Lesson Introduction
Many famous writers have stories about rejection letters. William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies was called “Rubbish & Dull. Pointless. Reject” in a note scrawled over the cover of his manuscript. About his novel, Moby Dick, Herman Melville was asked, “Does it have to be about a whale?” In his poem, “Editing the Prairie”, Don Kerr uses an extended metaphor, making suggestions about improving the prairies as if they were a literary work. Students will produce poems using this as a model to understand extended metaphor and irony.
Learning Objectives
In this lesson, students will have opportunities to:
- read, discuss and respond to a poem
- explore extended metaphor and irony
- write a poem that follows the structure of Don Kerr’s poem
- peer edit poems
- understand that even famous authors push through failure
Materials and Resources
- A sample rejection letter received by an author the students are familiar with (available online)
- YouTube video, The Prairies: Flat-Out Beautiful.
- Copies of Don Kerr’s poem “Editing the Prairie”
- Blank or lined paper/notebooks
- Chalkboard/whiteboard