Author: Marion Mittenzwey

E-mail: [email protected]

Subject US Literature

Level 10th High School

American Transcendentalism was an important movement both in philosophy and literature that flourished during the early to middle years of the nineteenth century (about 1836 to1860). It was a time when writers rebelled against what they saw as the current situation and therefore, as what they were trying to be different from. Emerson was the central and most influential figure among the group of radical thinkers and writers who also included Thoreau. But this it was also a Romantic period, and American literature achieved imaginative glories. The works of Melville, Hawthorne, Poe, Whitman, Cooper, etc. are deeply psychological, often mythic or melodramatic, and stunningly adventurous in form and theme.

You will work in groups of five. You will explore your chosen author's special point of view, as well as what he holds in common with other authors of his time and how many of the issues important to them – the fight for power, racial and gender tensions, the value of nature – are still important to us today. You will also check how the author creates mood and tone in his work by analyzing how the writer’s personal life may have affected his writing.

Objectives:
* You will use the internet to connect to a site and gather information.
* You will become familiar with some of the best known works by each author.
* You will write on your Word Processor a written product and make a PowerPoint presentation for evaluation by your teacher.

Activities:
Each group selects one of the following authors:
* Ralph Waldo Emerson
* Henry David Thoreau
* Nathaniel Hawthorne
* Edgar Allan Poe
* Walt Whitman


Create a PowerPoint presentation in which you do all of the following:

1. Give a detailed biography of the author your group has chosen. Follow these guidelines: (Team member 1)

a) When was the writer born?
b) Describe the writer's childhood.
c) Describe the writer’s financial state.
d) Describe the writer's family life.
e) Was the writer married? Describe the writer's love life.
f) Describe the circumstances around the writer’s death.
g) Describe any unusual experiences, traits or characteristics that the author has during his or her lifetime.

2. Give an overview of the literary time period during which your author wrote. Include historical, political, religious and social implications of the period. Write a page of how the events and movements of the time period influenced the author's writing. (Team member 2)

3. Select two pieces of literature from the author your group has chosen. Read and analyze these pieces. For each work, do a story map where you define: setting, characters (include description of main characters), initial impulse, 3 examples of rising action, climax and outcome. (Team members 3 and 4)

4. Based on the two pieces chosen, in the slide show you must also describe the author’s use of setting, imagery, suspense, conflict, mood and theme. Provide examples from each of the two texts to support your analysis. (Team members 3 and 4)

5. In the form of a poem, story or commercial, demonstrate how the writer’s life may have influenced his writing. (Team member 5)

6. Answer the question: Does your author and his/her literary works deserve a place as a representative author of his period? Present your group's opinion with at least 5 reasons for your response. Also support your opinion with at least 5 quotes from reputable literary critics.

7. Your final slide should be a Works Cited credit page.

8. Include a picture of the author and any appropriate art features that represent the themes of the author's works.

* You must hand in a written version of your research.

The following are some of the web sites you can use for your research though try and find some of your own.

Remember all group members must work as a team to complete this project. Each group member will be responsible for one section though you must communicate for the final work. You will be graded based on content, vocabulary, grammar, and overall comprehension of the material. There will be a group grade for participation as well as an individual grade.

Individual Grade:
*Individual research
*Oral presentation
*Written work
* Oral quiz

Group Grade:
* Participation
* Powerpoint presentation
* Cooperation with others
* Answer to #6

After completing this WebQuest, you will have a better understanding of each writer's life. You will deduce that some of the events in his life may have led him to write in his particular style and you will be able to compare and analyze all writers of the period to identify their work.

This WebQuest is a summary of different related webquests found which were adapted to the necessities of the course.