An Approach to Using MY HERO in the 7th to 10th Grade Classroom

by Susanne Nobles , Fredericksburg Academy, (Fredericksburg, VA)

Grade Level 5-8, 9-12+
Subject English/Language Arts

Overview

Overview:

By using the MY HERO Website, students bring their study of ancient and/or classic heroes into their own worlds. Students begin with a study of the hero, such as King Arthur (or any suitable hero from the literature you teach), and work to apply and expand the hero traits he exemplifies into their own world. Ultimately, the students discover their own hero qualities and new modern heroes to have in their lives.

Objectives:

To discover hero traits from the past and apply them to the modern world
To discover a personal modern hero
To write an engaging and concise descriptive essay
To develop Internet research skills
To develop technology skills through the use of the MY HERO process: saving and citing Web images, citing Websites, and uploading

Procedure

Day #1: Establishing Hero Traits

Have the students complete the hero brainstorming sheet with a partner (Handout # 1 "Who is the Hero?")
Discuss their answers on the hero brainstorming sheet guiding them towards:

a generic definition of a hero, tying in the 5 general traits of a hero: Fearless, Applied, Instructed, Tireless, & Humble the connections of the King Arthur (or other classic hero) hero traits to modern day heroes

Day #2: Introducing the MY HERO Project

To do this lesson, you will need to have established an account for a hero page on the MY HERO site under your name for demonstration purposes.
Discuss the MY HERO assignment sheet (Handout #2).
Start your students on the path of discovering their own heroes:
The students take out their hero notes from the previous class as a starting point for their hero definitions.
They create their own personal hero maps using the spider map/webbing brainstorming style (the computer program Inspiration is a great way to do this). On these maps, they should leave their center circles empty as they do not yet know who their heroes are. All around this empty circle they should choose traits that they feel their heroes should have (see sample map, Handout #3).
After they have completed this first layer of traits, the students complete a second layer of their hero maps brainstorming what types of things this hero might do to show the traits they chose. This layer will give them search terms to begin finding people who meet their hero traits (see sample map, Handout #4).
Once the students have completed their maps, the students pair and share their maps to see if there are any traits they want to add to their own maps.
As the last step of the map, students brainstorm what type of people might hold the traits on their maps, putting these ideas into the center circle.
Students may complete their maps for homework or the next day if they do not finish in class.

Day #3: Beginning the Hero Search

Have your students complete their map work from the day before if it was not finished as homework.
Have your students begin searching for a person to fit their hero qualities using their ideas in their center circle as search terms on the Internet (see suggested Web sites, Handout #5) with the goal of having their choices by the next lesson. You may decide to give more than one class period to this research or to assign it for homework.

Day #4: Researching the Heroes

Complete the “Researching Your Hero” sheet (Handout #6)
Students write down their hero choices.
Review together the information they need to find for their Web pages.

Discuss how to write the essay using essay(s) on the MY HERO site as example(s):

How to link the hero qualities to examples of what the people have done
How to select and organize the information into a concise 5-paragraph essay
How to craft the most effective introduction using your own personal hero search to introduce how you discovered your hero

Begin researching heroes

Have the students create a folder on their computers to store all of their research data and images.
Discuss how the students must save their research data and their images along with the Website information and where they found it so that they may upload the research onto the MY HERO site and cite it appropriately.

Day #5: Researching the Heroes, continued

Continue hero research.

Day #6: Researching the Heroes, continued

Continue hero research. You can assign finishing any remaining research for homework.

Day #7: Writing the Hero Essays

Have the students open their computer folders with their saved research for you to look over while they are writing.
Begin writing the first draft of the hero essay.

Day #8: Writing the Hero Essays, continued

Finish writing the first drafts and turn them in for teacher feedback.

Day #9: Revising the Hero Essays

Hand back the hero drafts for them to revise for a final copy.
You can determine how much time in and out of class you wish to give to complete these final copies. On the due date of the final essay, student

Assessment

The descriptive hero essay (see grading rubric, Handout #7)
Successful uploading of the MY HERO page

Standards

ISTE NETS Standards - Students

Technology Operations and Concepts: Understand and use technology systems.

ISTE NETS Standards - Teachers

Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

ISTE NETS Standards - Students

Research and Information Fluency: Plan strategies to guide inquiry.

Digital Citizenship: Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

ISTE NETS Standards - Teachers

Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.

Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.

Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.

Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.

Common Core English - Reading 6-12

Key Ideas and details: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Key Ideas and details: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

Common Core English - Reading K-5

Key Ideas and details: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Craft and Structure: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Common Core English - Speaking and Listening K-5

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Common Core English - Reading 6-12

Range of reading and Level of text Complexity: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Common Core Media: K-5

Speaking and Listening, Grade 5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Common Core English - Speaking and Listening 6-12

Comprehension and Collaboration 2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas 5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.