Lesson
2
:

Learning Gratitude from a Nonfiction Text

Grade

Grade 3

UNIT

3

Gratitude

Last Updated:

June 5, 2025

In Unit 3, Lesson 2, “Learning Gratitude from a Nonfiction Text,” students will learn an example of gratitude from the life of a real person. By independently reading a nonfiction text, students will develop their reading comprehension skills. Finally, students will create their own sentences that demonstrate their reading comprehension and share their sentences with a partner.

SUGGESTED TIME:

20 minutes

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • Read a nonfiction text independently to develop reading comprehension skills
  • Demonstrate understanding of the main idea of a nonfiction text
  • Compose sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the word gratitude 
  • Demonstrate understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar  
  • Practice reading and conversation skills by sharing sentences with classmates

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

VOCABULARY:

  • Gratitude: I am thankful for many things, big and small.
  • Humility: I do not think I am better than anyone else.
  • Segregation: The practice of separating people by race in businesses and public places such as pools, libraries, and schools. Segregation was outlawed in America by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2

Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.10

By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3

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

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3.C

Decode multisyllable words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3.D

Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.4

Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.4.A

Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1.B

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.3.1.C

Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1.D

Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.3

Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.6

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

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.1

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

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.1.C

Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.2

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

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.3

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

CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

Moral Character A5

Offer examples of when you expressed gratitude to another person

Moral Character B5

Provide an example of a friend or role model who demonstrates gratitude

Performance Character B1

Provide an example of a friend or role model who demonstrates self-discipline (the ability to forgo instant and immediate gratification for a larger goal or commitment)

Intellectual Character A2

Understand the skills (being prepared, focused effort, diligent practice, attention to detail, etc.) that enable someone to acquire or polish a skill

Intellectual Character B2

Provide evidence that a particular historical or contemporary person has intentionally worked to strengthen a particular intellectual skill (diligence, attention to detail, etc.)

LESSON PROCEDURE

  1. Play video: Alice Walker by Untold History (~2 min)
  2. Ask students the question posed at the end of the video: Why do you think it is important for authors to write about their personal experiences?
  3. Have students read the nonfiction text on the worksheet, quietly to themselves. Circle the room to support the students. 
  4. Have students write the answers to the worksheet questions.
  5. Have students share their answers with a partner.

GRADE 3 UNIT 3 WORKSHEET 2: LEARNING GRATITUDE FROM A NONFICTION TEXT

Gratitude: I am thankful for many things, big and small.

Humility: I do not think I am better than anyone else.

Segregation: The practice of separating people by race in businesses and public places such pools, libraries, and schools. Segregation was outlawed in America by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

NONFICTION TEXT: ALICE WALKER’S THOUGHTS ABOUT GRATITUDE

In 1944, Alice Walker was born in Georgia. She overcame challenges such as childhood injury and segregation. In high school, she had the highest grades, which gave her the title of valedictorian. Alice graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. She became a writer and, in 1982, she became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Color Purple

Alice shared her thoughts about the importance of gratitude. She said, “Thank you is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” 

Alice’s gratitude helped her in life. She had self-discipline and used her skills such as being prepared, working hard, and paying attention to detail. These skills helped Alice have a very successful writing career. She published seventeen novels and short story collections, twelve non-fiction works, and several books of essays and poetry.

ACTIVITY:

  1. Alice became a writer. What is one job that you might want to have when you grow up? Why might this job interest you?

  1. Write a sentence that explains one thing you are grateful for and why.

  1. Who is someone to whom you would like to express gratitude, and what is the thing for which you would like to express gratitude? 

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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