NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
9.1.2
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
Lesson 3
Introduction
In this lesson, students will consider one of the key ideas in Letter One of Rilke’s Advice to a Young
Poet. Students will read and analyze from “Then come close to Nature” to “to whom his whole life is
devoted.” In this passage, Rilke develops his central piece of advice to the young poet: “go into
yourself.” Students will analyze Rilke’s use of repetition, figurative language, and word choice to
determine how these specific details shape and refine the central ideas of this text.
Students will respond to text-dependent questions in groups, connecting important ideas in the latter
half of the letter with Rilke’s advice in the first half. Students will synthesize their understanding of the
development of the central ideas of this complex passage in a brief written response to this lesson’s
Quick Write: What is Rilke asking the young poet to focus on when he advises, “the creator must ... find
everything in himself”? What steps does the young poet have to take to become “a world for himself”?
This lesson also prepares students for an assessment of their understanding of Rilke and their progress
on Standards RI.9-10.1, RI.9-10.3, and RI.9-10.4. For homework, students will continue to read their
Accountable Independent Reading (AIR) texts, this time using a new focus standard to guide their
reading.
Standards
Assessed Standard(s)
RI.9-10.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the
text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
Addressed Standard(s)
RI.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.9-10.3
Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the
order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the
connections drawn between them.
RI.9-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of
specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion
differs from that of a newspaper).
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1
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
Assessment
Assessment(s)

Quick Write: What is Rilke asking the young poet to focus on when he advises “the creator must ...
find everything in himself”? What steps does the young poet have to take to become “a world for
himself”? Draw upon evidence from throughout this lesson’s close reading passage to demonstrate
how Rilke develops this central idea.
High Performance Response(s)
A High Performance Response should summarize the key points of this passage, as well as analyze how
Rilke unfolds his central piece of advice to the young poet to “go into yourself” over the course of this
passage.
When Rilke tells the young poet to “find everything in himself,” he is emphasizing his earlier advice to
“go into yourself.” The young poet should focus on himself to find the answer to the question of
whether or not he should be an artist.
Student responses may vary for the second half of this question but should have some or all of the
following to demonstrate their understanding.
According to Rilke, the steps the young poet must take to become “a world for himself” include the
following:






“go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows”
“build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most
indifferent hour”
“then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose”
“write about what your everyday life offers you”
“turn your attention” to childhood memories
“when you express yourself, use the Things around you”

“take that destiny upon yourself, and bear it, its burden and its greatness”
Vocabulary
Vocabulary to provide directly (will not include extended instruction)

immersion (n.) – the act or state of being dipped or submerged in a liquid
Vocabulary to teach (may include direct word work and/or text-dependent questions)

facile ( adj.) – easily achieved, effortless
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
Lesson Agenda/Overview
Student-Facing Agenda
% of Lesson

Standards: RI.9-10.1, RI.9-10.2, RI.9-10.3, RI.9-10.4

Text: Letter One from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet

Introduction of Lesson Agenda

Homework Accountability

Text-Dependent Questions and Activities

Quick Write

Lesson 4 Preview

Closing
5%
5%
60%
20%
5%
5%
Materials
•
None.
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3
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
Learning Sequence
Percentage of
Lesson
Teacher Actions
5%
Introduction of Lesson Agenda
Begin by reviewing the agenda and sharing
the standards for this lesson: RI.9-10.1, RI.910.2, RI.9-10.3, RI.9-10.4.
Remind students that they will continue to
focus on the central idea of this text,
considering word choice and how the
author unfolds his ideas.
Inform students that the next lesson will
include an assessment of their learning over
the past few lessons.
5%
Instructional notes (extensions,
supports, common
misunderstandings)
Students look at the agenda.
To build student ownership of the
standards and understanding of
their own learning, it may be
helpful to have the standards for
this unit posted in the room.
Homework Accountability
Ask students to volunteer their responses to
the focusing question of their reading
homework from Lesson 2: What might Rilke
mean by “Nature” in this passage?
Lead a brief share out to ensure that the
responses are supported by the text and
demonstrate understanding of key ideas.
60%
Student Actions
"Nature" could have two meanings in
this context. Rilke could be referring to
the natural world (e.g., animals, plants),
but he could also be referring to human
nature.
Text-Dependent Questions and Activities
Ask students to take out their Rilke Letter
One text and call on a strong student reader
Students follow along, reading silently.
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Spending time with this passage
for homework will have fostered
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
to read aloud from “Then come close to
Nature” to “the objects that you
remember.”
the familiarity necessary for a
comfortable and productive
student Read-Aloud.
Students should continue in the groups
established in Lesson 2.
Display the following question for student
groups to discuss. Students should record
their responses and be ready to share with
the class.
1. What words and phrases can help you
make meaning of the word facile in this
context?
Students write their responses and
discuss them before sharing out with the
class. Students responses may include
the following:
2. Why might Rilke describe traditional
forms of poetry as “facile,” and then caution
the young poet that these forms are in fact
“the hardest to work with”?
2. Rilke states that these forms take “a
great, fully ripened power” to create
something “individual where good, even
glorious, traditions exist.” Rilke is saying
that these regular kinds of poems are
harder to work with because there are
already so many good examples of them
in the world.
3. What is Rilke asking the young poet to
embrace when he counsels him to try “as if
no one had ever tried before”?
Circulate and monitor students’ progress,
ensuring that their responses include
specific text evidence.
Lead a brief discussion of student
1. The text includes “ordinary” and
“general themes,” so the word facile
must mean "something that is regular or
easily accessible."
3. Rilke is asking the young poet to focus
on the things that he can see and
experience for himself, to “say what you
see and feel and love and lose.” He tells
the young poet to “write about what
your everyday life offers you,” rather
than the “ordinary” and “general” forms
of poetry that are traditional. Rilke is
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Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
DRAFT
5
Have students form small,
heterogeneous groups for the
purpose of discussing the text in
more depth and recording
insights. It may be helpful to
create these groups ahead of time
to ensure they are diverse. Assign,
or have students assume, a role
within the group, such as
Facilitator, Reader, and Recorder.
During discussions allow time for
each group to share their
collaborative work with the class.
Additional Scaffolding TDQs:

