Nature and Art: Connections and Expressions that influence introspection of the American Soul
Unit: Eight / Semester 2
Duration: 4 full weeks (18 days)
Textual Materials:
1. Selected poems from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass: “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking,” “Noiseless Patient Spider,” “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry,” “Song of the Open Road,” “Song of Myself,” and “I Hear America Singing” (with Langston Hughes’ “I, too, Sing Myself” as a supplementary text) (poetry)
2. Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” “Birches,” “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening,” and “Mending Wall” (poetry)
3. Excerpts from Thoreau’s Walden (novel)
4. Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” (short story)
5. Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” (short story)
Rationale:
The way people interact and depict nature as well as the importance they give art helps define a place. America has been greatly influenced by nature and this influence comes through in American literature. Things such as porches and road trips are thought to be “American” and there is a great fascination with the wilderness and the horizon that is not necessarily present in other cultures. The period when Manifest Destiny commanded the movement of many Americans West is just another testament to the strong influence of nature on American culture. Furthermore, a lot of art is then, in turn, influenced by nature and man’s connection to nature, so putting these two topics together seemed fitting. For this final unit, I would like my students to explore this unique facet of American culture through the literature that shares these experiences and expressions. Studying literature that focuses on man’s connection to nature and art has great cultural significance. Understanding the unique view American’s have of nature will help students continue to develop that definition of what makes literature American.
Walt Whitman’s poetry shows the connection between man and nature perfectly. Whitman’s work not only creates images of nature and the art created in nature, but also strongly supports the idea of a man as an individual and his right to finding himself through his connection to the world. Other texts we will study in this unit are selected poems by Robert Frost, excerpts from Thoreau’s Walden, Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” and Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle.” Frost’s poetry continues to draw connections between man and nature. Walden shows the how leaving civilization and returning to nature can be the outlet one needs to think clearly. “Rip Van Winkle” portrays another man leaving society and entering nature, and “Cathedral” focuses more heavily on art and the beauty man can create and has the pleasure to stand in awe of. Some might argue that I am placing too much emphasis on Walt Whitman, but I believe that Whitman’s work was a great turning point in American literature and deserves sufficient attention. What Whitman writes about and how he writes about it was very new for the time and is very American in nature. He speaks a lot of about the individual and his writing supports the idea of freedom; two very American ideals. Whitman’s poetry, and the poetry of the other writers does more than teach us about America. Studying these works will teach my students even more about language itself. “Literature has much practical knowledge to offer you. An art of words, it can help you become more sensitive to language, both your own and other people’s. It can make you aware of the difference between the world that is exactly right and the world that is merely good enough…” (Kennedy xxix). I believe that poetry serves this purpose especially well, and so I believe having a strong focus on poetry in this unit will help students find their voice.
Works Cited
Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. "Preface." An Introduction to Poetry. New York: Longman, 1998. xxvii-xxxv. Print.
Goals:
By the end of the unit, my students will...
-Understand the elements that make Walt Whitman’s writing unique.
-Write their own “Song of Myself” poem while integrating some of Whitman’s style
-Make comparisons between the works in this unit, but also see the underlying connection to and importance of nature that carries throughout.
By the end of the unit, I as an educator will...
-Compose my own “Song of Myself” poem
-Recognize how my students have grown not only as readers and writers, but also as people, throughout the year.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful.
· CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3d Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
(Students will also engage in the composing of other forms of text besides written text for their culminating text for the unit.)
Activities:
1. Cathedral drawing activity: I think this activity could work well as an anticipatory set or as a closing activity. In the story “Cathedral,” a blind man asks another man to describe a cathedral to him. For this activity, students would try to draw a cathedral with their eyes closed. The activity would continue into a class discussion where we think about why it is so hard to describe something like a cathedral if someone has never seen one.
2. “Song of Myself” poem: After reading Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and some of his other poems, students will write their own poems about themselves trying to mimic Whitman’s style as much as they can. This activity will not only help students remember what elements are attributed to Whitman, but also to make the poems more relevant to their own lives. I want students to learn new ways of expressing themselves through the study of great writers.
3. Comparison and Contrast short essay: Students will identify and similarities and differences between Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” and Hughes “I, too, Sing Myself” which is thought to have been inspired by the original poem by Whiman.
Culminating texts:
Creative Response Project: Students will respond to the literature from this unit with original creative works. Below is a list of formats from which students may choose for their creative responses. They may create another similar but different “creative response” that is not on the list if they consult with me:
a. Write a poem or series of poems that describe your experience with any of the works from this unit. Or have the poems imitate the writing style of one of the authors we have studied in this unit.
b. Write a dramatic sketch or scene based on one of the short stories or an extension of one of the stories.
c. Continue one of the short stories that elaborates on the characters or plot. Or write an alternative ending. Try to imitate the author’s style as much as possible.
d. Make your own photo essay with accompanying script.
e. Write a song, music and lyrics, that expresses your reaction to any of the literature from this unit.
f. Create a piece of visual art (painting, collage, sculpture, etc.) that expresses your experience of the novel and write a commentary on the piece of art you create.
(Ideas for this project adapted from Ms. Boni’s 12th grade AP English class.)
Assessments:
1. The major assessment will be the students’ creative response projects. (See the “culminating texts” section for a description of this assignment.)
