Transcendentalism
Objectives:
1. Define Transcendentalism.
2. Identify key beliefs of transcendentalism.
3. Evidence of your learning: Completed
Reflection.
What is Transcendentalism?
 A philosophical movement that sought to have
individuals "transcend" or “break through” to a higher
spiritual level.
 To achieve this goal, the individual had to seek spiritual,
not material, greatness and the essential truths of life
through intuition.
 Explain Transcendentalism to your partner. (AC, BD)
Where does
Transcendentalism come
from?
The term Transcendentalism was derived from the
philosopher Immanuel Kant, who called all knowledge
transcendental.
In other words, knowledge came not from knowing
about objects or life but from the way we experience
objects and life.
Key Beliefs of
Transcendentalism
 Natural Interconnectedness: People and nature are connected
and reflect each other. “You know your individual nature through
communion with nature.”
 Individuality: Be true to YOURSELF! Individuals should not
conform blindly to beliefs imposed on them by society. Trust your
intuition over belief systems built to control you.
 Spiritual self-reliance: Do not trust dogma or institutions.
Nothing is more sacred than the integrity of our own individual
mind. “You are sacred, because your spirit holds the divine within
it. Religion or church cannot teach you about your spirit.”
 Explain key beliefs of transcendentalism to your partner. (AC, BD)
“Sun is Shining” by Bob Marley
Sun is shining, the weather is sweet
Make you want to move your dancing feet
To the rescue, here i am
Want you to know, y'all, where i stand
(monday morning) here i am
Want you to know just if you can
(tuesday evening) where i stand
(wenesday morning)
Tell myself a new day is rising
(thursday evening) get on the rise
A new day is dawning
(friday morning) here i am
(saturday evening) want you to know just
Want you to know just where i stand
When the morning gathers the rainbow
Want you to know i'm a rainbow too
So, to the rescue here i am
Want you to know just if you can
Where i stand, know, know, know, know, know
We'll lift our heads and give jah praises
We'll lift our heads and give jah praises, yeah
Sun is shining, the weather is sweet
Make you want to move your dancing feet
To the rescue, here i am
Want you to know just if you can
Where i stand
(wenesday morning)
Tell myself a new day is rising
(thursday evening) get on the rise
A new day is dawning
(friday morning) here i am
(saturday evening) want you to know just
Want you to know just where i stand
When the morning gathers the rainbow
Want you to know i'm a rainbow too
So to the rescue, here i am
Want you to know just if you can
Where i stand, know, know, know, know,
know
We'll lift our heads and give jah praises
(repeat)
Sun is shining, the weather is sweet
Make you want to move your dancing feet
To the rescue, here i am
Want you to know just if you can
Where i stand, no, no, no, no, where i stand
Sun is shining, sun is shining
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Objectives:
1. Develop background knowledge on Ralph
Waldo Emerson, the “father” of American
Transcendentalism.
2. Respond to Transcendental ideals by
participating in Graffitti Wall Discussion.
After you watch preview video, use circle map info
to write background paragraph.
Use the following paragraph
frame:
As you watch video, fill in circle map with important
information about author’s background.
Ralph
Waldo
Emerson
_______can be described as
______. He was born
________ and spent most of his
life________. While ________,
he became interested in
________.
Additionally,
________________. His writing
attempts to ______________ by
_______________.
Graffiti Wall Part 1
 Choose three of the following questions to respond to.

How are you affected by nature? Do you find comfort in it?

What is the role of nature in your life? Do you see your moods reflected in nature?

What is meant by an individual's spiritual side? How do you define it?

Is there a connection between the individual's spirit and nature? If so, what is that connection?

What does it mean to know something intuitively? For example, has a parent or a sibling ever known something was
wrong with you without having talked with or seen you?

What do we mean when we say "I just know it"?

