American Literature
Collection 2
American Romanticism
Day 1
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How do you think Americans in the late 1700s would
describe the American Dream?
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P. 157: Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote
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How would Emerson describe the American Dream?
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Why do you think the years from 1800-1860
are referred to as American Romanticism?
What does Romanticism mean in that context?
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Video segment 3: The American Journey
As you watch, listen for words and ideas that
help you understand Romanticism.
Using the Timeline (pages 158-159)
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Select the top 5 most important events from the
bottom portion of the timeline.
Write your top 5 events and the reasons why you
have chosen them on large papers.
Day 2
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Finish posters from yesterday (10 min.)
Read and Retell strategy
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P. 160, “Westward Ho!”
Good readers review what they remember from a
passage before going further.
Read “The Gold Rush” and “Education and
Reform” with your partner, using Read and
Retell
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Together, select one of the three events as the
most important event in this time period.
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Write three reasons to support your choice.
Day 3
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The Holt Reader: p. 67-72
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Read pgs 67-72
Complete the activities in the side notes on a
separate piece of paper (turn in when done)
Literary Movements chart
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Fill out the sections for Puritans and Rationalists
Add Transcendentalism and Dark Romantics on
separate lines
Day 4
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Journal entry: Which philosophy do you agree with
more: Transcendentalism or Romanticism? Explain.
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P. 174: Washington Irving background info.
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Power Notes (in groups)
Watch “The Rise of American Literature”
P. 176: Vocabulary
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Use the strategy that works best for you to
remember the words and their definitions.
Day 5
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Practice Vocab quiz!
Mood in literature
P. 175: definition of Mood
Review quote from “The Devil and Tom
Walker”, writing down words and phrases that
convey a mood.
What is the mood of this passage?
Underline words and phrases that convey the
mood
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With your partner, write a paragraph stating
the mood and the evidence from the passage
that proves your ideas.
In a 3 chunk paragraph, explain the mood.
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The mood of this passage is ____. This is revealed
in the description of the shortcut ….(etc.)
Pair with another group and exchange
paragraphs.
Share with class
Day 6
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Journal entry: why is it important to understand the
mood of a story?
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Quickie vocab quiz! (bwahahahahaaaa…)
P. 175: Archetypes
Quickwrite: write everything you know about
Faust, or the concept of a “deal with the devil”
Think, pair, share
Listen and read “The Devil and Tom Walker” by
Washington Irving (p. 177)
Day 6 and 7 Questions
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Pg. 177 What possible plot development does the
mention of buried gold allow? How does this affect
the setting?
What do the phrases “well-known” and “he always
does” suggest about the old stories?
Pg. 179 Why is it appropriate that this place be
associated with an “evil spirit”?
How do the details describing the dark man make him
special and strange?
What might the great tree, rotten at the core,
symbolize?
Day 7 and 8 Questions
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What conclusion can you draw from the fact that
these men’s names are on the trees and the black man
carries an axe?
Pg. 180 What range of evil activity is attributed to the
devil?
What do you predict Tom will do, now that he is face
to face with the devil?
Pg .181 What is the meaning of the fingerprint on
Tom’s forehead, and what does it imply about his
future?
What do you think happened to Tom’s wife?
Day 8 and 9 Questions
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Pg. 182 What “generally understood” terms does the
narrator refer to? Why do you think he doesn’t state
the terms explicitly?
Pg. 183 What is Irving really saying in the paragraph
where he says Tom “was the universal friend of the
needy.”
Pg 184 What do you think is going to happen to
Tom?
How do Tom’s words “the devil take me” ironically
bring about his own fate?
Day 10
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Vocab Quiz and Story CFA
Complete the following graphic organizer:
Beginning
Middle
End
Mood
Evidence from
story
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Explain the story’s mood. How does Irving create humor in a
story in which there are few happy events? On a separate sheet
of paper, write a paragraph that explains your answer. Support
your ideas with details from the selection and organizer above.
Day 11
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Journal: Was the writing of Washington Irving more
reflective of the Dark Romantics, the
Transcendentalists, the Rationalists, or the Puritans?
Explain your reasoning.
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Divide into groups based on how you
answered the journal question.
Support/defend your position on Irving’s
writing with examples from the story—write
on mini-posters.
Read each poster; discuss the merits of each
argument as a class
Day 12
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Journal: How are the following words alike and
different: self-reliance; selfishness; and selfcenteredness.
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P. 203-204: Ralph Waldo Emerson
As you read, write down words and phrases
the author uses to describe Emerson.
Share and list the words on the board. What
kind of a guy was Emerson?
