Lessons

Grade 8

Lesson

2

:

Learning Understanding from a Nonfiction Text

Lesson
2
:

Learning Understanding from a Nonfiction Text

Grade

Grade 8

UNIT

8

•

Understanding

Last Updated:

June 10, 2025

In Unit 8, Lesson 2, “Learning Understanding from a Nonfiction Text,” students will develop their reading comprehension skills and learn examples of understanding by watching a lecture and reading an interview with Daryl Davis, who inspired over 200 members of the KKK to leave the organization. Additionally, students will develop their critical thinking skills by answering questions about the text and advance their academic dialogue skills by participating in a class discussion about the interview.

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SUGGESTED TIME:

  • 1 class period to introduce the topic and watch the videos
  • 1 homework session to read the article and answer the worksheet questions 
  • 1 class period to have a dialogue about the worksheet questions

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SUGGESTED TIME:

English Language Arts

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LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • Read a nonfiction text and demonstrate an understanding of the central ideas 
  • Write answers to questions about the interview, demonstrating an understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar   
  • Engage effectively in collaborative discussions about the interview

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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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Intellectual Character A2

Identify individuals, fiction and real, past and present, who exemplify the different intellectual character strengths in a concrete and compelling manner

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Intellectual Character A3

Recognize and understand why the intellectual character strengths are not innate (something you are born with) but can be developed with practice and support

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Intellectual Character A4

Understand what it means to be an “active listener” (e.g., intellectual humility)

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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: 

  • Without providing any information or text from the article, show students the image published in this article: “In the Lions' Den: A Conversation with Daryl Davis.” Harvard International Review. Published on August 9, 2020. 
  • Ask students if they know what organization is shown in this photograph.
  • Ask students what they wonder about this photograph.

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Step 2: 

  • Explain that this photograph was taken of a member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) with Daryl Davis, an African American musician who inspired over 200 people to leave the KKK. 
  • Explain that this video explains the history of the KKK. Play the video: The KKK: Its history and lasting legacy by CNN (~7 min)

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Step 3: 

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Step 4: 

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Step 5 

  • Set aside a class period to discuss the article. Invite students to a whole-class discussion of the worksheet questions.

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EXTENSION ACTIVITY: Watch the film Accidental Courtesy

  • Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America (2017) on Apple TV (Not rated; 1 hour, 38 minutes) — Available to rent for 99 cents.
  • For extra credit, students should write a response to the following prompt:
  • Write a 2-page essay in which you explain three things you learned from watching this documentary film.

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GRADE 8 UNIT 7 WORKSHEET 2: LEARNING FAIRNESS FROM A NONFICTION TEXT

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 ARTICLE “In the Lions' Den: A Conversation with Daryl Davis.” . Published on August 9, 2020: 

  1. Why didn’t Daryl experience racism until he was 10?

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  1. What is the key question that Daryl wanted to ask the “Grand Dragon” of the KKK in Maryland?

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  1. What does Daryl say about the “chain” that starts with ignorance?

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  1. What does Daryl point out are the things all human beings want? 

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  1. How did Daryl’s conversations with KKK members “plant a seed”?

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  1. What does Daryl say about the importance of dialogue?

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  1. What is the quote Daryl brings up from Mark Twain? Why do you think this quote is important? 

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  1. How does Daryl show intellectual character in talking to KKK members?

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  1. How does Daryl show understanding in talking to KKK members?
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  2. ‍How can you show understanding when talking to people who might have racist views, or who might disagree with you on political issues?

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EXTENSION ACTIVITY: Watch the film Accidental Courtesy

  • Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America (2017) on Apple TV (Not rated; 1 hour, 38 minutes) — Available to rent for 99 cents.
  • For extra credit, students should write a response to the following prompt:
  • Write a 2-page essay in which you explain three things you learned from watching this documentary film.

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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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