Lesson
1
:

Learning Humanity from Literature

Grade

Grade 2

UNIT

9

Humanity

Last Updated:

June 5, 2025

Unit 9, Lesson 1, “Learning Humanity from Literature,” reinforces the vocabulary word humanity. Students will learn examples of humanity from a contemporary work of children’s literature. Additionally, students will write their own sentences about humanity. Finally, students will practice their reading and conversation skills by sharing their sentences with classmates.

SUGGESTED TIME:

20 minutes

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • Listen to a read aloud to reinforce understanding of English sentence structure, syntax, and grammar
  • Compose sentences about the text and about 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:

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

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1

Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3

Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5

Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7

Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.10

By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3

Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.A

Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.C

Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.D

Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.E

Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.F

Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4

Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1.A

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1.B

Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.2

Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.6

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

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.2.3

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4.A

Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8

Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

Intellectual Character A3

Recognize different approaches to problem-solving

Intellectual Character B3

Apply different problem-solving approaches

Civic Character A4

Describe what it means to be a volunteer (at home, school, in the community)

Civic Character B

Apply and demonstrate the character strengths of fairness, respect, volunteering and contributing to the common good

Civic Character B2

Demonstrate the ability to be respectful, courteous and polite

Civic Character B4

Share with family, teachers and friends the ways in which you volunteer at home, school, and in the community

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

  1. Ask students what humanity means.
  2. Give them the definition of 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. 
  3. Read the book: Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community by Susan Verde or
  4. Play the video: Read aloud of Hey, Wall by StoryTown (~3 min)
  5. Ask students to answer the questions on their worksheet.
  6. Ask students to read their sentences to a partner.
  7. Tell the class that we will do an activity where we work together to make our classroom beautiful. 
  8. Activity: Have students paint a mural on a large sheet of paper taped to the wall in which each student draws/paints another student.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES - SUGGESTIONS

  • Talk with your students about times you have people demonstrating humanity. You could give examples of family, friends, and/or historical or current public figures.
  • Talk with your students about times when you have demonstrated humanity, despite hardships.

GRADE 2 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. 

ACTIVITY: Answer the following questions by using complete sentences.

  1. What did you notice about how this book was written?

  1. What was the problem in the book that the people helped to solve?

  1. How did the people in the book Hey Wall show humanity by serving as volunteers to help their community? 

  1. What is one way that you have shown humanity to help your community in the past?

  1. What is one way that you can show humanity to help your community in the future?

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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