What “traditions” does Rilke
counsel the young poet to
avoid? Why?
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
responses.
Ask students to read aloud in their groups
from “If your everyday life seems poor” to
“far in the distance.”
Display the following TDQs for students to
discuss in their groups before sharing out
with the class:
4. How does Rilke’s assertion that “for the
creator there is no poverty and no poor,
indifferent place” build upon his earlier
reference to “humblest and most
indifferent hour[s]”?
5. According to Rilke, what is the artist’s
“jewel beyond all price”? How does this
kind of reflection develop an artist's inner
life? Hint: Focus your analysis on the verbs
Rilke uses in this passage.
DRAFT
advising the young poet to approach all
experiences like they are brand new,
rather than letting other people’s
thoughts influence him.
While students work, circulate
and check student comprehension
of the key ideas in this passage.
4. There is a connection between Rilke’s
statement that an artist should devote
their life to art even in hard times
(reviewed in Lesson 2) and his statement
that there is no such thing as “indifferent
place[s]” for an artist. Even places that
seem poor have rich experiences for an
artist to work with. An artist must work
through difficult times, and in difficult
places.
5. The artist’s childhood is the “jewel
beyond all price” that is available even in
a prison cell. Rilke’s assertion that “your
personality will grow stronger, your
solitude will expand and become a place
where you can live in the twilight”
suggests Rilke is saying that this type of
remembering will result in a stronger
personality, and will turn the aloneness
of self-reflection into a safe place, a
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Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
6
5. Students may struggle with the
phrase “the sunken feelings of this
enormous past” which refers to
the sunken memories of
childhood.
5. If students struggle with this
question, it may be necessary to
address the meaning of the word
solitude in this context.
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
6. Circle all the references to houses and
homes in this passage. According to Rilke,
where is the artist’s true home? Lead a brief
discussion of student responses.
Ask students to read aloud in their groups
from “And if out of this turning within” to
“that is the only way one can judge it.”
Display the following TDQs for students to
discuss in their groups before sharing out
with the class:
7. How does Rilke’s use of the word
“natural” in this passage compare to your
understanding of his use of “Nature” that
you developed for homework?
8. According to Rilke, what makes art
“good”?
Lead a brief discussion of student
responses.
DRAFT
home.
6. “Treasured house” and “where you
can live” are examples. Both of these
references are contained within Rilke’s
reflections on the importance of
memories. Therefore, the artist is most
at home in “solitude,” a “dwelling” built
from his/her imagination and dreams
and memories.
7. Rilke has capitalized the word Nature
in the line “then come close to Nature”
but has not when he describes art as
“your dear natural possession.” In this
context, Rilke is not referring to Nature
as an independent being but instead is
using the word natural to describe
poems that are born from the lived
experiences of the author, rather than
influenced by outside forces.
8. Art is “good” if it has “arisen out of
necessity,” or if it comes from the inner
life of an artist who “must” create art. It
can only be judged by the inner life of
the artist who created it.
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Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
7
8. If students struggle, offer a
definition of necessity as
"something that must happen."
8. Extension question: How can
art’s quality be judged?
Art can be judged only by whether
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
or not is has “arisen out of
necessity.” It is the artist’s
commitment to the work that
determines whether or not the art
is good; art can be judged only in
relationship to the intention
behind its creation.
Ask students to read aloud in their groups
from “So, dear Sir,” to “to whom his whole
life is devoted."
Display the following TDQs for students to
discuss in their groups before sharing out
with the class:
9. What does Rilke’s use of the words
burden and bear it suggest about how he
understands the life of an artist?
10. What kind of “reward” is Rilke referring
to when he counsels the young poet to
accept his destiny “without ever asking
what reward might come from outside”?
Use evidence from the passage that you
explored in Lesson 2 to inform your
response.
11. What might Rilke’s choice to capitalize
Nature but use the lowercase for creator
9. Rilke describes art as a “destiny” that
is both a “burden” that the artist must
“bear” as well as a “greatness.” This
infers that Rilke understands being an
artist as something heavy and difficult,
but worthwhile.
10. Rilke’s previous references to
“looking outside” for the approval of
“certain editors” and “magazines” put
