Lessons

Grade 8

Lesson

2

:

Learning Compassion from Nonfiction Texts

Lesson
2
:

Learning Compassion from Nonfiction Texts

Grade

Grade 8

UNIT

6

•

Compassion

Last Updated:

June 10, 2025

In Unit 6, Lesson 2, “Learning Compassion from Nonfiction Texts,” students will develop their reading comprehension skills by reading two works of creative nonfiction focused on the experiences of an author who lives with a disability. Additionally, students will develop their critical thinking skills by answering questions about the essays and advance their academic dialogue skills by participating in a class discussion about the essays.

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SUGGESTED TIME:

  • 1 class period to introduce and read the essays, and to complete the short-answer questions 
  • 1 class period to discuss the essays

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SUGGESTED TIME:

English Language Arts

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LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • Read short essays and demonstrate an understanding of the central ideas 
  • Write answers to questions about the essays, demonstrating an understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar   
  • Engage respectfully in collaborative discussions about the essays

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REQUIRED MATERIALS:

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ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.1

Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.2

Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3

Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.6

Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.10

By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.4

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.W.8.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1

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

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.2

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

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CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

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Performance Character A6

Describe a role model who demonstrates a positive attitude, effort, and grit

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Social-Awareness A1

Experience and demonstrate empathy

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Social-Awareness A3

Demonstrate respect for other people’s opinions and perspectives

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Social-Awareness A4

Analyze the impact of stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice (at school, in the community and beyond

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Social-Awareness A5

Practice “perspective taking” as a strategy to strengthen your acceptance of others

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Social-Awareness A6

Demonstrate awareness and understanding that despite differences, all people have similar needs, feelings and wants

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Responsible and Ethical Decision-Making A3

Write about and share a principle you want to live by that you learned from a family member, book, movie, or personal experience

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LESSON PROCEDURE

Step 1: 

  • Explain that we will read two short essays by an author who was paralyzed at age six in a car accident and now uses a wheelchair. These essays are about her experiences living with a disability. 

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Step 2: 

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Step 3: 

  • It is important to define the literary device of interior monologue to understand the second essay we will be reading, “Hail Able Bodies.”
  • An interior monologue is a narrative technique that exhibits the thoughts passing through the minds of the main character or narrator. These ideas may be either loosely related impressions approaching free association or more rationally structured sequences of thought and emotion. (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica) 

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Step 4: 

  • Have students silently read the short essays. (~15 min)
  • Tell students, when they finish reading, to write their answers to the questions on the worksheet. (~20 min) 

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Step 5: 

  • Have a class discussion of the short-answer questions on the worksheet. It may be necessary to devote a second class period to a full-class discussion.

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Step 6: 

  • Explain that, fortunately, organizations help people around the world who need a wheelchair. One of these organizations is called the Free Wheelchair Mission.

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GRADE 8 UNIT 4 WORKSHEET 2: LEARNING ABOUT CURIOSITY FROM A NONFICTION TEXT

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER WHILE READING THE BOOK ‍ by Malala Yousafzai and Patricia McCormick: 

Vocabulary

  • Ableism- Prejudice and discrimination aimed at disabled people, often with a patronizing desire to “cure” their disability and make them “normal.” (Source: American Psychological Association)
  • Interior monologueA narrative technique that exhibits the thoughts passing through the minds of the main character or narrator. These ideas may be either loosely related impressions approaching free association or more rationally structured sequences of thought and emotion. (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica)
  • Internalized ableism- This happens when disabled people absorb and enact negative beliefs and prejudiced values about disability that are prevalent in society. Internalized ableism is a form of discrimination against oneself and others with disabilities, rooted in the view that disability is a source of shame, should be concealed, or warrants refusal of support or accessibility. (Source: Disabilities: Insights from Across Fields and Around the World)
  • Medical model of disability- Disability is seen as an impairment in a body system or function that is inherently pathological. From this perspective, the goal is to return the system or function to as close to “normal” as possible. The medical model suggests that professionals with specialized training are the “experts” in disability. People with disabilities are expected to follow the advice of these “experts.” (Source: American Psychological Association)
  • Social model of disability- Disability is seen as the result of a mismatch between the disabled person and the environment (both physical and social). It is this environment that creates the handicaps and barriers, not the disability. From this perspective, the way to address disability is to change the environment and society, rather than people with disabilities (Source: American Psychological Association)

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QUESTIONS TO ANSWER WHILE READING THE ESSAYS “Hail Able Bodies” and “A Defense of Dependence” by Ashley Caveda:

  1. In the essay “Hail Able Bodies,” the author describes a wide range of complex emotions. List as many emotions as you can find. 

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  1. The essay “Hail Able Bodies” is an interior monologue. Encyclopedia Britannica describes two types: (1) loosely related impressions approaching free association, and (2) more rationally structured sequences of thought and emotion. Do you think the author uses one type more than the other, or a combination of both? Why do you think this?
  2. In “Hail Able Bodies,” how does the author show internalized ableism? 

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  1. When reflecting on the essay, “Hail Able Bodies,” the author said, “It represents a negative thought spiral about the shame of being a disabled person and needing help from other people, but it doesn’t necessarily represent my entire disability experience.” With that in mind, where is one place where the author says something that you think reflects this negative thought spiral, rather than how she feels all the time? 

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  1. Why do you think the author titled the essay “Hail Able Bodies”? What is the meaning of the word “hail”? Why do you think she repeats the word “hail” at the end of the essay?

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  1. In “A Defense of Dependence,” what does the author show about the impact the medical model of disability has had on her?

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  1. In “A Defense of Dependence” what is one example the author gives of “the rampant ableism around and within” her?

 

  1. In “A Defense of Dependence” what does the author see as the benefits of “discovering and dismantling ableism in yourself”?

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  1. While not everyone has a disability, many people struggle with negative thoughts about themselves. How do the author’s experiences show this aspect of the human condition? 

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  1. What did you learn about compassion from these essays?

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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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