These lesson plans were developed for teachers to use in conjunction
with a class visit to the Walt Whitman House in Camden, New Jersey,
the poets home in the last years of his life. He came to Camden
in 1873 where he lived with his brother George. By this time in
his career, Whitman had earned an international reputation and
attracted the attention of the day's most prominent literary figures.
Among them, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde came to visit Whitman.
In 1884 he purchased his home, the only house he ever owned, at
328 Mickle Street. He lived there until his death in 1892. Whitman
is considered one of this country's greatest poets. Invigorating
poetry with a fresh, original voice, Whitman amazed his contemporaries.
Among them, Ralph Waldo Emerson described Whitman's 1855 Leaves
of Grass as the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom
that America has yet contributed.
Please click on the links below to download the desired lesson plan.