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Allison Naiino
Public School 12S
Anytown, 0SA

Apiil 2u1S

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As the weathei is finally tuining waim enough to go outsiue, we will stait to
concluue oui semestei of wiiting stuuies with a unit on natuie wiiting. This
unit will exploie the histoiy, philosophy, anu styles of natuie wiiting that
exist.

Stuuents will stait with ieauing one of the fiist canonical woiks of natuie
wiiting, !"#$%& by Beniy Baviu Thoieau (1814-18S9). They will also ieau
exceipts fiom moie contempoiaiy authois, selecteu fiom this yeai's
anthology of natuie wiiting, '(% *%+, -.%/01"& 210%&1% "&$ 3",4/% !/0,0&5.
The stuuents will be askeu to compaie the evolution of natuie wiiting fiom
Thoieau's uay to touay, anu uiscuss why uiffeiences may exist besiues
obvious ieasons.

Stuuents will also engage in a vaiiety of wiiting exeicises culminating in a
blog that will seive as theii own anthology of essays. Some of these exeicises
will incluue wiiting about theii favoiite place in natuie, ievisiting a favoiite
chiluhoou natuial spot, anu spenuing a class peiiou outsiue in the woous neai
oui school ieflecting.

Stuuents will unueistanu that the ieauings aie in not the most significant oi
canonical ieauings in some cases; howevei, they aie still to seive as souices of
inspiiation foi the stuuents as they begin to constiuct theii own natuie
wiiting blogs. Blogs will also incluue meuia elements, incluuing photos anu
viueos to constiuct a multisensoiy expeiience foi theii own ieaueis.



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Become familiai with Ameiican natuie wiiting anu natuie wiiting as a
foim of communication
Exploie techniques useu by natuie wiiteis to evoke ceitain feelings,
thoughts, etc. (essentially what is a natuie wiitei's style)
Biscovei the motivations behinu natuie wiiting, incluuing oiigins,
philosophies, etc. as a means of expiessing opinions on natuie
Cieate anu maintain a natuie wiiting blog with multimeuia expeiiences in
auuition to wiiting
0tilize peisonal expeiiences as well as cieate new ones that will allow foi
natuial exploiation anu giowth in wiiting techniques anu style

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Beniy Baviu Thoieau, !"#$%& (1862)
Beboiah Blum anu Tim Folgei, '(% *%+, -.%/01"& 210%&1% "&$ 3",4/% !/0,0&5
6789 (selecteu essays) (2u14)
}ohn Nuii, 2":% ,(% ;%$<==$+> (192u)

Biscussion will focus on the liteiatuie's content. Stuuents shoulu pay specific
attention to how philosophy plays into the wiiting, as well as what techniques
aie useu to evoke ceitain feelings about the aiea. Stuuents will also woik with
how the wiiteis' woius aie useu to paint a pictuie.

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Stuuents will maintain a blog of theii natuie wiiting. Thiee stuuents will
piesent theii blog entiies each uay. A jouinal piompt will be given each uay,
with iespect to the ieauings. Blogs will incluue photos oi othei meuia to allow
othei ieaueis to visualize the place.

What have youi expeiiences been with natuie so fai. Wheie is youi
favoiite place outsiue to go anu ieflect.

When you weie a chilu, uiu you spenu a lot of time outsiue. Why oi why
not. Wheie was youi favoiite place to exploie when you weie a chilu.

uo outsiue anu obseive the aiea aiounu oui school, paiticulaily the woous
neaiby. Choose one spot to obseive anu wiite about it. Besciibe in a
mattei-of-fact way the featuies of the piopeity, incluuing location,
chaiacteiistics, anu othei featuies woith noting.

Reflect on the cultuial histoiy of natuie in oui aiea. Bo you think it's
ielegateu to a ceitain subcultuie oi is it something that is enjoyeu by all in
oui community. Why.

Wiite an auvocacy piece foi a place in oui aiea oi a favoiite natuial spot of
youis. Why is it woith piotecting. Is theie a bettei way to use it. Befenu
youi aigument.

Wiite a fictional account of the same aiea you wiote youi auvocacy piece
on. Theie aie two angles - uesciibe the histoiy of the aiea fiom its
peispective oi set a stoiy theie.

Wiite a poem about youi aiea of choosing.

Cieate a tiavel biochuie oi piece of wiiting on youi aiea of choosing.

Back to the woous, obseive one thing in youi chosen place anu obseive it.
Empathize with it anu wiite about youi obseivations fiom its peispective.
You can even incluue the stuuent who's been aiounu youi aiea iecently.

Reflect again on youi expeiiences with natuie. Bave youi views changeu at
all since this unit. Bow aie you going to tiy anu incoipoiate natuie into
youi life moie.

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Stuuents shoulu have a fiim unueistanuing of the ieauings. They shoulu
engage in uiscussion about the ieauings, anu uiaw upon them in theii own
wiiting. uiaues will be given on a full, paitial, oi no-cieuit basis anu will count
as one-thiiu of the final giaue foi this unit (2u points).



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Blog entiies shoulu accuiately ieflect the ieauings anu the piompt. They
shoulu incluue meuia souices such as photos, viueos, anu othei ielevant links.
They shoulu auuiess issues uiscusseu in class anu be thoughtful anu thoiough
in content. They will count foi one-half of the final giaue foi this unit (Su
points) anu will be giaueu on a full, paitial, oi no-cieuit basis.

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Stuuents will piesent a blog entiy once uuiing the unit. It will ieflect the iueas
that the class wiote about anu uiscusseu, anu it will exhibit cleai
unueistanuing of the piompt. It will meet all guiuelines foi the blog entiy
above. It will be one-sixth of the giaue (1u points) anu will be on a pass-fail
basis.

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www.waluen.oig The Thoieau Institute at Waluen Woous
www.amnh.oig The Ameiican Nuseum of Natuial Bistoiy
www.nps.gov National Paiks Seivice

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(See above)

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Lesson plan auapteu fiom:
http:www.waluen.oiguocumentsfileBuine%2uNatthew_The%2uNatuia
l%2uBistoiy%2uWiiting.puf