Henry David Thoreau's Walden, Complete Unit Guide

In this low prep Walden unit plan, key transcendental, classic texts meet current texts as the main theme - What is our place in the world? - is carried across genres. Students will examine these texts and make connections among texts and to the world around them. A unit plan such as this one gives the teacher ultimate flexibility in instruction, assessment, and classroom procedure. Even though, every idea and concept is tied together so that students write an essay for the culminating assignment, you could pick up this unit and just do the pieces that you have time for.

Student Experience: The structure of this unit is designed to guide students through the texts, and as they go, the questions and thinking get deeper. The overarching questions are present and addressed in every segment, and the work prepares students for the culminating task. First, students will explore strange weather patterns in order to set the text-to-self connections and make the unit relevant. Then they will step back into the concepts of transcendentalism and deeply investigate Thoreau's Walden. They will take virtual tour of Walden Pond and see how people live like Thoreau today. The unit becomes more in depth, as students examine Wordsworth and make more thematic text-to-text connections. In the last current text pairing, students will watch Wall-E and synthesize Walden, Wordsworth, and Wall-E: What could these three have in common? To close the unit, students will complete a full-length argumentative essay.

Included in this pack:

• Overarching questions
• Essential questions for each text
• ELA skills connections for each text
• Opener/Activator Ideas
• Two full-length writing assignments
• Teaching notes, options, and ideas for each text
• Graphic organizers, text-based questions, interactive activities, and opportunities for discussion
• True/False Reading Quiz
• Answers
• Common Core links
• Links to texts (Abridge Walden included), Movie not included
• PPT to introduce Transcendentalism
• 100% editable and Google format

Classroom success stories from other teachers who have tried this resource:

♥ "Easy to follow and implement into my current unit. My students really enjoyed this product!"

♥ "These activities were great to incorporate into my Transcendentalism/Into the Wild unit!"

♥ "I loved the compilation of Thoreau excerpts. It provided a taste of his writing without having to dive into the whole text."

♥ "I can't wait to use this in my Comp class. The combination of texts is so neat, and I'm thankful for all the accompanying materials. Thank you!"

♥ "Fantastic unit. It is really well put together and thorough. There are some very deep-thinking questions and connections for students. It is one of the best purchases I made for my Transcendentalism lessons."

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Terms of Use: Created by Julie Faulkner, updated 2024

Please, one classroom use only. Additional licenses are sold at checkout. This license is nontransferable. Not eligible for online environments unless password protected. Posting openly online is prohibited. No part of this resource can be used for commercial purposes, altered, or resold. This work is my original work, and taking portions of it to create something else for resale is prohibited.