1. Unit 4: The Pursuit of Happiness and Your Career Path
Thursday, March 3

2. Unit 4 Overview
You have learned about the American Dream. During this unit, you will research and prepare for a potential career path that fits your future goals to help you achieve your American Dream.
We will also be reading Into the Wild, a nonfiction account of one man’s journey to self-discovery and the pursuit of happiness.
New Learning: Transcendentalism (a philosophical attitude that is still manifested in today’s society)!
Unit length: weeks

3. Transfer Task: Multi-genre presentation
You will be developing a multi-genre presentation about significant personal experiences that involve the pursuit of happiness and/ or transcendental ideals.
You should include your career research/job shadowing as one of the experiences and relate career/job goals to your pursuit of happiness or development of a transcendental ideal.
You will be asked to describe verbally and in writing the context of each personal experience, your immediate response to each one, and a reflection on both the significance of each experience to you and perhaps to those around you.

4. Before Reading (Copies of Into the Wild Due Tuesday, March 8th)
Handout: Author’s note
With a partner, read and annotate the Author’s note. Include the following:
Circle unfamiliar words/vocabulary
Write questions on the side of the page
Make notes:
What do you infer about McCandless’ American Dream?
Who is the author? What is his purpose for writing Into the Wild?
What is the setting?
Is the Into the Wild fiction or non-fiction? How do you know?
The author writes “This correspondence, as one might expect, reflected sharply divergent points of view…” what are the different points of view? What can you infer/predict about the author’s point of view?

5. Point of View
The author writes “This correspondence, as one might expect, reflected sharply divergent points of view…” what are the different points of view? What can you infer/predict about the author’s point of view?
(RECORD your answers to these questions in the space by the signature at the bottom of the second page)

6. More on Point of View
The point of view shows the writer’s relationship to the situation or event. Sometimes a change in point of view is used to emphasize an alternative perspective.
Narratives may be told from varying points of view:
First person - a character narrates the story with I-me-my- mine in his or her speech.
Third Person Omniscient -the narrator reveals the thoughts of every character to the reader (writer uses he, she, them, they, him, her, his, and their)
Third Person Limited -the narrator reveals the thoughts and feelings of one character to the reader ( writer uses he, she, him, her, his)

7. The Pursuit of Happiness
March 4&7, 2015

8. Warm up: Connections What is the theme for Junior English?
How have we explored this theme already this year?
Predictions/Inferences about how our reading of Into the Wild connects to that theme. (Think about the Author’s note we read last week and the career path part of this unit)
So what? Why would we read this text? What value will it have for you outside of class?

9. Essential Questions How do texts allow reader and writer to connect?
How can reflections lead to improvement?
How can I best convey my own perspectives and reflections to others?

10. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
How do we find enlightenment in everyday experiences? How can reflection lead to improvement?

11. Making a Connection to Into the Wild
Handout: The Pursuit of Happiness
Quote from Declaration of Independence
Independently answer the first two Questions
What does “happiness” mean to you?
What does it mean to have the
“right to the pursuit of happiness”?

12. Partner Work with Text Selections
With a partner of your choice:
Read and annotate the excerpt from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and infer what “happiness” means to Thoreau.
Read and annotate the excerpt from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay titled Self-Reliance and infer what “happiness” means to Emerson.
Read and annotate the excerpt from Tupac’s song titled In the Depths of Solitude and infer what “happiness” means to Tupac. (You may enjoy using this source on your personal devices)
SHARE with CLASS

13. Transcendental tenets:
Transcendentalism
Chris McCandless, whose journey is detailed in Into the Wild studied and tried to live his life based on Emerson’s and Thoreau’s Transcendentalist philosophy. We still see the five tenets to this philosophy all around us.
Transcendental tenets:
non-conformity
self-reliance
confidence
importance of nature
abstract thinking
Choose a tenet activity/debate: Notice the 5 tenets posted around the room. I will show you an image that represents one of the tenets. Quietly move to the tenet you think is best represented. You may be called upon to support your decision.

26. Partner work with Transcendentalism
Based on the excerpts above, which excerpt best exemplifies at least one of these tenets of Transcendentalism? Explain your reasoning and use textual evidence.
How might these tenets of Transcendentalism effect one’s pursuit of happiness?

27. Individual Pursuit of Happiness
Create a list (at least 5) of personal experiences that exemplify your pursuit of happiness or a specific tenet of Transcendentalism.
Be thoughtful
This list will be a starting point for your multi-genre project

28. Return to Essential Questions
How do texts allow reader and writer to connect?
How can reflections lead to improvement?
So…………….. What will you be reflecting on? Why bother?

29. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer