Civil Disobedience Lesson Plan

Walden: The Film

Kind of Activity:

Mixed Media

Objective:

Students will watch a short film on Walden Pond and consider the impact Thoreau's time there had on the philosophies he presents in "Civil Disobedience."

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7

Structure:

In 2017, Ken Burns directed a short, 20 minute film about Walden Pond. The film is available on the Walden Woods Project's website: https://www.walden.org/walden-film/.

Show students the film, asking them to pay special attention to how the setting might have impacted Thoreau's life. What is the relationship between place and personal philosophy? How might have Thoreau's time away from...