ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

RE-LIVING THE NEW ENGLAND RENAISSANCE

Description

What I would like for my students to gain from our study is that the basic concepts of Transcendentalism are intuition over reason, belief in one's self, and the unity of mankind. This movement of American literature is sometimes murky and dull for students, so I try to offer several different activities which will peak the interest of as many of my students as possible. I begin the unit with excerpts from Emerson and Thoreau and then move to the Fireside Poets and others authors from the Romantic period (e.g. Poe, Holmes, Bryant, Longfellow, Dickinson, Twain, Whitman); lastly we read selected works of the anti-transcendentalists. Students also must choose a particular section of one of these poem to paraphrase and submit as part of the summative evaluation.

As we read and discuss the poems and essays, we look purposefully for some of the memorable quotations from some of the works and record favorite ones which help to reflect transcendentalism. I then ask students to find a particular thought or line from selection that appeals to them (e.g. "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" or "Hitch your wagon to a star"). They also have the option of writing an original thought that would reflect the writing philosophy of the time. Students then create a visual for this quotation or original thought (such as original artwork, a collage, or a montage), and the students must have the quotation in large, bold letters which are easy to read.

Next, I videotape the students holding their posters while another student narrates by saying the quotations (students are looking down at their posters and look up at the camera as soon as the quotation begins). Students who are watching see other quotations, and it is hard for any of them to forget this "transcendental moment." We also post the visuals as a classroom or hall display.

When we move to the anti-transcendentalists, we read "The Minister's Black Veil" and "Bartleby the Scrivener." After reading, students complete a Top Ten List of notable events in the story (chronologically). I also use this opportunity to reinforce the elements of story structure and plotline. Students then use two-column notes or Venn diagram in a think-pair-share activity to cite lines from the text which support the notions of the anti-transcendentalists. They may also compare/contrast the perspectives of these authors with the transcendentalists, using representative texts that we have covered in class.

Finally, before the summative evaluation, there is a follow-up video activity with "anti-transcendental moments." I also ask for volunteers to be "voices" of the transcendentalists or anti-transcendentalists. This allows students to be inventive ( e.g. Students may recite lines from different authors; create a scene or short dialogue between some of the authors or characters; others might use a propaganda technique to create a commercial for either group of writers,). Since all the activities completed thus far are diagnostic and formative, I save the viewing of the edited tape for the review occurring before the summative assessment.

These activities are designed for all students at all levels and learning styles, breaking the overall assessment into evaluations that allow students to be successful through several methods. These activities also offer students a chance to understand a concept which is in itself hard to define, and they can gain this understanding in a variety of ways.

Jimmy Marion, Surry County Schools

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