HEROISM: WHAT IS A HERO, WHERE DO WE FIND HEROES? HOW DO WE CHOOSE HEROES? (Middle School)

Students read the essay How Should We Choose Our Hero? and then have a discussion about heroes. (For younger students, read this essay out loud stopping after each paragraph for discussion and to answer any questions about the content.) 

Use the links below to explore heroes and heroism with your students.

Exploring Heroes, Unit I: What is a Hero?

Exploring Heroes, Unit 2: Who are Heroes?

Exploring Heroes, Unit 3: Heroic Actions

Using the book MY HERO: Extraordinary People on the Heroes who Inspire Them in the Classroom
by Sara Armstrong, Ph.D.

The MY HERO Project has published a book called MY HERO: Extraordinary People on the Heroes Who Inspire Them, in which some 40 men and women whom most of us would consider heroes in some fashion write about their heroes. This lesson plan provides ways to use the book and its stories in the classroom.

To use this lesson plan, we will assume that you have already spent time with your students working on the MY HERO Lesson Plan: Unit 1: What is a hero? It is imperative that you and your students have a discussion about the characteristics of heroes, and how they differ from celebrities, before engaging in this lesson.

Heroic Virtues: Anatomy of Heroic Actions

by Charles Harper

In our examination of heroic virtues we explore the idea that the character of the hero may be as important as the heroic act or mission itself.

Who is your hero?  Use MY HERO's Create program to submit your story, film, art or audio.