Superheroes

Oral Presentation3 creditsBy Christine Wells

Learning Outcomes

In this unit you will:• Identify and describe the traditions and

conventions associated with storytelling.• Research the history of the comic;

conventions; types of characters and themes associated with the storylines.

• Evaluate the educational benefits of comics.• Write creatively and formally.• Prepare and present an oral presentation.

KWL: Storytelling traditions

What do I already What do I want to know? What have I Know? learnt?

• Before language and words, people told stories through images, signs, and sounds. They drew images on cave walls, on stone, and wood.

• Oral tradition means that the information, the stories, are told rather than written down. Because people hold the oral tradition in their memory, and sometimes the story changes with the telling, oral histories can be more fluid, more dynamic, more alive, than written histories.

TASK: 1. Write the heading Oral Traditions in your book.2. Briefly explain what oral traditions are in your own words.

Oral Traditions

• Storytelling is the art of conveying events in words, images, and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment.

• Stories are shared in many cultures as a means of entertainment, education, preservation of culture and to instill knowledge and values/morals.

• Important elements of storytelling include plot and characters, as well as the narrative point of view.

Storytelling

• Traditionally, oral stories were passed from generation to generation, and survived solely by memory.

• With written media, this has become less important.

Task:1. List 3 ways of telling stories.2. Explain why many cultures share stories.3. Identify 3 important parts of storytelling.

Storytelling

Comics

• What are comics? • How would you describe them?• What would you expect to find in a

comic?TASK:1. Create a describe filter in your book

which answers the above questions.2. Create a compare/contrast filter

which compares comics with the oral tradition of storytelling.

Superhero ConventIons

Common Characteristics

• Extraordinary powers and abilities• A sidekick or helper who knows their secret• A strong moral code• A motivation or reason• A secret identity• A distinctive costume• A number of enemies including an arch enemy who

is more troubling than the others • Independent wealth or an occupation that allows for

minimal supervision• An "origin story" • Headquarters or a base of operations

Common costume features

Many features of superhero costumes recur frequently, including the following:

• A mask• A symbol, such as a stylized letter or

visual icon, usually on the chest. • Form-fitting clothing, tights or Spandex.• Capes are closely associated with super

heroes.

Task:

Imagine you have been asked to write the recipe for a superhero. The main conventions that we have covered about superheroes are the ingredients.

• You must have at least 7

ingredients. • Give your recipe a snappy title. • Draw a picture of your superhero.

Creative Writing: Superhero Story

Task: Write a story about how he/she became a superhero.

Include:• A description of where they were born and

grew up• An event which they discovered that they

had superpowers• A description of their powers• A conflict that they were involved in where

they had to use their superpowers• The name of your superhero and an

explanation of why they chose it• Your story should be at least 200 words in

length.• Your story should also include the use of 5

poetic techniques such as metaphor, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance and personification.

Superheroes Web quest

A group of very old and conservative English teachers who see no value in learning about superheroes are trying to ban the reading of comics in New Zealand.

Your mission: To convince them of the benefits of studying superhero comics.

To do this you will need to prepare a power point presentation which shows all the valuable aspects of the superhero comic.

Links to this information are on a webquest in the Superhero folder on the Ultranet.

Include the following information:• A history of the comic• Conventions of the superhero comic• Types of characters• A description of the main settings• Themes associated with the storylines• Reasons why you believe they contain valuable benefits

to your education.

Scamper: what is it?

SCAMPER is a technique used to look at a story another way. Using Goldilocks and the 3 Bears work through the following to change the story.

• S: Substitute (a person, place, time or situation)What do you think would have happened if there had been a Crazy Scientist Bear instead of Father Bear?

• C: Combine (bring together assorted ideas and situations)What would have happened if the three bears were returning from a reunion with relatives who had escaped from a zoo where they had been badly treated by the zookeepers?

• A: Adapt (or adjust to suit a purpose)How might the story have changed if Goldilocks had had a leg in plaster and was using crutches?

Scamper: what is it?• M: Modify (for example, by changing the physical size or

personality traits of some characters or changing the setting)What would have happened if the bears had been cubs and much smaller than Goldilocks?

• P: Put to other uses (for example, put a different slant on the plot)What if Goldilocks was only pretending to be lost and was really looking for an excuse to break into other people’s houses?

• E: Eliminate a feature of the storyHow might the story change if there were no Father Bear?

• R: Rearrange or reverse the sequence of the storyWhat if Baby Bear had returned home before the others?

Your turn!

• Select a superhero story and SCAMPER it!

• You may work in pairs.

Close reading unseen text

•

Rich task: Part 1 -Research.

• Read through your options and work in groups to choose which tasks you will complete.

Formal Writing

Write 300 words to either agree or disagree with the following topic:

Superhero comics have no value in the 21st Century

Remember the lessons on formal writing that we did at the end of term 1 and use those methods.

Public speaking1) A good speaker doesn’t…

2) The best techniques for public speaking are…

3) The best public speaker I have ever seen was______________ because…

4) Teachers don’t realise it but public speaking is___________ because…

5) When I have to speak in front of a large group I feel________________ because…

6) There is no point in learning to speak well in front of others because…

7) Duh! You have to be able to speak well in front of others because…

Speech games

• On a piece of paper write a random topic.

• Put into a container. • Each person draws put a topic and

speaks for 30 seconds on the topic.• You can not say ‘um’, repeat yourself or

have long gaps or you are eliminated.

Oral Presentation Checklist

1. Use cue cards with the outline of the presentation on it.2. The speaker should stand tall and his/her face should be

clearly seen. 3. The presentation should be clearly heard by everyone. 4. The speaker's tone of voice should change as the

presentation is given. 5. The speed of the speaker’s voice should change at

times in the presentation. 6. Make eye contact with the audience. 7. The presentation should be interesting and involve the

audience because it has:• A strong opening statement • A good clear structure • The main ideas are repeated • It uses features of oral language e.g.

- humour if appropriate. - props if appropriate.

Rich task: Part 2 Oral Presentation

• You must select only one rich task from the following options. Some tasks are allow you to work in pairs and some allow you to work individually, however, no matter what task you select you will be assessed individually.

• Rich task options:A) Drama (Maximum 4 people)B) Seminar (Pairs)

C) Speech (Individual)D) Debate (6 people)E) Storytelling (1-2 people)

Bibliography

• Adapted from Myths and Legends unit by Sarah Kereopa• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero