Henry David Thoreau Lesson Plans

1. Observation Observation: It's a Natural!
Observation: It's a Natural! Science Students will make observations and gather data about their community's environment, while also taking notice of the beauty and fragility of the ecology around them. Background Henry David Thoreau, noted author and philosopher, was first and foremost a naturalist. In 1845, in Concord, Massachusetts, he abandoned the comforts of civilization to live a reclusive life in a cabin on Walden Pond. He chronicled his experiment in a series of journal entries and essays. During his two years on Walden...

2. Lesson Plans for Teachers: The Influence of Citizen Action
...scribe how to write an effective letter to a legislator. + Give each student in the third group a copy of Civil Disobedience. Ask students to follow the instructions on this worksheet. Then have students in this group prepare an oral presentation in which they define civil disobedience, explain how Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr. followed an American tradition of civil disobedience, and discuss citizens' right to protest. Extension Activities Ask students to interview a legislator or former legislator and ask him or her to describe instances when individuals have come forward and influenced their...

3. EconEdLink | EconomicsMinute | The Write Stuff
...o invented the pencil. "General Pencil Company" http://www.generalpencil.com/history.html Access this link to learn about the anatomy of a pencil. "General Pencil Company" http://www.generalpencil.com/how.html Access this site to read more about the history of the manufacturing of pencils. "No. 339 Thoreau's Pencils" by John H. Lienhard http://www.uh.edu/admin/engines/epi339.htm How was the famous philosopher, Henry David Thoreau related to the development of pencils? Access this link to find out. "Incense Cedar Institute" http://www.pencils.com/ Access this site to view the "Pencil Pages". "British Polymer Clay...

4. My Credo « Terrain for Schools Curriculum Guide, Spring 2001 « Ecology Center
...r and Safe Jobs Spring 2001 Terrain for Schools Home Lesson Plans About Us Sign Up Links Advanced Search Terrain for Schools Curriculum Guide, Spring 2001 Language Arts :: Spring 2001 My Credo Download a PDF version (86 k) Overview Students will read excerpts from the lives and works of naturalists Henry David Thoreau and David Brower, then write about and share their own beliefs regarding wilderness, technology, progress, success and independent thinking. Subsequently, students will craft and perform their own creeds, which will be based upon their earlier musings. Reference Terrain poem by David Ross Brower, "C...

5. Cosmology Different Stories
...e are useful for journal entries. Part 2 Written follow-up. + Write a short piece which summarizes the responses to the questions. This will be a first person narrative. Resources: While there are many reflective pieces, some noted in other exercises, a classic from American Literature is Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Handout Go to one of the local parks that are rich in nature. Find a spot to be alone. Spend at least 10 minutes in quiet observation and reflection. Then spend about 30 with the following questions. Answer the following questions while considering your native environment and the one you are sittin...

6. "Civil Disobedience" excerpt seminar
...pel Hill School of Education, finds the most innovative and successful practices in K?12 education and makes them available to the teachers and students of North Carolina ? and the world. Lesson Plans "Civil Disobedience" excerpt seminar This lesson plan is to be used for a seminar on an excerpt of Henry David Thoreau's work, "Civil Disobedience." The plan will follow the Paideia concept to discuss the great ideas of the text. The plan will provide a pre-guide activity, coaching activity, inner circle seminar questions, outer circle questions and a post writing assignment. A lesson plan for Grades 11?12 United St...

7. Education for Freedom Lesson 12
...ny, and I've Been to the Mountaintop. Speeches, sermons and autobiography. The King Center Original documents, programs, glossary of nonviolence and resources including links to nonviolence and National Civil Rights sites. Civil Disobedience Index History, theory and practice of civil disobedience. Thoreau, Walden, and the Environment The life and writings of Henry David Thoreau as well as the Walden Woods Project, the Thoreau Society and The Thoreau Institute. Video John Brown's Holy War Frederick Douglass said, I could live for the slave, but he could die for him. This video takes a look at a different approach...

8. --:: The Bill of Rights Institute ::---
...say that violence is sometimes necessary for change. They may disagree that the public is more sympathetic towards those who use passive resistance, and instead point out that they may see such movements as less urgent or important. Students may cite the successes of leaders like Susan B. Anthony, Henry David Thoreau, and Martin Luther King, Jr. who used and advocated non-violence. 2. Chavez believed that when a person is educated, he is more able to take action to improve his life. Education is something that can never be taken away ? it belongs to the individual forever. Furthermore, once people are educated a...

9. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Biography written by Roberto Rabe Probably the best loved of American poets the world over is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Many of his lines are as familiar to us as rhymes from Mother Goose or the words of nursery songs learned in early childhood. Like these rhymes and melodies, they remain i...

10. Populists Advise Progressives
...these liberties. Throughout our history, reformers have served as a voice of conscience to our growth and development. As 8th grade students, you have probably already learned about several reformers e.g. Sojourner Truth, Horace Mann, William Lloyd Garrison, Tom Paine, Tecumseh, John Brown, Patrick Henry, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Henry David Thoreau. As 11th grade students, you no doubt have a wealth of wisdom about the reform goals and strategies of earlier U.S. history. Now it is time to expand your knowledge and learn about the reform movements of the late 19th and 20th century. Regardless of wh...