Learning Gratitude from a Nonfiction Text
Grade
Grade 3
UNIT
3
•
Gratitude
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.
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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:
- Video: Alice Walker by Untold History (~2 min)
- Prohuman Grade 3 Unit 3 Worksheet 2: Learning Gratitude from a Nonfiction Text
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
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
- Play video: Alice Walker by Untold History (~2 min)
- 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?
- Have students read the nonfiction text on the worksheet, quietly to themselves. Circle the room to support the students.
- Have students write the answers to the worksheet questions.
- 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:
- Alice became a writer. What is one job that you might want to have when you grow up? Why might this job interest you?
- Write a sentence that explains one thing you are grateful for and why.
- 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.
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