Lessons

Grade 6

Lesson

Writing an Argumentative Essay About Grit and Agency

Lesson

Writing an Argumentative Essay About Grit and Agency

Grade

Grade 6

UNIT

•

Grit

Last Updated:

June 10, 2025

In Unit 2, Lesson 3, “Writing an Argumentative Essay About Grit and Agency,” students will take a quiz that assesses the extent to which they believe they have agency over their lives. They will then write about how they can improve their agency in one area. Finally, students will write an argumentative essay about the extent to which characters in the novel read in Unit 2 Lesson 1—The Giver by Lois Lowry—show grit and have a sense of agency over their lives. Students will support their claims with textual evidence.

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SUGGESTED TIME:

50 minutes

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RELATED SUBJECT:

English Language Arts

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LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Demonstrate comprehension of the word grit
Demonstrate comprehension of the word agency
Assess their level of agency
Identify specific strategies to improve their agency
Write an argumentative essay that provides evidence to support their claims

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REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Prohuman Grade 6 Unit 2 Worksheet 3: Writing an Argumentative Essay About Grit and Agency

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ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1.A

Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1.B

Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1.C

Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1.E

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.4

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

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.1

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

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CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

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Performance Character A1

Explain a personal commitment you have made to improve your self-discipline (e.g., planning and managing your time, orderliness, being kind, etc.)

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Performance Character A5

Explain why goal setting is a character strength

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Performance Character A5

Explain why goal setting is a character strength

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Performance Character B6

Present evidence to demonstrate your grit

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Self-Awareness A4

Describe the techniques you use to challenge or refute your negative thoughts and feelings

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Self-Management A1

Explain one technique you use to stay confident in stressful or challenging situations (e.g. positive self-talk)

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LESSON PROCEDURE

Step 1:

Have students take the Student Agency Self-Assessment.

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Step 2:

Have students answer the follow-up questions on the worksheet.
Tell students that their essay will be shared with three classmates for peer review.

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GRADE 6 UNIT 1 WORKSHEET 3: WRITING A NARRATIVE ABOUT OPTIMISM: CRAFTING THREE DIARY ENTRIES

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Vocabulary

Agency: The force of your free will guided by moral discernment.
Grit: I keep trying to reach my goals even when it is hard. I don’t give up.

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Based on your quiz results, did you have mostly “Agrees,” mostly “Disagrees,” or were you fairly even?

Look over the statements you disagreed with and pick just one to work on for now. Why do you feel that way?

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What is one thing you do to improve your agency in this area?

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To what extent did most of the characters in the novel we read in Unit 2 Lesson 1—The Giver by Lois Lowry—show strong grit and have a strong sense of agency over their lives? Write a 2-3 page essay response to this question. Include at least three examples from the book to support your argument.

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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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