this statement into context. This
repetition of “outside” is a reminder to
the young poet not to seek rewards, or
praise, from others, even Rilke himself
(“You ask me … stop doing that sort of
thing.”)
11. Student responses to this complex
question will vary.
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11. It may be helpful to inform
students that in the Judeo-
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
suggest about how he understands the
relationship between artist and inspiration?
Lead a brief discussion of student
responses.
DRAFT
Some students may make a connection
back to Rilke’s advice to “come close to
Nature” and recognize that Nature is an
important part of an artist’s work.
Some students may connect the
“creator” with the artist and recognize
that because “creator” is lowercase it
means that the author did not intend to
refer to a proper noun or specific person.
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
Christian tradition, Creator with a
capital C is generally used to refer
to God. It may also be necessary
to remind students that a capital
letter indicates a proper noun or
name.
Some students may extend this
observation to connect to the use of the
word Creator to refer to God but only
when it is capitalized as a name. In this
case, creator refers to the person who
creates art (the artist).
Some students may extend this
observation further to include that Rilke
is placing Nature, or inspiration, in a
position of power over the creator, or
artist.
20%
Quick Write
Display the following prompt and ask
students to respond in a Quick Write:
What is Rilke asking the young poet to focus
on when he advises that the creator must
“find everything in himself”? What steps
does the young poet have to take to
become “a world for himself”?
Students complete a Quick Write. See
High Performance Response at the
beginning of this lesson.
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9
Student responses should call
upon evidence throughout this
lesson’s close reading passage to
demonstrate how Rilke develops
this central idea.
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
5%
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
Lesson 4 Preview
Inform students that in the next lesson they
will write a paragraph in which they will use
sentences or phrases from Rilke’s letter to
explain how the author uses language to
advise the young poet.
Remind students that that use of language
means the choices that authors make.
Ask students for examples of Rilke’s specific
choices that the class has discussed.
5%
Student responses may include the
following:
● Repetition of the same word (you,
must, nature)
● Use of capital letter for Nature
Closing
Introduce standard RI.9-10.2 as a focus
standard to guide students’ Accountable
Independent Reading (AIR), and model what
applying a focus standard looks like. Tell
students they should prepare for a brief 3–5
minute discussion that will ask them to
apply the language of the standards to their
reading.
Students continue reading their AIR text.
For example, RI.9-10.2 asks students to
“determine a theme or central idea of a text
and analyze in detail its development over
the course of the text, including how it
emerges and is shaped and refined by
specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.” Students who read
“St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”
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10
Some students may choose to
annotate their AIR texts as they
read to practice the new skill of
annotation. Even though this
reading is meant to stimulate
interest and enjoyment in
reading, some students may find
annotating their texts a
beneficial strategy for reading
comprehension.
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 1 • Unit 2 • Lesson 3
might say, “A major theme of St. Lucy’s is
the struggle to integrate into human society.
This theme emerges early on, for example
when Claudette is disoriented by the shoes
on her two (instead of four) feet. The theme
is developed as Claudette and the other girls
begin to acclimate to the ways of St. Lucy’s.
It culminates when Claudette goes back to
visit her wolf family and they recoil from her
because they no longer recognize her.”
For homework, instruct students to
continue their Accountable Independent
Reading through the lens of their focus
standard and prepare for a 3-5 minute
discussion of their text based on that
standard.
Students continue to read their AIR text
for homework.
In addition, students should select from 3 to
5 of Rilke’s phrases, sentences, or words
from Letter One that are strong examples of
powerful language choices in preparation
for the Mid-Unit Assessment.
Homework
Students should continue to read their Accountable Independent Reading through the lens of their focus standard and prepare for a 3-5 minute
discussion of their text based on that standard.
Select from 3 to 5 of Rilke’s phrases, sentences, or words from the entire Letter One that are strong examples of powerful language choices in
preparation for the Mid-Unit Assessment. (See Closing above.)
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