Learning Humanity from Literature
Grade
Grade 1
UNIT
9
•
Humanity
Unit 9, Lesson 1, “Learning Humanity from Literature,” reinforces the vocabulary word humanity. Students will learn examples of humanity from a poem. Additionally, students will create their own sentences that demonstrate their comprehension of the word humanity. Finally, students will practice their reading and conversation skills by sharing sentences with classmates.
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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 humanity
- Compose sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the word humanity
- 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 posterboard for students to draw the collaborative class portrait
- Poem: “Human Family” by Maya Angelou from AllPoetry.com
- Video: Read aloud of “Human Family” recited by a student at Boston Renaissance Charter School (~2 min)
- Prohuman Grade 1 Unit 9 Worksheet 1: Learning Humanity From Literature
VOCABULARY:
- Humanity: I see that every person is special. People are more alike than unalike. We all need to work together to make our lives better.
ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
Today we will learn about humanity.
- Write humanity on the board.
- Ask students to spell humanity on their worksheet.
- Read the poem “Human Family” by Maya Angelou and/or play the video Read aloud of “Human Family” recited by a student in the 2018 Dr. Roger F. Harris Oratorical Society at Boston Renaissance Charter School (~2 min)
- Ask students how the poem shows the meaning of humanity.
- Have students complete the sentences on their worksheets.
- Ask students to read their sentences to a partner.
- Activity: Let’s draw our class family. Have each student draw a picture of one of the other students on a large sheet of paper for a class family portrait.
GRADE 1 UNIT 9 WORKSHEET 1: LEARNING HUMANITY FROM LITERATURE
Humanity: I see that every person is special. People are more alike than unalike. We all need to work together to make our lives better.
Write the word humanity:
_________________________________________________________________________
ACTIVITY:
Write 1 sentence that explains how the poem “Human Family” shows the meaning of humanity.
Write 1 sentence that explains a time when you showed humanity.
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/