Where does a writer find inspiration? "Go into yourself," says Rainer Maria Rilke in "Letter One" from Letters to a Young Poet. Readers of Rilke's letter to Franz Xaver Kappus examine the words and figurative language Rilke uses to introduce his thoughts about the relationship between criticism and art and develop his central idea of finding inspiration.

Concepts

literary analysis, literary devices, independent reading, close reading

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

english language arts

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Ask a class member to prepare a masterful reading of "Letter One"

Classroom Considerations

• The first in an 11-lesson unit that uses Rainer Maria Rilke's collection, Letters to a Young Poet, and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green as anchor texts
• The unit, the second in a module of three, builds on the protocols and routines established in the previous unit
• In addition to the in-class readings, class members are also responsible for an out-of-class Accountable Independent Reading (AIR) assignment

Pros

• The 10-page packet includes a list of Common Core Standards on which the lesson is based, the plan, discussion questions and possible responses, and a homework assignment

Cons

• Some readers may need additional support to keep on track with their Accountable Independent Reading (AIR) assignment
• Some class members may be challenged by the sameness in the format of all the lessons in the three-unit module

Common Core

RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.9 RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.3 RI.9-10.4 SL.9-10.1.c