What is Optimism?
Grade
Grade 1
UNIT
1
•
Optimism
Unit 1, Lesson 1, “What is Optimism?” introduces the spelling and definition of the word optimism. Students will learn examples of optimism, provided by the teacher and an accompanying video. Additionally, students will practice the correct spelling of optimism, demonstrate comprehension through a pictorial demonstration, and practice conversation skills by sharing their illustrations with a partner.
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SUGGESTED TIME:
20 minutes
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Listen to a read aloud to reinforce understanding of English sentence structure, syntax, and grammar
- Practice reading aloud to a partner to support reading comprehension
- Spell, define, and give an example of optimism
- Compose sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the word optimism
- Demonstrate understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar in writing and speaking
- Practice reading and conversation skills by sharing sentences with classmates
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
- A plastic jar for each student
- A blank piece of paper for each student
- Child-safe scissors for each student
- Prohuman Grade 1 Unit 1 Worksheet 1: Learning Optimism From Literature
- Book: The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper or Video: Read aloud of The Little Engine That Could by Reading with Rachel Day (~8 min)
VOCABULARY:
- Optimism: I have hope and believe that my actions will help things to turn out well.
ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
Today we will talk about optimism.
- Write optimism on the board.
- Ask students to spell optimism on their worksheets.
- Tell students that optimism means that we have hope and believe that our actions will help things to turn out well.
- Tell students that we will be writing 5 sentences about optimism to put in our optimism jars, so if we are ever having a bad time we can pull one of our sentences out of our jars.
- Write the following five sentences on the board, and have students copy them down on their worksheets:
a. I am smart.
b. I am strong.
c. I can reach my goals.
d. I can do anything I set my mind to.
e. I believe in myself - Have students cut out each sentence and fold the slips of paper to put them in their optimism jars
- Pass out one plastic jar or cup to each student. If desired, they can decorate their jars.
- Read The Little Engine That Could aloud to the class or play the video Read aloud of The Little Engine That Could by Reading with Rachel Day (~8 min)
- Ask students how the engine in the story showed optimism.
Let’s work on some writing about optimism.
- Ask students to write one sentence on their worksheet that explains how the engine showed optimism.
- Ask students to write one sentence on their worksheet that explains how the engine’s optimism helped her and others.
- Ask students to write one sentence on their worksheet that explains a time they showed optimism.
- Ask students to read their sentences to a partner.
GRADE 1 UNIT 1 WORKSHEET 1: LEARNING OPTIMISM FROM LITERATURE
Optimism: I have hope and believe that my actions will help things to turn out well.
Write the word optimism:
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ACTIVITY: COPY SENTENCES ABOUT OPTIMISM
1
2
3
4
5
Write 1 sentence that explains how the engine showed optimism:
Write 1 sentence that explains how the engine’s optimism helped her and others:
Write 1 sentence that explains a time when you showed optimism:
Prohuman K-12 Curriculum © 2025 by Prohuman Foundation is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/