Learning Grit from a Nonfiction Text
Grade
Grade 2
UNIT
2
•
Grit
Unit 2, Lesson 2, “Learning Grit from a Nonfiction Text,” reinforces the vocabulary word grit. Students will learn an example of grit from the life of a real person. Students will also practice their reading comprehension skills by reading independently and hearing a reading from the teacher. Finally, students will create their own sentences that demonstrate their reading comprehension.
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SUGGESTED TIME:
20 minutes
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Practice reading aloud to a partner to support reading comprehension
- Spell, define, and give an example of grit
- Compose sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the word grit
- Demonstrate understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar
- Practice reading and conversation skills by sharing sentences with classmates
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
- A child-safe dart board
- Video: Iditarod Winner Shares Her Victory Story by Princess Cruises (~3 min)
- Book: Storm Run: The Story of the First Woman to Win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race by Libby Riddles
- Prohuman Grade 2 Unit 2 Worksheet 2: Learning Grit from a Nonfiction Text
VOCABULARY:
Grit: I keep trying to reach my goals even when it is hard. I don’t give up.
Iditarod: A very difficult sled dog race in Alaska that is 1,049 miles long.
ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
Today we will continue to learn about grit.
- We will learn about grit by learning the story of the first woman who won a very difficult race called the Iditarod, an annual long-distance sled dog race held in the state of Alaska every year in early March.
- Ask students to show the location of Alaska on a map.
- Play the video: Iditarod Winner Shares Her Victory Story by Princess Cruises (~3 min)
- Read the book Storm Run: The Story of the First Woman to Win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race by Libby Riddles
- Have students read the nonfiction text on their worksheets independently, quietly to themselves. Circle the room to support the students.
- After giving the students 10 minutes to practice reading, then read the text on the worksheet aloud to the whole class.
- Have students write the answers to the worksheet questions. Tell them that once they finish and, after they share their answers, there will be a fun activity.
- Have students share their answers with a classmate.
- Set up the child-safe dart board and give each student a few tries to get the 100-points with their dart or ball.
- Ask the students how they showed grit in this activity.
GRADE 2 UNIT 1 WORKSHEET 2: LEARNING GRIT FROM A NONFICTION TEXT
Grit: I keep trying to reach my goals even when it is hard. I don’t give up.
Iditarod: A very difficult sled dog race in Alaska that is 1,049 miles long.
NONFICTION TEXT: LIBBY’S GRIT
Libby Riddles knew at 5 years old that she wanted to live with animals in the wilderness. When Libby Riddles was a teenager, she saved her money and moved to Alaska. She saw a sprint race and fell in love with mushing, which is when a team of dogs pulls a sled, typically on snow.
One day, a friend said that Libby should enter a five-dog sprint race. Libby won! As Libby said later, “After that I got it in my head I could do this Iditarod thing.” In 1980, Libby raced in her first Iditarod, a very difficult sled dog race that is 1,049 miles long. She came in 18th place and was very proud of that. Libby thought about what she could do better next time. She ran the race again in 1981, finishing 2 days faster but in 20th place. Libby knew she was going to have to step up and get serious.
In 1985, she ran the Iditarod again. That year, there were bad storms. But Libby didn’t give up. Libby and her dogs made a path through blowing snow in a numbing cold. She zipped herself into her sled bag and spent a nervous night alone in the wilderness. When the storm ended, Riddles stayed in the lead, finishing in 18 days. The headline on the first page of the Anchorage Times said: “LIBBY DID IT!” On March 20th, 1985, Libby Riddles made history. She became the first woman to win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.
Sources: https://alaskasportshall.org/inductee/libby-riddles-victory/
https://www.alaskawomenshalloffame.org/alumnae/libby-riddles/
ACTIVITY:
Write a sentence that explains how Libby showed grit.
Write a sentence that explains how Libby’s grit made an impact on the world.
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/