How do you demonstrate that you are an individual? Do you think independently of others or do you follow the crowd?
 Write your response to the question on the post-it note. Stick
your response on the appropriate wall.
 Have a seat.
Graffiti Wall Part 2
Read the responses to each of the
questions.
Choose three responses which
you felt were most insightful.
Record them in your notebook.
Have a seat.
Philosopher Props
 BASIC : The most insightful comment I found…
 SUFFICIENT: I agreed with the comment that
_____________ because
_______________________.
 SOPHISTICATED: The statement that _____________
inspired me to _______________________________.
How does Emerson use imagery to support
Transcendentalist beliefs about society and
nature?
Objective: After reading an excerpt from Ralph Waldo
Emerson’s essay “Nature,” students will analyze
the use of imagery to support his beliefs about
society and nature.
1. Natural Interconnectedness, Individuality, and SelfReliance Debrief
2. Read and annotate “Nature” by Ralph Waldo
Emerson
Tone: the attitude a writer takes
toward the subject of a work
 Objective (Informational) v. Subjective (Emotional)
Tone is dependent on diction
(word choice) and style.
TONE TOOL:
Use this to help you identify
specific tone of a text.
Step 1: Is it neutral, positive,
or negative?
Step 2: Go through the list and
find appropriate and specific
word.
Let’s practice…
First read…
 Number the Paragraphs.
 Look at the title and use your background knowledge to
predict what author will be arguing in this essay.
 Quick-Read: 3 minutes
 Skim through the article and circle KEY words that convey
TONE and seem important to what he will be arguing or
communicating.
Second: ANNOTATE
 Teacher reads TWO PARAGRAPHS AT A TIME. Leaves
one minute for student to do the following:
 Underline sentences that help you understand the
author’s argument and purpose. Use the following
questions to guide your annotations.
 What is the author’s central argument? Purpose?
 What is the author’s tone? What word choices
does he make to communicate the appropriate
tone?
 How does the author use IMAGERY & FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE to support his argument and
accomplish his purpose?
 Do you agree with him? Why or why not?
After your 2nd read…
 What is the author’s purpose in writing this text? In other words, what is he trying to
accomplish?
 What is his central claim or argument?
Simple:
The text argues that ____________ _______because______.
Sufficient:
According to ______, ____________.
Sophisticated:
In the text , “________,” _____ asserts/ proposes/ claims _______________.
Third read: MARGINALIA
Explain your annotations:
* Identify and Summarize
Main Ideas:
i.e. This explains that___.
 Evidence used to support
argument:
i.e. This demonstrates/
illustrates/conveys.
? Clarify questions and
confusion:
i.e. I don’t understand ____.
What does ___ mean? I
wonder why____.
Says-MeansMatters to cite
and analyze
use of imagery
in the text
The Symbolism of the
Transparent Eyeball
There I feel that nothing can befall
me in life, -- no disgrace, no
calamity, (leaving me my eyes,)
which nature cannot repair.
Standing on the bare ground, -my head bathed by the blithe air,
and uplifted into infinite space, -all mean egotism vanishes. I
become a transparent eye-ball; I
am nothing; I see all; the currents
of the Universal Being circulate
through me; I am part or particle
of God.
October 28, 2011
Objective: After reading and discussing an excerpt from
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance,”
students will identify figures of speech used to support
his main philosophical ideas about individualism and
non-conformity.
1. What are figures of speech?
2. What is the main idea of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay
“Self-Reliance”?
EVIDENCE OF LEARNING: Annotations & Says Means
Matters
Share your Reflection
REFLECTION: Implicit in the fourth paragraph is an
assumption that city life can help us feel the currents
of the Universal Being?
Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why
or why not?
Figures of Speech
FIGURES OF SPEECH: Words that compare two
unlike things in order to describe and create an
image for the reader.
•Metaphor: comparison does not use like or as.
Something is another.
• Simile: Comparison that uses like or as.
•Personification: Object is given human like
qualities.
Self Reliance: Reflection
What does Emerson say about self-reliance?
Underline metaphors, similes, personification.
How does he use figures of speech to support his
main idea?
Graffiti Wall Part 1
Choose three questions you feel that you could answer
confidently.
Write the answer on the post it.
Post them under the appropriate questions
Objective: 1. After identifying challenges of reading Ralph
Waldo Emerson’s essays, student will participate in a
gallery walk to clarify difficulties.
2. Students will review for quiz on Ralph Waldo Emerson
by participating in White Board Review.
Graffiti Wall Part 2
Choose three questions you feel that you have trouble
answering or understanding. Write them in your notebook.
Go to those stations and find your peers’ insights on those
questions.
Write down the answers and return to your desk.
THREE QUESTIONS I DO NOT FEEL CONFIDENT
ANSWERING ARE:
1.
Question
Best Answers:
2. Question
Best Answers:
3. Question
Best Answers:
According to Emerson, how is nature connected to people’s moods?
What effect does nature have on Emerson? What does he mean when he says "I
become a transparent eyeball"?
In what ways does Emerson connect nature, humankind, and God?
How does Nature serve as a teacher? What can human beings learn from nature?
How does this learning affect the individual's spirituality?
Find a quote where nature is portrayed as noble or as a source of comfort?
Why does Emerson see society as the enemy of individuality?
What does Emerson mean when he says that "envy is ignorance and imitation is
suicide"?
What does Emerson want each individual to recognize about him/herself? What
does he say about "power" and "work"?
What is nonconformity? What did that word mean to Emerson?
What is a "foolish consistency"? How does it get in the way of genius?
Graffiti Wall Part 3
BASIC: Something that I understand about Ralph Waldo
Emerson’s philosophy ___________________________.
SUFFICIENT: I agree/disagree with Transcendental
philosophy because ___________________________.
SOPHISTICATED: The transcendental belief that
_____makes me reflect on _____________________
because ___________________________________.
Whiteboard Review
_____9. Emerson makes the comparison between the kernel of corn and human
effort in order to show that people must work hard because they can’t survive
without food. (paragraph 1 line 3)
_____10. For Emerson, the truth we must all accept is that we must stay childlike to
appreciate the world. (paragraph 2 line 3)
_____11. Emerson’s opinion of society is that in conspires to deny people their
freedom. (Paragraph 3 line 2)
_____12. Emerson believes that staying pure and wise in spirit is what makes
someone a fully realized person. (paragraph 3)
_____ 13. Emerson believes that society always has humanity’s best interests at
heart.
_____15. The purpose of the essay titled nature is to explain and analyze how
nature works.
___ 16. The best summary of Emerson’s philosophy is be true to yourself.
How to write a
transcendental poem
STEP 1: Choose the best 10 sentences from “Nature” and
write them in leaving enough space to be able to cut
between words.
STEP 2: Choose the best 10 sentences from “Self Reliance”
and write them in leaving enough space to be able to cut
between words.
STEP 3: Cut each sentence into at least three parts.
STEP 4: Arrange the words into a poem that expresses a
transcendental belief spiritual self-sufficiency, individuality,
and natural interconnectedness.
Example:
•If the start should appear one night in a thousand years how
would men believe and adore; and preserve for many
generation the remembrance of the city of God which had
been shown.