Before Reading
Set a Purpose
Read the Literary Tools section on page 277. With a few of your classmates, identify some aphorisms you know. Then talk about the kind of advice or ideas Emerson might put forth in this essay. Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. At the top of the left-hand column, write Aphorism. At the top of the right-hand column, write Meaning to Me. Look for aphorisms as you read the selection and think about what themes the aphorisms suggest.
During Reading
Read with Purpose
1. Listen as your teacher reads the first two sections of "Self-Reliance" aloud. Write down any aphorisms in your chart. Restate the aphorism in your own words in the right-hand column of your chart and comment on how it might apply to your life.
2. Continue reading on your own. Stop at the end of each segment and add aphorisms and comments to your chart.
Fix-Up Idea: Think Aloud
Work with a partner to read the essay aloud. Read one section aloud. Then pause and do a think aloud about what you have read. Share images or advice you feel is most striking, discuss what makes them striking, what questions you have, and what Emerson's ideas might mean in your own life. Have your partner read the next segment. Again stop and think aloud. Do this until you have read the whole essay.
After Reading
Share Your Connections
Share your completed charts with your group from the Before-Reading activity. Discuss other ways you can apply the aphorisms you identified. Then as a group, identify a theme of the selection.