of his part of the exchange work in his six weeks of haying, and it is no boy’s play. Certainly no nation that lived simply in all respects, that is, no nation of philosophers, would commit so great a blunder as to use the labor of animals. True, there never was and is not likely soon to be a nation of philosophers, nor am I certain it is desirable that there should be. However, I should never have broken a horse or bull and taken him to board for any work he might do for me, for fear I should become a horseman or a herdsman merely; and if society seems to be the gainer by so doing, are we certain that what is one man’s gain is not another’s loss, and that the stable-boy has equal cause with his master to be satisfied? ( page 46)
  8. This town is said to have the largest houses for oxen, cows, and horses hereabouts, and it is not behindhand in its public buildings; but there are very few halls for free worship or free speech in this county. It should not be by their architecture, but why not even by their power of abstract thought, that nations should seek to commemorate themselves? How much more admirable the Bhagvat-Geeta (12) than all the ruins of the East! Towers and temples are the luxury of princes. A simple and independent mind does not toil at the bidding of any prince. Genius is not a retainer to any emperor, nor is its material silver, or gold, or marble, except to a trifling extent. To what end, pray, is so much stone hammered? In Arcadia,(13) when I was there, I did not see any hammering stone. Nations are possessed with an insane ambition to perpetuate the memory of themselves by the amount of hammered stone they leave. What if equal pains were taken to smooth and polish their manners? One piece of good sense would be more memorable than a monument as high as the moon. I love better to see stones in place. The grandeur of Thebes (14) was a vulgar grandeur. More sensible is a rod of stone wall that bounds an honest man’s field than a hundred-gated Thebes that has wandered farther from the true end of life. The religion and civilization which are barbaric and heathenish build splendid temples; but what you might call Christianity does not. Most of the stone a nation hammers goes toward its tomb only. It buries itself alive. As for the Pyramids, there is nothing to wonder at in them so much as the fact that so many men could be found degraded enough to spend their lives constructing a tomb for some ambitious booby, whom it would have been wiser and manlier to have drowned in the Nile, and then given his body to the dogs. ( PAGE 47)
  9. If you are a seer, whenever you meet a man you will see all that he owns, ay, and much that he pretends to disown, behind him, even to his kitchen furniture and all the trumpery which he saves and will not burn, and he will appear to be harnessed to it and making what headway he can. I think that the man is at a dead set who has got through a knot-hole or gateway where his sledge load of furniture cannot follow him.( PAGE 54)

End of the Lesson Assessment: Select one topic of your interest and argue for or against it using evidence from the present society.

Homework: Read pages 54-65 and prepare discussion questions as well as questions of inquiries.

_____________________

Day 6 Review

Objectives: Students will reflect on the strengths and areas that need improvement by sharing their term reflections.

Aim: What was the most important thing you learned this semester? Why?

Do Now: share in pairs your reflections before sharing with the class.

Mini Lesson with Guided Practice:

  1. In “Economy”, why does Thoreau compared the world to an ” green apple”?

Find the passage before you interpret the meaning of the metaphor.

2. What is Thoreau’s view on ” philanthropy”?(59-61)

Student Independent Practice:

  • What is the one idea in the last section of ” Economy” from pages 57-65 you walk away with? Why?
  • What aspects of life does Thoreau’s ” Economy” help you gain insight? Why?
  • Share one quotation in the last section. Interpret it and explain why it inspires you.

Assessment: Transcendentalism portfolio due today.

_______________________________

Day 7-8  “The Pond” from Walden

Objectives: Students will examine why Thoreau’s introverted style of living still holds value today by engaging in small group discussions and creating responses in writing.

Resources:

CCS

  • READING: INFORMATIONAL – RI.11-12.1-7, 9-10
  • WRITING – W.11-12.1-10
  • SPEAKING AND LISTENING – SL.11-12.1-6

Materials needed: Previous night’s homework.

Resources: Find your own Walden

Do Now: Students are paired with another. They must share their commentary and questions on the 1st half of the chapter ( 152-162). Post one question on the poster paper; pick up one question by your classmate and respond to it as homework.

Mini Lesson with Guided Practice

  1. We’ll read about the background of the pond(Background of the Pond (11-12) and examine why journaling (6-7) is important according to Thoreau.
  2. Use the online resources below and find one website that provides you with intriguing information about the pond Thoreau describes. Take notes while browsing and share with the class your observations by journaling.

