Lesson
2
:
Learning Optimism from a Nonfiction Text
Grade
Grade 4
UNIT
1
•
Optimism
Unit 1, Lesson 2, “Learning Optimism from a Nonfiction Text,” reinforces the vocabulary word optimism. Students will learn an example of optimism from the life of a real person. Students will practice their reading comprehension skills by hearing a read aloud. Finally, students will create their own sentences that demonstrate their reading comprehension and share their sentences with a partner.
.jpg)
SUGGESTED TIME:
20 minutes
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Hear a read-aloud to support reading comprehension
- Demonstrate understanding of the main idea of a nonfiction text
- Describe the relationship between a series of events in a nonfiction text
- Compose sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the word optimism
- Demonstrate understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar
- Practice reading and conversation skills by sharing sentences with classmates
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
- Book: Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope by Mara Rockliff
- Video: Esperanto | Short History by Short History (~3 min)
- Prohuman Grade 4 Unit 1 Worksheet 2: Learning Optimism from a Nonfiction Text
VOCABULARY:
- Optimism: I have hope and believe that my actions will help things to turn out well
ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
- Ask students to name some languages.
- Ask students how many languages are spoken in the world.
- Tell them that there are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world, but most people speak one of 10 languages.
- Ask them if they can name the top 10 most spoken languages.
- Show this image: Top 10 Languages in the World by Number of Native Speakers from Babbel.
- Tell students that today we will learn about a man who created a new language called Esperanto.
- Play the video: Esperanto | Short History by Short History (~3 min)
- Read the book Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope by Mara Rockliff
- Have students write the answers to the worksheet questions.
- Have students share their answers with a partner.
GRADE 4 UNIT 1 WORKSHEET 2: LEARNING OPTIMISM FROM A NONFICTION TEXT
Optimism: I have hope and believe my actions will help things turn out well.
ACTIVITY:
- Why did Leyzer Zamenhof want to create a new language?
- How did Leyzer Zamenhof show optimism?
- What is Esperanto and how does it work?
- How did Leyzer Zamenhof’s creation of Esperanto contribute to the world?
- What is one way you can show optimism?
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/
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.