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P. 209: Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”
Fill out the quotes organizer as you read.
P. 211: look at the caricature of Emerson.
Using this picture, answer question 4.
Going back to the beginning—what is this
man’s philosophy of life (or how he feels
about life and what people should believe)?
(think-pair-share)
Day 13 and 14
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Quickwrite: What is Emerson’s philosophy of life?
P. 208: Figures of Speech
P. 211: Answer question 2
What specific passage in “Self-Reliance” created an
image in your head? On a separate piece of paper,
explain why this image has an impact to you.
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Use this image to create a motivational poster that
represents this idea. You must have the quote on the front
of the poster.
Attach your explanation to the back.
Day 15
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P. 233: Calvin and Hobbes cartoon—read silently,
then write a journal entry, explaining the cartoonist’s
message. (think-pair-share)
Journal: What is the meaning of Civil Disobedience?
List examples from the past. (think-pair-share)
P. 232: examples of civil disobedience.
Journal: Think about people who hold rallies,
boycotts, or hunger strikes today to protest a
perceived injustice. Do you think they are abusing
the role of citizens or fulfilling that role in a
responsible way? (think-pair-share)
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P. 213-214: Henry David Thoreau background
Read each paragraph out loud to a partner.
After each paragraph, write the most
interesting piece of information you heard.
Listening for a purpose: It is easier to
understand when you have a reason for
listening.
P. 234: vocabulary; read the “Point of View”
Use each of the vocabulary words in a
paragraph about Thoreau’s night in jail.
Day 16
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Warm-up: something fun!
Continuum: Take a Stand
Would you be willing to go to jail to protest
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A parking fine
An unjustified war
Taxes paid for an environmental policy you don’t
believe in
Voting age
Drinking age
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Would you be willing to be given a long-term
suspension from school for protesting
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A dress code
An unjust suspension of an acquaintance
School lunch
Ending SIP
P. 233: Persuasive techniques (review)
Holt Reader: p. 82-83 from “Resistance to
Civil Government” (read aloud in partners,
complete margin questions as you read)
Day 17
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Warm-up: Fun!
p. 84-90 in Holt Reader (continue from
yesterday): read to each other, answer
questions in the margins.
When you have finished with the reading,
complete the content frame on page 91 of the
Reader. (think-pair-share)
Turn in margin questions and content frame.
Day 18
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Turn to pg 195
Literary Focus: Meter ( a pattern of stressed
and unstressed syllables in poetry.)
Read the poem “The Tide Rises, The Tide
Falls” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Answer questions 1-7 on pg 201.
Day 19
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What do you think of when you hear the name
Edgar Allan Poe?
P. 277-278: Background on Poe
Create once sentence summaries for each
section of the article
What is a symbol?
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something that stands for or suggests something
else
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Some common symbols:
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Use the following content frame to identify
five more symbols of your choosing:
Object
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What do you see?
What idea, emotion or
belief does it
represent?
The symbolic meaning of a story is one that
goes beyond the story’s literal meaning.
Day 20
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Holt Reader, p. 117:
Poe’s “The Raven”
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Sound Effects in
poetry—complete the
content frame
Sound Device
Refrain: repeated lines
End rhyme: Rhymes at the ends
of lines
Internal rhyme: rhyme that occurs
within lines
Alliteration: Repetition of a
consonant sound
Onomatopoeia: Use of words
with sounds that echo their sense
Meter: Regular pattern of stressed
and unstressed syllables in a poem
Example from poem
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Using the Holt Reader, paraphrase the
meaning of each stanza.
A paraphrase is a restatement of a segment of
writing in your own words or style:
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One sentence long
No repeating of the same words the author used
(except definite articles like “an”, “the”, etc.)
Share your paraphrases with the class (in
order!)
Day 21
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Holt Reader: page 122
Re-read lines 103-108 (the last stanza). What
do you think the Raven symbolizes? (write)
Review the poem. What other symbols has
Poe included in the poem? List them and their
possible meanings.
Read the handout on “The Raven”
P. 123: Concept map—homework if not
completed in class!
Day 22
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Quickwrite: Review the content frame from yesterday. What
do the sound effects contribute to the poem?
Selection Test
What is an Allegory?
Definition: a story or poem in which characters, settings, and
events stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities
An allegory is not the same as a symbol
Examples: Fairy Tales, fables, parables
 Modern-day allegories? (brainstorm stories, etc.)
Day 23 & 24
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Pg. 252-259: “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”
Listen to audio
Each time we stop, answer the following
questions:
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Based on what Hawthorne reveals about the four
guests, what qualities might each represent?