Student Independent Practice

In groups of three, read and discuss the excerpt. Prepare a written response to share with the class-

In such a day, in September or October, Walden is a perfect forest mirror, set round with stones as precious to my eye as if fewer or rarer. Nothing so fair, so pure, and at the same time so large, as a lake, perchance, lies on the surface of the earth. Sky water. It needs no fence. Nations come and go without defiling it. It is a mirror which no stone can crack, whose quicksilver will never wear off, whose gilding Nature continually repairs; no storms, no dust, can dim its surface ever fresh; —a mirror in which all impurity presented to it sinks, swept and dusted by the sun’s hazy brush,—this the light-dust cloth,—which retains no breath that is breathed on it, but sends its own to float as clouds high above its surface, and be reflected in its bosom still.

A field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air. It is continually receiving new life and motion from above. It is intermediate in its nature between land and sky. On land only the grass and trees wave, but the water itself is rippled by the wind. I see where the breeze dashes across it by the streaks or flakes of light. It is remarkable that we can look down on its surface. We shall, perhaps, look down thus on the surface of air at length, and mark where a still subtler spirit sweeps over it….

….It struck me again tonight, as if I had not seen it almost daily for more than twenty years — Why, here is Walden, the same woodland lake that I discovered so many years ago; where a forest was cut down last winter another is springing up by its shore as lustily as ever; the same thought is welling up to its surface that was then; it is the same liquid joy and happiness to itself and its Maker, ay, and it may be to me.

From Walden Chapter 9 “The Ponds”

For Discussion and Journaling:

  1. Thoreau refers to Walden Pond as a mirror. In what ways does it – and nature in general – serve as a mirror?
  2. Thoreau’s skills as a writer are clearly at work in this passage. How does art – writing, stories, music, painting, etc. – help “conserve” nature? Do you think Walden Pond would still exist today if Thoreau hadn’t written about it so eloquently?
  3. Walden was well-known to Thoreau. He grew up nearby and spent many hours walking there. Do you think it is significant that he finds “liquid joy” in a place so close to home?
  4. Do you have a place, outside in nature, which serves as your “mirror” or brings you joy? How has this place influenced your view of the environment and your environmental ethic?
  5. How much time do you spend outside, experiencing nature? Is this important to you?

Homework: Complete the group response based on the assigned passage; Write a journal response to the assigned questions: group 1 members: respond to Q 1& 4, GROUP 2: Q 2 & 5, group 3: Q3

_________________________________

Day 9

Objectives: Students will examine why Thoreau’s introverted style of living still holds value today by engaging in small group discussions and creating responses in writing.

Resources:

CCS

  • READING: INFORMATIONAL – RI.11-12.1-7, 9-10
  • WRITING – W.11-12.1-10
  • SPEAKING AND LISTENING – SL.11-12.1-6

Materials needed: Previous night’s homework.

Resources: Find your own Walden

Do Now: Watch a clip of Ted talk about Introverted living . How does the talk link  to or illustrate Thoreau’s perception or philosophy about life? Share responsed prepared for homework.

Mini Lesson and Guided Practice-

As a class, we will discuss the sections students read the previous night. At this point, I will call attention to Thoreau’s descriptive language, specific details, and observation of ordinary occurrences. The objective is for students to become aware of what it means to fully see nature.

As a class, we’ll do the following activity-

(RI.11-12.1, 4, 9 and W.11-12.9). Thoreau wants “to front only the essential facts of life,” he states. What are these essential facts? Make a list with two columns: one labeled “Thoreau” and the other labeled “Me.” Complete this chart with the essential facts of life as Thoreau saw it and as  you see it. How do these two lists compare? How do the students’ ideas about what’s important compare to Thoreau’s? What larger conclusions can we draw from this comparison?

Student Independent Practice

Discuss in small groups the following questions. We’ll have a Socratic seminar based on these questions tomorrow.

