This file offers background, close reading, writing activities and assessment for a lesson on the life and work of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Transcendentalism. Instructional slides include biography, explanation and examples. Selected quotes illustrate the abstract ideas of Transcendentalism and the advice in Emerson’s writing. An organizer with prompts and questions will focus student attention and guide notetaking. Emerson’s ideas can be especially engaging for high school students, but the tex