(Allegory)
Answer the yellow box question #1
Day 23 and 24
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What is the mood or ambience of Heidegger’s study?
Pg 253. What does the this detail about the death of Dr
Heidegger’s fiancé reveal about the title character?
Answer the yellow box Q #2
Pg. 254 Paraphrase the paragraph before yellow box #3
Answer the yellow box Q #3
After the Widow Wicherly’s quote that begins with
“Nonsense!” predict what events her words might
foreshadow.
Answer yellow box Q#4
Day 24
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Pg 255 Answer yellow box Q #5
What does Heidegger’s warning to his guests suggest about
the moral of this allegory?
Explain why the guests laugh at and dismiss Heidegger’s
warning.
How does the first drink of elixir affect the guests?
Pg. 257 What might you infer about Hawthorne’s view of
politicians based on his description of Gascoigne?
Based on the guests’ actions once they are young again,
what moral point does Hawthorne seem to make?
Day 24/25
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Answer yellow box Q #6
What might the image of Dr. Heidegger in his
throne-like chair suggest/represent? (Allegory)
What does the doctor’s refusal to dance suggest
about how he is different from his guests?
Pg. 259 Answer yellow box Q #7
What moral, or point, is Hawthorne making when
Heidegger says he now loves the withered rose as
much as he loved it when it was fresh?
Day 24/25
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Answer yellow box Q #8
What do you believe is the moral of this allegory?
Why?
Answer yellow box #9
Answer question #8 on pg 261
Day 27
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Warm-Up
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Write the belief system of the Romantics. You
may use the Collection 2 introduction or your
orange content frame if you need help.
One of the ever-present lessons of nature is the
cycle of life. Think of and write down some ways
nature reminds us of this Recurring cycle.
Day 27 Cont.
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Purpose/Focus: Theme and meter
Turn to pg 190 in the text book
“Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant
Read and answer questions on your paper. Be
prepared to discuss.
Answer questions 1,2,3 and 5 on pg. 193
Day 28
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Warm Up- Read the Make the Connection on
pg. 195 and answer the question.
Purpose/Focus: Meter and Alliteration
Read “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Day 28 Cont
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Find the metered pauses in the first stanza.
Write the line and put a // at the pause
Where is the alliteration in the first stanza?
What words are repeated in the 2nd stanza?
How does this, along with the meter, create a
somber effect?
To what are the waves being compared? What
type of figurative language/figure of speech is
this?
Day 28 Cont.
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What sound is used most frequently to create
alliteration in the 3rd stanza?
How does this affect the meter/speed of the
poem?
Answer questions 1-7 on pg. 201
Day 29
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Test Review!
Create two column notes for each of the
following (17 total):
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Romanticism Transcendetalism
Dark
Romaticism
Mood
Meter
Generalization
Theme
Inversion
Allegory
Symbol
Alliteration
Figures of speech (Name and define each)
3 Different types of persuasive appeals
Works Studied in Collection 2
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“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington
Irving (p. 177)
“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (209)
“Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry
David Thoreau (235)
“On Nonviolent Resistance” by Mohandas K.
Gandhi (244)
“Letter from Birmingham City Jail” by Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (245)
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The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls
“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe (298)
“Dr Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel
Hawthorne (312)
Extra Credit Assignment:
“Fall of the House of Usher”
Answer each of the following questions
thoughtfully, using examples from the story to
support your ideas.
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Are Roderick and Madeline vampires? Why or why not?
Does Roderick knowingly bury Madeline alive? Explain.
Is the story a narrative of events the narrator experiences,
or is it all part of his imagination? Explain.
Are these twins having an incestuous relationship? Why
or why not?
Fall of the House of Usher
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Journal write: Imagine you are telling a friend
about this story. List the main events in
chronological order.
Group work: Each group answers the question
they are given (10 minutes!)
Jigsaw puzzle: new groups, new question!
Share your answers with new group, and
defend your position (if needed). You will
turn in answers to both questions.
How did discussing with others help you
answer the questions?
Fall of the House of Usher
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What is an Allegory?
Definition: a story or poem in which
characters, settings, and events stand for
abstract ideas or moral qualities
An allegory is not the same as a symbol
Examples: Fairy Tales, fables, parables
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Modern-day allegories? (brainstorm stories, etc.)
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Define the following figures of speech--metaphor,
simile, personification--in the space indicated on the
content frame below:
Figure of
Speech
Definition
Examples
Metaphor
1.
2.
Simile
1.
2.
Personification
1.
2.
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Pg
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Effect on Reader
Review the story, finding examples of each figure of
speech, and writing them in the content frame.