  1. What do you think Thoreau meant when he said he wanted to live “deliberately”? How is Thoreau attempting to achieve this goal through his actions in Walden?  What would cause someone to eschew the comforts of the “civilized” world and seek a simpler existence? What does this tell you about Thoreau? What must he – and others who make this pilgrimage of sorts – have been seeking? Do you think it is important to live “deliberately”? Why or why not? Is this something you strive for in your own lives? What sorts of things can you do if you want to live a more “deliberate” life?
  2. When Thoreau says he wants “to front only the essential facts of life,” to what “facts of life” is he referring? What does Thoreau consider to be the obstacles to achieving this? How has he attempted to remove these obstacles from his life?Does this whole experience sound like something that might appeal to you? Would you want to follow in Thoreau’s shoes and shun the comforts of civilization and industry in search of “truth”? Have you ever felt like Thoreau, like the trappings of society have brought us too far away from our natural state?
  3. Is Thoreau’s experiment in simplifying his life a noble or misguided one? Do you think he will be able to achieve the things he sets out to achieve? Or is he chasing after impossible dreams?
  4. Thoreau is motivated by a fear of discovering, on his deathbed, that he hadn’t lived a full live. What does this idea of a “full life” mean to you? How can we avoid this fate? What are the keys to living the kind of full life as Thoreau sees it?
  5. (W.11-12.2, 4, 9). What does self-reliance mean to you? Why is self-reliance important? Should everyone seek self-reliance? Is self-reliance something that is ever truly possible, or must we inevitably rely on others?
  6. Is Walden still relevant today? Consider how Thoreau’s ideas and discussions in Walden have stood the test of time, and whether the lessons within are more valuable now than they were at the time it was written.

Homework: an Interview Project

Interview and Record (W.11-12.3-4, 9 and SL.11-12.1, 4-6). Based on the letters in the previous assignment,  in pairs and act out a five minute interview with Henry David Thoreau, wherein he answers questions about his daily life on Walden Pond and the deeper purposes of his pilgrimage. Record these interviews using a Podcast app and share them online using SoundCloud. To prepare the interview, respond to the following-

  • Write (W.11-12.3-4, 9). If you had the opportunity to communicate with Thoreau, what would you say? Compose a brief, one-page letter to Henry David Thoreau, living out on Walden Pond. Ask him any questions you might have; attempt to open an imaginary dialog with him about his life in seclusion and his spiritual and philosophical aims. Express well-wishes, encouragement or criticisms about his endeavor, based on your own views.

Extra Credit Assignment:

Assessment: Write Argumentatively (W.11-12.1, 4, 7-9). The poet Robert Frost, on Walden: “In one book… [Thoreau] surpasses everything we have had in America.” Conversely, poet Ezra Pound said about Walden, once: “Thoreau tried to see how little he need bother with other humanity.” Considering both of these opinions, select either Frost or Pound’s quote as your starting point and write a persuasive essay of at least 300 words, using direct examples from the text (and, if desired, your own outside research) to support your thesis.

______________________________________________________

Lesson 10  Assessment of the Unit Walden: Socratic Seminar

Objectives: Students will examine Thoreau’s ideas about nature and essence of life in a Socratic seminar .

Materials: copies of Walden, prepared responses from homework; Socratic Seminar evaluation rubric, self-assessment sheet

Resources:

CCS

  • READING: INFORMATIONAL – RI.11-12.1-7, 9-10
  • WRITING – W.11-12.1-10
  • SPEAKING AND LISTENING – SL.11-12.1-6

Do Now: In pairs, briefly discuss the rules of conducting a Socratic Seminar for and check the necessary tools each participant needs to have to play a role. Ask questions if you are unclear about any particular rule. ( 5 minutes)

  • Form two concentric circles and have the inner circle discuss their responses to the questions ,providing evidence for their ideas and actively incorporating others into the discussion. (SL.11-12.1a-b, SL.11-12.4)
  • While the inner circle discusses, students in the outer circle evaluate the point of view, reasoning, participation, and use of evidence of an assigned partner in the inner circle. (SL.11-12.3)
  • Students in the outer circle record their evalation of their partners using the Socratic Seminar observation checklist.
  • Students in the inner circle don’t need to raise hands to talk. They should focus on the main speaker and wait their turn. They should respond to each other, using each other’s names and express agreement or disagreement in a courteous, thoughtful manner.

Round 1:

  • Inner circle-Mykai, Ashely, Brian, Karen, Jalon, , Jasmin, Juleissy ( leader)
  • Outer circle: Amberlyn, Jesiree, Shuzel, Evan, Yousself, Cassie, Romela, Natalina ( leader)
  • Observation/Evaluation Partners: Mykai-Amberlyn, Ashely-Even, Jesiree, Brain-Cassie, Karen-Shuzel, Jalon-Yousself, Jasmin-Romelo, Juleissy-Natalina

Rules for  Socratic Seminar leader

  • Your role as the facilitator is to ask( read)  questions and move along the discussion. You should be careful to limit your own talk time. Still, you play an active role shaping the dialogue and synthesizing group’s ideas if necessay.
  • As your group members talk, listen carefully, so you can ask thoughtful follow-up questions. Keep track of talk time so you can encourage everyone to participate. It helps to draw a map of the dialogue, taking notes on participants ‘s responses. Afterward, use your notes to offer helpful feedback.
  • If the discussion gets out of hand, you might need to break in and remind students of the seminar rules and goals. But don’t get discouraged!

