O Pioneers!

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “A Portrait of My Nature”

In this activity, students observe or reflect on their natural surroundings (including the way those surroundings impact them) and then synthesize their thoughts in the form of a creative essay.

Willa Cather writes about nature in detail because her own life experiences brought her close to nature. However, whether we live in cities, suburbs, rural communities, or anything in between, we experience environmental factors every day.

What elements of nature do you experience the most vividly? How do these elements affect you or influence your behavior?

• Relocate to a safe school space, perhaps outside, where you can more closely experience nature for the amount of time your instructor suggests.
• Jot down notes regarding your sensory observations (what you see, hear, smell, touch).
• Write a creative essay about your experience in nature. Pay close attention to detail and express that detail through imagery and other kinds of figurative language in your essay. Include a reflection on how this imagery affects you.

Teaching Suggestion: If it is possible to relocate students outside, students can experience nature directly.