Click the image above to watch the Muir documentary.

AS WE BEGIN OUR NATURE and wilderness unit, remember to annotate the material we read by doing three things: a) mark vocabulary (new words, and words carefully chosen by the author); b) write questions you have (primarily about author’s argument), and; c) the theme of how Americans conceive of the natural world around them.

MONDAY

No school for Rosh Hashanah.
HW: Finishing the draft of your duality essay, which is due WEDNESDAY.

TUESDAY

Formulating your own view of nature. What purpose does nature serve? What role has nature played in your own life? What have your experiences been of the natural world? We will write an in-class assessment (personal narrative, expository essay).
HW: Finish duality essay for class tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY

Viewing Gast's iconic painting "American Progress," and reading Turner's frontier thesis in the context of that painting. Small group analysis and discussion.
HW: Reading “Starving Time” as well as “Death on the Prairies.” What view of nature do these documents put forward?

THURSDAY

We will watch the Popeye cartoon, and analyze Popeye’s 1930s, American view of wilderness. How does this view of nature contrast with that of the painting used for Steinbeck’s first edition of The Grapes of Wrath?
HW: Read the handout on Steinbeck and Gutherie in our nature packet.

FRIDAY

Starting a wonderful documentary on John Muir, an exceptional American naturalist in that he does not believe man to be the measure of all things. (Many Americans--then and now--consider themselves exceptional, and believe that nature is God's give to Americans to use as they best see fit.) When we finish it (not until Monday, possibly Tuesday), students will write a paragraph answering the core question you used to take notes: Why is John Muir a pivotal figure in the modern American environmental movement? Students will incorporate direct quotes from the film into their paragraphs.
HW: Reading Krakauer's chapter "The Alaska Interior" from his non-fiction Into the Wild. While reading, annotate for vocabulary, write your questions, and annotate for this nature theme in specific: Why are Americans attracted to wilderness, despite the obvious risks it threatens?