Sample questions to move along the discussion:

  • Who has a different perspective?
  • Who has not yet had a chance to speak?
  • Where do you find evidence for that in the text?
  • Can you clarify what you mean by that? How does that relate to what (someone else) said?
  • Is there something in the text that is unclear to you? Has anyone changed their mind?

Agenda

Mini Lesson with Guided Practice (3-5 minutes)

These are today’s whole class discussion goals.-

  • You have already come so far in your discussion skills: making claims, referring to textual evidence, buidling off of each other, challeging each other’s ideas, inviting others into the conversattion, etc
  • You have developed your skills in keeping a topic alive by asking probing questions
  • You will learn to build your skills at using discussion to develop meaning by analyzing evidence  instead of simply including evidence.
  • You’ll also learn to acknowledge changes in your perspective.

Personal Goals: (Choose a personal goal to focus on during today’s seminar)

  • a. Ask a probing question;
  • b) build on others’ discussion by referring to the text or analyzing the evidence
  • c) contribute a new idea to the converstaion
  • d) synthesize group ideas
  • e) make eye contact with your peers when speaking
  • f) articulating your ideas
  • g)making more connections between ideas

Seminar Plan

  1. We’ll share one idea from Walden that stands out for you.
  2. Choose a personal goal: a. Ask a probing question; b) build on others’ discussion by referring to the text or analyzing the evidence c) contribute a new idea to the conversation d) synthesize group ideas e) make eye contact with your peers when speaking e) articulating your ideas f) practice listening
  3. Our class goal today is using discussion to develop meaning by analyzing evidence  instead of simply including evidence.

__________________________

Student Independent Practice:Conducting a student-led Socratic Seminar

Opening Question: Which particular idea about nature or life expressed by Thoreau in Walden stands out for you the most? Why?

Core Questions: 

  1. Thoreau refers to Walden Pond as a “mirror”. In what ways does it – and nature in general – serve as a mirror?
  2. Thoreau’s skills as a writer are clearly at work in this passage. How does art – writing, stories, music, painting, etc. – help “conserve” nature? Do you think Walden Pond would still exist today if Thoreau hadn’t written about it so eloquently?
  3. What do you think Thoreau meant when he said he wanted to live “deliberately”? How is Thoreau attempting to achieve this goal through his actions in Walden?  What would cause someone to eschew the comforts of the “civilized” world and seek a simpler existence? What does this tell you about Thoreau? What must he – and others who make this pilgrimage of sorts – have been seeking? Do you think it is important to live “deliberately”? Why or why not? Is this something you strive for in your own lives? What sorts of things can you do if you want to live a more “deliberate” life?

——————————–Switch Roles ( inner circle to outer circle and visa versa)

  1. When Thoreau says he wants “to front only the essential facts of life,” to what “facts of life” is he referring? What does Thoreau consider to be the obstacles to achieving this? How has he attempted to remove these obstacles from his life?Does this whole experience sound like something that might appeal to you? Would you want to follow in Thoreau’s shoes and shun the comforts of civilization and industry in search of “truth”? Have you ever felt like Thoreau, like the trappings of society have brought us too far away from our natural state
  2. Is Thoreau’s experiment in simplifying his life a noble or misguided one? Do you think he will be able to achieve the things he sets out to achieve? Or is he chasing after impossible dreams?
  3. What does self-reliance mean to you? Why is self-reliance important? Should everyone seek self-reliance? Is self-reliance something that is ever truly possible, or must we inevitably rely on others?
  4. ( Optional-depending on time) Thoreau is motivated by a fear of discovering, on his deathbed, that he hadn’t lived a full live. What does this idea of a “full life” mean to you? How can we avoid this fate? What are the keys to living the kind of full life as Thoreau sees it?

Closing Question

Is Walden still relevant today? Why? Consider how Thoreau’s ideas and discussions in Walden have stood the test of time, and whether the lessons within are more valuable now than they were at the time it was written.

Exit Slip: What worked in today’s seminar? What do we need to improve for the next Socratic Seminar?

Homework:

  1. Complete the Socratic Seminar reflection sheet.
  2. Write an essay based on the prompt –

Respond to  “Who shall say what prospect life offers to another? Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”  by –Henry David Thoreau, Walden.  

Think of a time when you either experienced or witnessed the type of ” miracle” that Thoreau describes in the quotation.