Lesson
3
:

Writing a Narrative About Optimism

Grade

Grade 2

UNIT

1

Optimism

Last Updated:

June 3, 2025

Unit 1, Lesson 3, “Writing a Narrative About Optimism,” reinforces the vocabulary word optimism. Students will have the opportunity to write narratives about how they, or a character they create, have shown optimism. Students will recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.

SUGGESTED TIME:

20 minutes

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • Demonstrate comprehension of the word optimism 
  • Create a narrative that recounts a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events
  • Include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings
  • Use temporal words to signal event order
  • Provide a sense of closure
  • Demonstrate understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Prohuman Grade 2 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.W.2.3

Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.2

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

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.6

Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

Self-Awareness A1

Identify and name different emotions (e.g., positive emotions, negative emotions, intense emotions)

Self-Awareness A2

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

Self-Awareness A3

Develop an emotional vocabulary to describe your feelings (e.g., anxious, bored, confident, confused, disappointed, embarrassed, excited, frustrated, hopeful, hurt, ignored, joyful, lonely, mad, proud, rejected, scared, worried)

Self-Awareness A4

Describe how your feelings influence and shape your thoughts and behaviors

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 A

Demonstrate the ability to empathize and take the perspective of others, including demonstrating awareness of cultural differences and respect for human dignity

Social-Awareness A1

Demonstrate the ability to understand what another person is feeling (e.g., happy, sad, disappointed, confused, angry)

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

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 story about optimism, with a beginning, middle, and end.

  1. Write optimism on the board. Tell students that we read two stories about optimism, one about the characters frog and toad, the other a true story about Yash Gupta.
  2. The stories we write should do four things. Let’s go through all four things with an example story. 
  3. First, the story should focus on either one event in detail, or a short sequence of events. I am going to write a story about one event when my grandma showed optimism. 
    • My grandma took me to the arcade to play games and she believed I would win a prize. 
  4. Second, the story should include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings. Third, the story should use temporal words to signal event order.
    • Beginning: My grandma drove me in her red car to the arcade. I was happy to be with my grandma and excited to play games. 
    • Middle: After I played the first three games, I was sad because I didn’t win, but my grandma was optimistic. She believed that things would turn out well and that I would win the fourth game.
  5. Finally, the story should provide a sense of closure. 
    • End: I won the fourth game! I was very happy and glad that my grandma believed that things would turn out well for me. 
  1. Now you will write your own story on your worksheet.

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 2 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 a story about how you—or a character you create—show 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/

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