Everyday Heroes

Students choose a real world hero and create media resources that celebrate and promote their actions.

Engage

Tap into interest about superheroes and comics to get student thinking about the qualities of a hero. Start by ask students to name their favorite superheroes.

Then, ask what make this person a superhero. Is it their powers or what they do?

Read a story like Superheroes Are Everywhere by Kamala Harris. Then, have a class discussion about the qualities of a hero.

Real-world heroes do not have to wear a cape, have spider-like senses or possess special powers. Real heroes live among us working towards peace and freedom, campaigning for a greener Earth, or helping others with everyday needs.

Since these heroes do so much for us, we should celebrate them as much as superheroes. Enlist your students to help do this!

Create

Have individual students, or small teams, choose a hero they would like to celebrate. Assign a KWL chart to help them identify what they already know and identify additional information they need.

KWL Chart

Provide research resources or interview questions to help students learn more about this person and their work. Students should also begin collecting media such as photos, audio recordings and video interviews. As a result of research, students should be able to identify and provide evidence to demonstrate:

• The characteristics of this hero
• The work this person done to earn the title of hero
• Past experiences that shaped this hero’s actions

Ask students to decide what type of product they will create to showcase their hero and their hero's work. They might choose to create a certificate, poster, video, documentary, slideshow or combination of any of these.

Share

here you share student work depends on the type of heroes your students celebrate. If student heroes center on a subject or career, like biology, connect with a local university or even a local biotech company to be the audience for student work. If students focus on members of the community, showcase at City Hall or a local museum. If students chose a family member, teacher, or first-responder, or other community member, share the projects with them.

How you share student work depends on the type of resources your students create. If students created posters, hang on a wall at school or at a local business. If students created videos, try to get local access television to air them. You can also put them on a web site to make them accessible to a range of viewers. Consider getting funding for an interactive kiosk at your local mall or other civic venue.

Resources

The My Hero Project. My Hero: Extraordinary People on the Heroes Who Inspire them. ISBN: 0743283457

My Hero Project. myhero.com