Learning Humanity from a Nonfiction Text
Grade
Grade 5
UNIT
9
•
Humanity
In Unit 9, Lesson 2, “Learning Humanity from a Nonfiction Text,” students will learn examples of humanity 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:
- 10 minutes to introduce the text and play the video
- 4 periods of in-class readings or homework for each chapter of the book, Elizabeth Blackwell: America’s First Woman Doctor by Trina Robbins, illustrated by Cynthia Martin and Anne Timmons (there are a total of 4 chapters; the book is 29 pages total)
RELATED SUBJECT:
English Language Arts
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Read a nonfiction text independently to develop reading comprehension skills
- Demonstrate understanding of the main ideas of a nonfiction text
- Compose sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the text
- Demonstrate understanding of the word humanity
- Demonstrate understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar
- Practice reading and conversation skills by sharing sentences with classmates
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
- Video: Meet the country’s first female doctor: Elizabeth Blackwell by New York-Presbyterian Hospital (~4 min)
- Book: Elizabeth Blackwell: America’s First Woman Doctor by Trina Robbins, illustrated by Cynthia Martin and Anne Timmons
- Prohuman Grade 5 Unit 9 Worksheet 2: Learning Humanity from a Nonfiction Text
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 learn about an important American who showed humanity: Elizabeth Blackwell.
- Play the video: Meet the country’s first female doctor: Elizabeth Blackwell by New York-Presbyterian Hospital (~4 min)
- Have students read the book Elizabeth Blackwell: America’s First Woman Doctor by Trina Robbins, illustrated by Cynthia Martin and Anne Timmons, either through 4 in-class independent readings or as homework over 4 days (there are a total of 4 chapters; the book is 29 pages total)
- When students have completed the book, have them answer the questions on the worksheet.
- Have students share their answers with a partner.
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GRADE 5 UNIT 9 WORKSHEET 2: LEARNING HUMANITY FROM A NONFICTION TEXT
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.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER WHILE READING THE BOOK
- Why did Elizabeth’s mother want her to study medicine?
- Why was Elizabeth’s plan to study medicine rare for her time?
- What did Elizabeth do to support the humanity of enslaved children?
- How did Elizabeth experience discrimination when she applied to medical schools?
- What year did Elizabeth successfully get into medical school, and what was the name of the school?
- Why did Elizabeth have to go to Paris to gain practical experience?
- How did Elizabeth show humanity to the poor women and children of New York?
- In Chapter 4, how did Elizabeth experience prejudice?
- What did Elizabeth do for women in England to help humanity, especially women?
- What is the status of women in medicine today?
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/