Lesson
3
:

Writing a Narrative About Optimism

Grade

Grade 1

UNIT

1

Optimism

Last Updated:

May 28, 2025

Unit 1, Lesson 3, “Writing a Narrative About Optimism,” reinforces the vocabulary word optimism. Students will have the opportunity to practice their narrative writing skills by writing a story of three sentences, with a beginning, middle, and end, that shows how they demonstrated optimism.

SUGGESTED TIME:

20 minutes

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • Compose three sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the word optimism 
  • Create a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end 
  • Demonstrate understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Prohuman Grade 1 Unit 1 Worksheet 3: Writing a Narrative About Optimism

VOCABULARY:

  • Optimism: I have hope and believe that my actions will help things to turn out well.

ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.1

Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.1.A

Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.2

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.B

Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.C

Use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences (e.g., He hops; We hop).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.D

Use personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns (e.g., I, me, my; they, them, their, anyone, everything).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.G

Use frequently occurring conjunctions (e.g., and, but, or, so, because).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.2.B

Use end punctuation for sentences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1.A

Spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.6

Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.3

Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.8

With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.4

Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

Self-Awareness A2

Identify personal strengths (e.g., honesty, curiosity, listening)

Self-Management A3

Explain the different ways people respond to problems and challenges (e.g., ask for help, try harder, learn from mistakes)

Social-Awareness A3

Demonstrate the ability to listen carefully and intentionally to others

Social-Awareness A6

Be able to tell stories and listen to stories told by others

Interpersonal/ Relationship Skills 1

Initiate and engage in conversation and social interactions with classmates, peers, and adults

Interpersonal/ Relationship Skills 7

Play games and appropriately participate in small group classroom activities

Responsible and Ethical Decision-Making 1

Describe a rule or principle that everyone should strive to live by (e.g., be kind, be honest, try your best)

LESSON PROCEDURE

Today we will write a personal story about optimism, of three sentences, with a beginning, middle, and end.

  1. Write optimism on the board. 
  2. Here is an example of a story about a time I showed optimism. Write on the board: 

Beginning: My car didn’t start and I didn’t know why.

Middle: I thought that if I took action I would be able to solve the problem.

End: I took my car to the repair shop and the repair person fixed my car.  

  1. Now you will think of a time when you showed optimism and write your own story.

NOTE: Collect and keep the worksheet on the following page for the next day’s lesson in which students will share their stories with a partner.

GRADE 1 UNIT 1 WORKSHEET 3: WRITING A NARRATIVE ABOUT OPTIMISM

Optimism: I have hope and believe that my actions will help things to turn out well.

ACTIVITY: Write 3 sentences that explain a time when you showed optimism.

Beginning:

Middle: 

End: 

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/

unlock all lessons:

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.