Lesson
3
:

Writing a Narrative About Grit

Grade

Grade 5

UNIT

2

Grit

Last Updated:

June 10, 2025

In Unit 2, Lesson 3, “Writing a Narrative About Grit,” students will write a narrative about one of the two people we learned about earlier in this unit: Henry “Box” Brown or Olaudah Equiano. Students will develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

SUGGESTED TIME:

45 minutes

RELATED SUBJECT:

English Language Arts

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • Demonstrate understanding of the word grit 
  • Write a narrative that develops real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences
  • Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Prohuman Grade 5 Unit 2 Worksheet 3: Writing a Narrative About Grit  

VOCABULARY:.

  • Grit: I keep trying to reach my goals even when it is hard. I don’t give up.

ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.1

Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.A

Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.B

Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.C

Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage the sequence of events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.D

Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.E

Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.2

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

CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

Performance Character A5

Define grit (e.g., perseverance and passion for a long-term goal)

Performance Character B5

Provide an example of a role model who demonstrates grit (perseverance and passion for a long-term goal)

Intellectual Character B4

Demonstrate the ability to analyze data, facts, and information

Self-Awareness A1

Understand and explain why different situations may set in motion or give rise to different emotions (e.g., learning something new or difficult, meeting someone new)

LESSON PROCEDURE

  1. Today, you will write a narrative about one of the two people we learned about earlier in this unit: Henry “Box” Brown or Olaudah Equiano. You can choose one of two options:
  • Option 1: Write a story about what Henry did on his first day of freedom in Philadelphia. Focus on how he showed grit.
  • Option 2: Write a story about what happened on the next day of Olaudah Equiano’s life, after the portion of his autobiography we read. Focus on how he showed grit. 

NOTE: Collect and keep the worksheet on the following page for the next lesson in which students will share their stories with a partner.

GRADE 5 UNIT 2 WORKSHEET 3: WRITING A NARRATIVE ABOUT GRIT

Grit: I keep trying to reach my goals even when it is hard. I don’t give up.

For your narrative, choose one of the following options: 

Option 1: Write a story about what Henry did on his first day of freedom in Philadelphia. Focus on how he showed grit.

Option 2: Write a story about what happened on the next day of Olaudah Equiano’s life, after the portion of his autobiography we read. Focus on how he showed grit. 

Do the following: 

  1. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
  2. Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage the sequence of events.
  3. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.
  4. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

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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