Special Collections
Grade 11 and 12 Common Core Text Exemplars
Description: These books exemplify the level of complexity that Common Core State Standards require students to engage with. While the choices serve to help educators select texts of similar complexity, quality, and range, this not a required reading list. #teachers
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Society and Solitude
by Ralph Waldo EmersonPerhaps no writer has so dramatically shaped the course of American philosophy as Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose meditations on spirituality, freedom, and the power of knowledge have informed and inspired generations of activists, scholars, and common people.
Published in 1870, Society and Solitude is Emerson's last great work, a collection of lectures he delivered on tour, in which he found profound insight on such seemingly prosaic topics as Art, Eloquence, Domestic Life, Books, Courage, Success, and "A man builds a fine house; and now he has a master, and a task for life; he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair, the rest of his days," says Emerson in his lecture here on "Works and Days." Such penetrating wit and American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was a driving force behind the Transcendental Movement of the early 18th century.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 11-12 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Walden
by Henry David ThoreauTo celebrate the 150th anniversary of the original publication of Thoreau's classic work (which is cited in Books for College Libraries, 3rd ed.), this special edition is published in cooperation with the Walden Woods Project, a nonprofit organization founded in 1990 to preserve the land, literature, and legacy of Thoreau. The text includes a brief introduction by E. O. Wilson.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 11-12 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
The Declaration of Independence
by Thomas JeffersonThe Declaration of Independence is considered to be one of the greatest documents of all time. The central section of the declaration is a ringing assertion that every human being has an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are the words that have built your nation and keep it strong.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 11-12 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Common Sense
by Thomas PaineEnormously popular and widely read pamphlet, first published in January of 1776, clearly and persuasively argues for American separation from Great Britain and paves the way for the Declaration of Independence. This highly influential landmark document attacks the monarchy, cites the evils of government and combines idealism with practical economic concerns.
A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 11-12 at http://www.corestandards.org.]