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Teaching Nature

Nature

"Nature" is an essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and published by James Munroe and Company in 1836. In this essay Emerson put forth the foundation of transcendentalism, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature.[1] Transcendentalism suggests that the divine, or God, suffuses nature, and suggests that reality can be understood by studying nature.[2] Emerson's visit to the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris inspired a set of lectures he later delivered in Boston which were then published.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Public Domain

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

How does Emerson define humans' relationship to nature?
STANDARDS:
RL.1 - Meaning & Evidence, RL.2 - Main Ideas, RL.4 - Key Terms & Tone

DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE (DOK) LEVELS:

2,3,4
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