Learning Humanity from Literature
Grade
Grade 4
UNIT
9
•
Humanity
In Unit 9, Lesson 1, “Learning Humanity from Literature,” students will learn examples of humanity from a classic work of children’s literature. Students will also create their own sentences demonstrating their comprehension of the word humanity. Finally, students will practice reading and conversation skills by sharing sentences with classmates.
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SUGGESTED TIME:
20 minutes
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Listen to a read aloud to improve understanding of English sentence structure and comprehension
- Ask and answer questions to understand the meaning of a text
- Determine the central message, lesson, or moral of a story and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text
- Demonstrate understanding of the word humanity
- Demonstrate understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar
- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
- A map or globe
- Book: La Frontera (English and Spanish Edition) by Alfredo Alva and Deborah Mills or
- Video: Read aloud of La Frontera by Alice Birney (~15 min)
- Prohuman Grade 4 Unit 9 Worksheet 1: Learning Humanity from Literature
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
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
- Ask students what humanity means.
- Give them the definition: I see that every person is special. People are more alike than unalike. We all need to work together to make our lives better.
- Today we will read a book that will help us to learn the character strength of humanity. It is about a boy and his father who come from Mexico to America.
- Ask students to find Mexico on a map or a globe.
- Ask students to draw a picture of Mexico on their worksheets.
- Ask students why people from Mexico and other countries come to the United States.
- Explain that average income per person in Mexico is $16,269 (USD), while the average income per person is $51,147 in the United States. However, the cost of living in Mexico is 39% cheaper than it is in the US. (Source: “Cost of Living in Mexico in 2024” published by Western Union)
- Read the book: La Frontera (English and Spanish Edition) by Alfredo Alva and Deborah Mills or
- Play the video: Read aloud of La Frontera by Alice Birney (~15 min)
- Have the students complete the questions on their worksheets.
- Have the students read their sentences to a partner.
GRADE 4 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:
Draw a picture of Mexico:
- How did the main characters, Alfredo Alva and his father, show grit in their journey crossing over from Mexico into the United States?
- How did the children at school show humanity to Alfredo?
- What is one way that you can show humanity?
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/