Walden, a game

where i lived

Lesson overview

When Henry Thoreau went to live in the woods of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts, he was aware of the marginalized status of others who lived in these woods including Indigenous peoples, immigrants and formerly enslaved peoples. In this game-based learning experienced, students are asked to explore the woods near Thoreau’s cabin, seeking the traces of the other individuals and groups who lived in the area before and during Thoreau’s time there. As they explore, students will think critically about whose voices are left out of histories of this well-known place, and whose stories are not told. Supporting the 15-30 minute gameplay experience are a set of modular lessons that will extend and deepen these questions with discussions and activities that promote critical thinking about inclusive histories of Walden as well as the places where they themselves live.

After completing this lesson students will be able to:

Discuss the traces of previous inhabitants of Walden Pond represented by the audiovisuals of the game and by Thoreau in his texts. 

Compare and contrast differing perspectives on the history of Walden Pond. 

Research stories and traces of peoples who have lived in their own local area. 

Analyze whose stories may have been told about a place and whose stories may have been left out. 

Lesson Materials

Lesson plans included in this PDF

Web-based game module for Lesson: Where I Lived

Extra materials for activities:

Map of Walden Pond from the game

Lost in the Shuffle game cards & instructions: (free print-and-play) or (deck for purchase)

Excerpts from Walden; or, Life in the Woods

Bios of people mentioned in the game and excerpts

Gameplay

The Where I Lived game module is a first person exploration game that prompts students to the woods around Thoreau’s cabin to find the traces of other individuals and groups who lived and worked in the woods before and during Thoreau’s time there. The module is 30 minutes long, but can be ended early if class time is limited.

During the game, students will: 

Explore the woods seeking traces of Indigenous peoples, immigrant workers, formerly enslaved peoples, and industrial impact.

Collect traces of former inhabitants by “inspecting” objects they find in the woods. Inspecting is done by pressing the “c” button on the keyboard or right-clicking the mouse while looking at objects in the game.

Complete interactive quests related to industrial impact and the Underground Railroad.

Discover passages from Thoreau’s writings by gathering arrowheads.

At the end of the game module, students will be shown a recap screen reviewing how they did at finding the traces of these other inhabitants the woods. This recap screen will allow students to save and print their in-game journal. The journal will include the passages students found (all of them are excerpts from Walden about other inhabitants). It also includes records of their interactions with objects, and quotes about the tasks they completed.