www.oneworldeducation.org Explore, Learn, Share, Teach…One World Education

Copyright 2011 One World Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

More Than Just a Goal One World Ambassador: Lucas Lytel

Learning Activity #2: What Makes a Hero?

Focus Areas: English Grades: 6th – 8th Objectives: (LW – Learner Will)

1. LW define characteristics of being a hero. 2. LW analyze heroic examples from literature. 3. LW write a paragraph based on evidence from the text. 4. LW work cooperatively with a partner to review and revise their

paragraphs. Duration: 90 minutes (with some homework assigned) Preparation: (Teacher Note: This learning activity is great for review of a semester or year, as students can be instructed to look back over what they have read).

1. Prepare a list of books, poems, short stories from which students can choose their “hero” character for the essay.

2. Reserve the computer lab for the writing and/or revising stage 3. Assign peer review partners 4. Make copies of the Planning Guide and the Peer Review Sheet

Reflection Prompt: Lucas writes, “His most memorable moment on the team was last year when he scored the winning goal with 10 seconds remaining. Everyone started cheering and clapping their hands. It was the first goal that he had ever scored.”

www.oneworldeducation.org Explore, Learn, Share, Teach…One World Education

Copyright 2011 One World Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Procedure: Step 1: Getting Started

• As a class, discuss a definition of the word HERO. • Break the class into groups and have them create a list of examples of

heroes in history, literature, or their own lives. Give some time for this, 5-7 minutes.

• Once each group has their list, go around the room, each group giving one name on their list at each turn, until the unique examples have been stated.

• As a group, make a list of the characteristics that the names on the board have in common. Discuss the themes and patterns that emerge.

• (Note: You may also want to have students, either in class or as homework explore the Additional Resources about heroes).

Step 2: Plan • Have students complete the planning worksheet for the writing

assignment. (Note: This requires knowledge and understanding of the terms hero, topic sentence, evidence).

Step 3: Write

• Have students complete the writing assignment, answering the question, "Which character best fits the description of hero?" Note: The writing can vary in length based on the age and ability of your students. Younger students might write a paragraph, while older students might write a full 5-paragraph essay.

Step 4: Review

• Hand out the peer review sheets and have the students exchange a copy of their writing with his or her assigned partner. Each student should complete the peer review sheet and discuss with their partner (each group should spend 10 minutes per essay discussing).

• Note: You may want to have several days between the writing and revising step, particularly if you want to be able for the students to revise based on teacher feedback as well.

Step 5: Revise

• Have students revise their essays based on feedback from their peer review partner, their own proofreading, and from the teacher (optional).

www.oneworldeducation.org Explore, Learn, Share, Teach…One World Education

Copyright 2011 One World Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Checking for Understanding: There are opportunities for both formative and summative assessment throughout this learning activity. To assess student understanding:

Step 1—Students demonstrate understanding by brainstorming and participating in the class discussions.

Step 2—Students demonstrate understanding by successfully completing the planning sheet (and including the claim, evidence (with text reference), and the explanation.

Step 3—Students demonstrate understanding by successfully transforming their planning into a well written writing sample that meets or exceeds the expectations of the rubric.

Step 4—Students demonstrate understanding by giving critical, constructive feedback to his or her partner and staying on task during the discussion.

Step 5—Students demonstrate understanding by revising based on peer feedback.

Global Action Activities:

1. Honor the Heroes Among You: Have students propose a class hero within your community. Why are they heroes and what could you do to honor them? Ideas include making them queen/king for a day, a certificate, a class letter or poem of thanks, an announcement to the student body. Your students could come up with other creative ideas to honor the heroes among us. This could also be done individually or on a monthly basis.

Extension Activities:

1. Have students do the writing assignment (or just the planning guide) with other characters as a way to review.

2. Have students create and deliver a presentation based on the writing samples as a way for the group to review.

3. Have students (formally or informally) debate whether certain controversial characters are heroes or not.

Additional Resources:

o The MY HERO Project: http://myhero.com/go/home.asp o Quotations about heroes:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/hero.html o Songs about heroes:

www.oneworldeducation.org Explore, Learn, Share, Teach…One World Education

Copyright 2011 One World Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ (Mariah Carey) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zueKq3z3Sk (Nickleback) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJlIGDImiU (Enrique Iglesias)

o Short Essays about Heroes: http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/72855.html http://www.physorg.com/news168188587.html

Related OWEd Resources:

Student’s Reflection: More than Just a Goal Unit Resource 1: Previewing the Experience Unit Resource 2: Understanding the Experience Unit Resource 3: Reviewing the Experience Unit Resource 4: Reflection Response What Makes a Hero Planning Guide What Makes a Hero Peer Review Sheet