Authors, poets & big ideas
Henry David Thoreau
1817–1862
Massachusetts connection
Concord and Walden Pond
Thoreau observed nature, kept journals, and wrote Walden about his experiment in simple living near Walden Pond. He also wrote about resisting unjust government actions. He was part of the Transcendentalist circle. Careful observation and questions about right and wrong shaped his writing.
You can use your device’s reading tools or read with a partner.
Your turn, historian
Find a detail. Build an idea.
- What did this person or group do? Point to a detail in the reading.
- How could this person’s words change the way a reader thinks?
- What would you like to find out next? Which kind of source could help?
“Henry David Thoreau mattered because ___. A detail that supports my idea is ___.”
Follow the evidence.
This short reading is an original classroom summary. Open the source with your teacher to check details and learn more.
Read the source: walden.org ↗Ask: Who made this source? What can it tell us? What might it leave out?