AMERICAN STUDIES Nature
Journals: a transcendental experiment
As
you know, Henry David Thoreau spent two years, two months, and two days
performing an experiment in simplification.
He left his life to live in the woods, in a cabin he built himself. During this time, he learned a lot about his
soul and his connections with nature, both spiritual and physical.
For
this assignment, you will choose a place in “nature” where you can escape from
“society” in order to connect more fully with yourself. It must be a place that you can be alone, and
can revisit several times. You will complete a series of guided assignments,
for which you will be graded on a rubric.
You are expected to include two forms of media: your written thoughts and visual representations,
which can include drawings, paintings, photos, pressed leaves/ flowers, maps,
collage, or other creative means. Your
visual representations should each come with an approximately half page annotation
(75-100 words) explaining their significance and meaning. You need a minimum
of two visuals.
Journal Assignments (try to stick to these, but if they make great
springboards for something larger, don’t let them hold you back—explore, prod, think):
1. Orientation
& Observation: Describe the
place you chose as if we have no idea where it is: tell where it’s located, how
to get there, & what it is like.
This may be a good time to use your mapping skills. Once there, sit awhile. Observe your surroundings. Make general observations of detail and the
big picture as well. List all the plants
and animals you see here (are any of them new to you? rare?)
2. Intimacy: Close your eyes & use only your hearing/ touch/
smell to make observations about your place.
Then, pick one thing and find as many ways to describe it as possible,
using all of your senses.
3. Knowledge
& Application: Perhaps you know a bit about native plants and
animals, but there are probably a few things you don’t know. Pick one thing in your place and do a little
bit of research to find out more about it.
This can take five minutes (learn the name of a plant) or five hours
(develop a scientific experiment about creek flow or salmon cycle); it’s
entirely up to you. Either way, document your findings as well as any sources you used in
your journal. Think & write about
how this new information could influence your life or the lives of any or all
of us.
4. Perspective: You’ve come to visit your place at least twice by
now. Imagine for a moment that you are
one of the constants at your place (plant, animal—perhaps the thing you
researched last time) and write what it might be like to watch you come into
the place and change it.
OR
Bring a person into your
place (where you’ve previously been alone).
How does their presence affect the atmosphere? How does it affect you? How do you prefer it?
5. Conclusions: Of course, you can never conclude a relationship with
place, but for the sake of this class, you must come up with some final
thoughts on yours. You may sum up
however you wish, provided you tie in your
experiment with Henry David Thoreau.
Perhaps pick a Thoreau quotation and explain its relation to your place
and your time spent there. If you still
feel stuck, answer these questions: How was your experiment like or unlike
Thoreau’s? Do you feel closer to your
place? Did you learn anything new about
your place or yourself? Did you enjoy
this assignment? Did it change the way
you see things? How can this experience
be tied in to the enduring understanding and essential questions for this unit?
Enduring Understanding
Technology
and advances in the modern era have not only brought progress and expansion,
but
also
have undermined certain traditions and values.
Essential Questions
Is the “progress” we have made worth the price?
Who defines progress?
Do all groups view progress equally?
In what ways has
established?
Have technology and the age of information made life
easier or more stressful?
How is the tension between tradition and progress
resolved?
AMERICAN STUDIES Nature
Journals Grading Rubric
Name __________________
Although it seems almost
anti-transcendentalist to assign a grade to an experiment, for that’s what this
truly is meant to be, we are a public school in a society based on competition
and hierarchy. So—
____ Ideas & Content
40 __ the writer is original & creative
__ the writer displays observation & reflection, both external and
internal
__ piece #1
__ piece #2
__ piece #3
__ piece #4
__ piece #5
__ the writer explains the connection to enduring understandings
and/or essential questions for this unit
____ Thoreau Connection
10 __ the writer explores specific ideas of Thoreau
__ the writer is enthusiastic
__ the writer is willing to go ‘outside’ herself or himself
____ Visual Representation
15 __ the whole collection is appealing to the eye and readable
__ the artist includes two visual representations of place and/or thought
__ visuals display a deeper understanding, and enhance flavor and
meaning
__ annotations are clear and reflect the visuals
(You are graded on each of
the five writing assignments separately; however, you should strive as a whole
for fluency. Your experiences should
clearly connect; it should be obvious that you chose one place and used it for
your experiment)
____ Total Score
65