Resilience & Courage
Stories of perseverance, grit, and finding strength in the face of challenges — from everyday struggles to extraordinary journeys.
Targeted Learning Goal
Students will identify how characters overcome adversity, develop resilience strategies, and apply them to their own lives.
Standards Connections
- ELA: RL.K-7.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details in the text
- ELA: RL.K-7.3 — Describe characters, settings, and events with detail
- ELA: RL.2-7.6 — Acknowledge differences in characters' points of view
- ELA: SL.K-7.1 — Participate in collaborative conversations about resilience
- ELA: W.K-7.3 — Write narratives recounting how a character overcame a challenge
- SEL: Self-Management — Set and work toward personal goals
- SEL: Responsible Decision-Making — Analyze how characters make choices under pressure
Books in This Unit
23 titles — each with a full lesson plan.

Resilience & Courage
Creaky Acres
by Calista Brill and Nilah Magruder
4 learning goals · 45–50 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Speed Reader
by Matthew Cody
4 learning goals · 45 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Chicken Pox
by Remy Lai
4 learning goals · 45–50 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Ode to Grapefruit: How James Earl Jones Found His Voice
by Kari Lavelle
4 learning goals · 45–50 minutes

Innovation & Perseverance
The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons
by Natascha Biebow
3 learning goals · 30 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Sol Goes for Goal!
by Julio Anta and Gabi Mendez
4 learning goals · 45–50 minutes

Resilience & Courage
The League of Littles
by Casey Lyall
4 learning goals · 50 minutes, following an initial reading of the book

Problem Solving
A Balloon for Isabel
by Deborah Underwood
3 learning goals · 40 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Howliday Inn: Bunnicula the Graphic Novels #2
by James Howe and Andrew Donkin
4 learning goals · 60 minutes

Perseverance & Environmental Awareness
Stella Diaz Never Gives Up
by Angela Dominguez
4 learning goals · 60 minutes

Resilience & Courage
I Quit!
by Kristen Tracy
4 learning goals · 35–40 minutes

Perseverance & Perspective
Cézanne's Parrot
by Amy Guglielmo
3 learning goals · 30 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Dream Big
by Shannon Hale
5 learning goals · 45 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Be Strong
by Pat Zietlow Miller
4 learning goals · 40–45 minutes

Perseverance & Humor
Lucy! How Lucille Ball Did It All
by Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville
3 learning goals · 30 minutes

Problem-Solving & Persistence
Fox Has a Problem
by Corey R. Tabor
3 learning goals · 30 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Mixed-Up
by Kami Garcia
4 learning goals · 45 minutes

Perseverance & Sportsmanship
Gabby Torres is the Best Winner Ever
by Angela Dominguez
4 learning goals · 45 minutes

Perseverance & Belonging
Will's Race for Home
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
3 learning goals · 45 minutes

Resilience & Courage
A Kid Like Me
by Norm Feuti
4 learning goals · 60 minutes, following a prior reading of the book or selected excerpts

Resilience & Courage
Amulet: The Cloud Searchers
by Kazu Kibuishi
4 learning goals · 50 minutes

Resilience & Courage
Amulet: The Stonekeeper's Curse
by Kazu Kibuishi
4 learning goals · 45 minutes

Resilience & Courage
I Am a Good Dog
by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko
4 learning goals · 50 minutes, following reading
















