Curated OER
I Can Be Your Hero
Learners choose a personal hero in their own lives. They are shown how to properly address an envelope and correctly write a letter. Students write letters to their personal heroes thanking them for what they have done. They are...
Curated OER
Heroes
Students come up with their own defintions for the word "hero" and write a reflection comparing their definition with the defintion of "hero" in the dictionary. They discover what adjectives are and compile a list of adjectives to...
Curated OER
Everyday Heroes
Students identify the heroes in their everyday lives. They compose a class poem about heroes, which they illustrate and bind into a book. A Reading Rainbow episode is used in this lesson.
Curated OER
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A viewing of Disney’s 1993 film of The Adventures of Huck Finn launches an examination of the events in and themes of Mark Twain’s story. Viewers respond to prompts on a film story worksheet, engage in full-class discussions, and select...
Curated OER
Stamp of Courage
Students discuss the attributes that a hero can have and what it takes to be a Distinguished American, and be commemorated on a stamp. In this courage instructional activity, students research an everyday hero that they know about and...
Curated OER
Millennium Superheroes
Students develop an understanding of the qualities that "superheroes," or people who have favorably influenced society, possess. They create a database with questions that pertain to what they want to find out about a hero of the...
Curated OER
Video Biographies
Who was Alexander The Great? How did Abraham Lincoln’s early life influence his political life? Learners select a historical figure to use for video biography. After developing research questions and collecting information, pupils search...
NASA
Unsung Heroes of Science
Scholars research scientific heroes who haven't been given enough credit for their discoveries. While many are women, there are also men to whom credit is overdue.
Curated OER
I'm a Changed Pig - Personal Narrative
Young writers explore character arcs, conflict, and narrative in this complete and ready-to-use lesson plan from Scholastic. As a class read The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig and discuss the dramatic change the pig undergoes...
Curated OER
Identifying the Characteristics of a Myth
For this lesson created specifically to integrate the use of the SMART Board, Students view a variety of animated myths in order to create a web that identifies the characteristics of a myth. Then Students choose a myth from selected...
Curated OER
It's All an Allusion: Identifying Allusions, in Literature and in Life
To allude, or not to allude, that is the question: whether ‘tis better to make a reference and engage your audience or risk confusing them or sounding dated. After reading an article about, and loaded with allusions, class members take a...
Indiana University
World Literature: “Wu Sung Fights the Tiger,” Anonymous - Commentary by Chin Sheng-t’an From Water Margin
Dive into classical Chinese literature with this packet. Provided first is a comprehensive summary and a half-page long historical context of Water Margin. As your class reads the section entitled "Wu Sung Fights the Tiger," pose the...
Curated OER
Mythology by Edith Hamilton: Silent Discussion
Get everyone up and participating! High schoolers reading Mythology, by Edith Hamilton, complete a graphic organizer independently, and then record one of their thoughts on the white board for a silent discussion. Decide how you're going...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Island of the Blue Dolphins
Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question to be...
Scholastic
Frindle Lesson Plan
"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson allows children to invent their own terms for common classroom objects,...
Novelinks
The Dark Is Rising: Problematic Situation Strategy
What items would you need to save the world from an evil wizard? Prior to reading Susan Cooper's young adult contemporary fantasy The Dark is Rising, and to generate interest in the tale, class groups must reach consensus on a list of...
Prestwick House
Introducing Literary Theory – A Unit Wrap-Up
Literary theories are lenses through which a text may be analyzed. The question in this lesson plan is how a particular literary lens can influence the reader's view of the text.
Curated OER
Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Narrative Shorts
Students research that a narrative film tells a story using camera movement, sound, lighting, editing and other film making techniques. The audience must be taken into consideration when making a film. They explore what makes their hero...
Curated OER
May the Force Be With(in) You
Learners explore the characterization of heroes and their representation of the values and beliefs of the society in which they are created. They first examine the creation of the 'Star Wars' heroes and plots, and then develop their own...
Curated OER
Lord of the Rings: The Quest is Achieved
Young scholars analyze what makes a hero in The Lord of the Rings, Book Six. They discuss the characters and the aspects of their behaviors that make them heroes and write essays regarding the climax and heroic gestures of a character....
Curated OER
George Lucas and the Power of Myth
Students examine the contributions of George Lucas to society. They analyze the concept of a hero, conduct Internet research on the life of George Lucas, develop a Hero Attribute Chart, and create an artistic rendering representing the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Story of Epic Proportions: What Makes a Poem an Epic?
Learners analyze the epic poem form and its roots in oral tradition. For this epic poetry lesson, young scholars research the epic hero cycle and recognize the pattern of events and elements. Learners analyze the patterns embedded in the...
Curated OER
Black And Asian Involvement in World War 2
Students read story excerpts from the BBC WW2 People's War archive to discover the contributions and obstacles faced by Asian and Black participants in World War 2 British forces. They prepare a radio report describing the commonwealth...
Curated OER
'Magic' Pablo Lesson
Students examine what goes into hero worship and establishing unlikely friendships. They probe the deeper meanings in "'Magic' Pablo" through small group dialog and use a variety of ways to process the story's meaning. They see the...