2. Other assessments will be done with smaller assignments like the “Song of Myself” poem.
Miscellaneous:
1. Selected poems from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass: “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking,” “Noiseless Patient Spider,” “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry,” “Song of the Open Road,” “Song of Myself,” and “I Hear America Singing” (with Langston Hughes’ “I, too, Sing Myself” as a supplementary text) (poetry)
2. Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” “Birches,” “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening,” and “Mending Wall” (poetry)
3. Excerpts from Thoreau’s Walden (novel)
4. Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” (short story)
5. Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” (short story)
Rationale:
The way people interact and depict nature as well as the importance they give art helps define a place. America has been greatly influenced by nature and this influence comes through in American literature. Things such as porches and road trips are thought to be “American” and there is a great fascination with the wilderness and the horizon that is not necessarily present in other cultures. The period when Manifest Destiny commanded the movement of many Americans West is just another testament to the strong influence of nature on American culture. Furthermore, a lot of art is then, in turn, influenced by nature and man’s connection to nature, so putting these two topics together seemed fitting. For this final unit, I would like my students to explore this unique facet of American culture through the literature that shares these experiences and expressions. Studying literature that focuses on man’s connection to nature and art has great cultural significance. Understanding the unique view American’s have of nature will help students continue to develop that definition of what makes literature American.
Walt Whitman’s poetry shows the connection between man and nature perfectly. Whitman’s work not only creates images of nature and the art created in nature, but also strongly supports the idea of a man as an individual and his right to finding himself through his connection to the world. Other texts we will study in this unit are selected poems by Robert Frost, excerpts from Thoreau’s Walden, Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” and Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle.” Frost’s poetry continues to draw connections between man and nature. Walden shows the how leaving civilization and returning to nature can be the outlet one needs to think clearly. “Rip Van Winkle” portrays another man leaving society and entering nature, and “Cathedral” focuses more heavily on art and the beauty man can create and has the pleasure to stand in awe of. Some might argue that I am placing too much emphasis on Walt Whitman, but I believe that Whitman’s work was a great turning point in American literature and deserves sufficient attention. What Whitman writes about and how he writes about it was very new for the time and is very American in nature. He speaks a lot of about the individual and his writing supports the idea of freedom; two very American ideals. Whitman’s poetry, and the poetry of the other writers does more than teach us about America. Studying these works will teach my students even more about language itself. “Literature has much practical knowledge to offer you. An art of words, it can help you become more sensitive to language, both your own and other people’s. It can make you aware of the difference between the world that is exactly right and the world that is merely good enough…” (Kennedy xxix). I believe that poetry serves this purpose especially well, and so I believe having a strong focus on poetry in this unit will help students find their voice.
Works Cited
Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. "Preface." An Introduction to Poetry. New York: Longman, 1998. xxvii-xxxv. Print.
Goals:
By the end of the unit, my students will...
-Understand the elements that make Walt Whitman’s writing unique.
-Write their own “Song of Myself” poem while integrating some of Whitman’s style
-Make comparisons between the works in this unit, but also see the underlying connection to and importance of nature that carries throughout.
By the end of the unit, I as an educator will...
-Compose my own “Song of Myself” poem
-Recognize how my students have grown not only as readers and writers, but also as people, throughout the year.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful.
· CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3d Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
(Students will also engage in the composing of other forms of text besides written text for their culminating text for the unit.)
Activities:
1. Cathedral drawing activity: I think this activity could work well as an anticipatory set or as a closing activity. In the story “Cathedral,” a blind man asks another man to describe a cathedral to him. For this activity, students would try to draw a cathedral with their eyes closed. The activity would continue into a class discussion where we think about why it is so hard to describe something like a cathedral if someone has never seen one.
2. “Song of Myself” poem: After reading Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and some of his other poems, students will write their own poems about themselves trying to mimic Whitman’s style as much as they can. This activity will not only help students remember what elements are attributed to Whitman, but also to make the poems more relevant to their own lives. I want students to learn new ways of expressing themselves through the study of great writers.
3. Comparison and Contrast short essay: Students will identify and similarities and differences between Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” and Hughes “I, too, Sing Myself” which is thought to have been inspired by the original poem by Whiman.
Culminating texts:
Creative Response Project: Students will respond to the literature from this unit with original creative works. Below is a list of formats from which students may choose for their creative responses. They may create another similar but different “creative response” that is not on the list if they consult with me:
a. Write a poem or series of poems that describe your experience with any of the works from this unit. Or have the poems imitate the writing style of one of the authors we have studied in this unit.
b. Write a dramatic sketch or scene based on one of the short stories or an extension of one of the stories.
c. Continue one of the short stories that elaborates on the characters or plot. Or write an alternative ending. Try to imitate the author’s style as much as possible.
d. Make your own photo essay with accompanying script.
e. Write a song, music and lyrics, that expresses your reaction to any of the literature from this unit.
f. Create a piece of visual art (painting, collage, sculpture, etc.) that expresses your experience of the novel and write a commentary on the piece of art you create.
(Ideas for this project adapted from Ms. Boni’s 12th grade AP English class.)
Assessments:
1. The major assessment will be the students’ creative response projects. (See the “culminating texts” section for a description of this assignment.)
2. Other assessments will be done with smaller assignments like the “Song of Myself” poem.
Miscellaneous: