Silent Spring Lesson Plan and Assignments

Introduction: While teaching environmental texts like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, it’s important to remind students of the wider environmental contexts within which both the historic texts and their present selves reside. This lesson plan aims to immerse students in the historical and present environmental contexts of the text through engaging their sense of sound. Created for students of environmental literature, this lesson is also fitting for students of environmental and American history. The lesson is broken down into 3 parts so that way instructors can more easily adapt it to fit their needs. Parts I and II are created with both high school to college level students in mind, and Part III is best suited for college level literature students.

Genre of text: literature

Course level: high school to undergraduate

Student difficulty: low to moderate

Teacher Preparation: low

Semester time: anytime

Part I: Learning to Listen

(In-class activity, 1 hour)

Learning objective: Students will develop a deeper understanding of Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the history of the popular environmental movement within the United States.

  1. Required Reading: Prior to beginning this lesson, assign the following selections from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring as reading for homework.
    • Acknowledgments (viii-ix)
    • Ch. 1: “A Fable for Tomorrow” (1-4)
    • Ch. 2: “The Obligation to Endure” (5-14)
    • Ch. 8: “And No Birds Sing” (103-128)
  2. Opening Discussion: In class, have students begin by discussing what they notice about these sections. Discussion questions might include the following:
    • Why might Carson begin her book of environmental science writing with a fable? 
    • What is the significance of the fable being “for tomorrow”?
    • What origin story does Carson provide for her project, and how does this story inform how we understand the text?
    • Why emphasize the sensory experience of sound?
    • Why was this book a popular bestseller?
  3. Exploring the Research Map: Pull up The Silent Spring Soundscape ArcGIS Storymap. This map compiles research points from journal articles, conference hearings, and personal correspondences that Carson consulted in researching her book. After reading the “Introduction” and “Rachel Carson & Silent Spring” sections together, have students explore the interactive research map either collectively as a class or individually. Students can interact with the map both spatially and temporally through directly navigating the map or scrolling through the chronological timeline. Have students discuss what connections they observe across space and time in the map. 
  4. Listening to Soundscapes: After completing the “Research Map” section, move down to “Soundscapes.” Begin by reading through the introduction to soundscape ecology, reflecting on the three categories of sound (biophony, geophony, and anthrophony), and emphasizing how the following soundscapes combine the ecological and artistic approaches to immerse students in the story of Silent Spring. Together as a class, watch the two soundscape videos (each ten minutes long), beginning with Southport, ME and then Silver Spring, MD. For the best viewing experience, watch in full-screen with the audio fully turned up. The videos come with descriptions of the soundscapes listing out the types of sounds, however, you can also ask students to first try to identify what they hear themselves. Afterwards, have a class discussion on what it means to engage a text through its soundscape. Potential discussion questions include:
    • What does it mean to meditate upon sound today? 
    • Through mindfully listening to our environment, what can we learn? 
    • How can we learn to listen to silence?
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