Learning Grit from a Nonfiction Text
Grade
Grade 7
UNIT
2
•
Grit
In Unit 2, Lesson 2, “Learning Grit from a Nonfiction Text,” students will learn an example of grit from an article about Dashrath Manjhi, who single-handedly carved a 360-foot long, 30-foot wide path through a mountain in Bihar, India, to help his community reach medical care. Students will practice their reading comprehension skills by reading a nonfiction text. Additionally, students will answer questions to demonstrate reading comprehension and develop their academic writing and dialogue skills.
SUGGESTED TIME:
- 1 class period to introduce the text; 1 class period to discuss the text
- Have students complete the article either as silent in-class reading or for homework and answer the worksheet questions.
- Allow at least 50 min of class time for a class discussion of the article.
RELATED SUBJECT:
English Language Arts
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Read a nonfiction text and demonstrate an understanding of the main ideas
- Determine the author’s purpose in the text
- Compose sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the word grit
- Write answers to questions about the article, demonstrating an understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar
- Engage effectively in collaborative discussions about the article
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
- Article: “Dashrath Manjhi, The ‘Mountain Man’ Who Spent 22 Years Carving A Lifesaving Road Through A Treacherous Mountain,” by Marco Margaritoff. All That’s Interesting. Published May 21, 2021.
- Video: Dashrath Manjhi - The Man Who Broke A Mountain Alone by Milaap (~6 min)
- Prohuman Grade 7 Unit 2 Worksheet 2: Learning Grit from a Nonfiction Text
ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
Step 1:
- Explain that we will be learning an example of grit from Dashrath Manjhi, a man who single-handedly carved a 360-foot long, 30-foot wide path through a mountain in Bihar, India, to help his community reach medical care.
- Show students the location of Bihar, India on a map.
- In class, play the video: Dashrath Manjhi - The Man Who Broke A Mountain Alone by Milaap (~6 min)
Step 2:
- Have students read this article, either for in-class silent reading or as homework: “Dashrath Manjhi, The ‘Mountain Man’ Who Spent 22 Years Carving A Lifesaving Road Through A Treacherous Mountain,” by Marco Margaritoff. All That’s Interesting. Published May 21, 2021.
- Have students answer the worksheet questions while reading the article.
Step 3:
- Set aside a class period and facilitate a whole-class discussion of the worksheet questions.
GRADE 7 UNIT 2 WORKSHEET 2: LEARNING GRIT FROM A NONFICTION TEXT
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER WHILE READING THE ARTICLE “Dashrath Manjhi, The ‘Mountain Man’ Who Spent 22 Years Carving A Lifesaving Road Through A Treacherous Mountain,” by Marco Margaritoff.
- How did the mountain isolate Dashrath Manjhi and his community?
- Why did Dashrath start carving a path through the mountain, and what year did he start?
- What did the community think about Dashrath’s work on carving a path through the mountain?
- What technique did Dashrath use to carve a path in the mountain?
- When Dashrath was finished, how long and wide was the road he had carved?
- How did Dashrath’s work help his community?
- What did you learn about grit from Dashrath?
- How can you show more grit in your life?
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/