Class Activities
Activity One
The essential question of my kick-off activity will be “What is a hero?” To introduce this subject I will invite students to draw a picture of a hero. I will help the students label their picture with the name of the chosen character. Once the drawing is completed, we will gather on the carpet and I will ask students what makes a hero a hero? I will further ask what do heroes do? I anticipate answers like; they save the day or heroes beat the bad guys. I will then introduce the man who studied heroes, Joseph Campbell. I will explain that Campbell found that true heroes go through three stages; the departure, changes, and the return. (These stages are detailed deeper in the content section of this unit.) To support this unit, I will be making a wall display of Campbell’s stages linked to beginning, middle, and end. We will refer back to this chart frequently as we discuss characters to determine if they truly are worthy of the moniker, hero.
Activity Two
The second activity focuses on the essential question “Are these characters heroes?” This activity will focus on the stories of Disney. As an example of how to do this I will describe how I plan to use the story Frozen in this activity. I will prepare for the lesson by reading the Frozen 5-Minute story and selecting brief clips from the feature film that align with the three stages of Campbell. I will also prepare a graphic organizer that divides a paper into three sections; departure, changes, returns (beginning, middle, end). I will read Frozen to the point where both Elsa and Anna have fled into the wilderness (departure). At this point I will paused and have the students fill in the first box of the organizer with a picture to remind them of this part of the story. We will also discuss the narrative elements thus far. Who are our characters? What is the setting? Questions about plot would be appropriate. I will be sure to ask the class, what Elsa and Anna want at this point in the story. Elsa at this point wants to be alone where she can keep her powers to herself. Anna wants to help her sister but also wants to marry Hans. When these tasks are done I will continue reading until Elsa escapes from prison and Anna goes searching for her (changes). Students will then complete a picture in the second box of the organizer. Again this is an appropriate spot in the lesson to ask and answer questions about the middle of the story. I will finish the reading (return) and have the kids complete the graphic organizer. We will discuss the end of the story and I will ask what do Anna and Elsa want at this point in the story. Elsa now wants to be part of her community and use her powers for her people. Anna wants to be part of her sister’s life and in pursuing her attraction for Kristoph. Students will circle up to a partner and use their organizer to aid them in a retelling of the story. I will then show three short clips, one each from the three Campbell stages. Students can compare their pictures to the clips and see if they chose a similar part of the story. As we finish the videos will we determine if there is a true hero amongst the characters. Further, we will discuss if this character meets the requirements to be a true hero and refer back to our wall display of the heroic journey from Activity One. This activity will be repeated with different stories over the next few days as time and student attention allows.
Activity Three
“How can we be heroes?” That is the essential question of our third activity. In this activity I will be teaching traits of the successful student through the traits exhibited by our heroes. To prepare for this activity, I will select a trait I wish to discuss. For this example, I chose the character trait of perseverance. I select a hero who demonstrates this trait and select a clip that shows the character persevering. I will introduce and define the term perseverance. In kindergarten terms, perseverance is when someone keeps trying even when things are really hard. I will then show the clip of when Moana has been abandoned by Maui and throws the heart into the sea. At this point she is giving up on her quest. She then, dives into the ocean, retrieves the heart, and turns her boat back to the challenges of the quest. The students will then do a “think, pair, share” around the idea of when can we show perseverance. Pairs of students will then report back to the class with ideas, I will record these answers on chart paper, which can be posted in the classroom. I would accept both academic and non-academic answers from the students. This same procedure will be repeated for other character traits. I will also be circling back to this activity throughout the school year as new skills are introduced, or when students may need a refresher on a particular trait.
Activity Four
I will not be leading the students into Activity Four until all of my stories have cycled through Activity Two. It is important that the class be familiar with each story prior to this lesson. “How have characters and heroes in stories changed from the past to the present?” is the final essential question of the unit. To address this topic I will sort our stories into two groups, stories of the past and stories from the present. When I explore the past I will be discussing the following feature films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid. We will review whether each story has a true hero. We will also reflect back on what the characters wanted in their stories. All of the films of the past that I have chosen lack true heroes. Also, all of the protagonists want to be loved. In kindergarten terms, the prince (who isn’t really a hero) saves the day and the princess (who also isn’t really a hero) just wants the prince to love her. We will then turn our eye to the present. Frozen, Moana, and Brave will be the material of choice in my class. Like before I will review what we know of these characters and tales. We will then come to an understanding that today’s films have true heroes. The heroes are the princesses. Each of the princesses goes through the stages of Campbell, and each of these characters desires to have freedom. I will lead the class into seeing that Disney stories have changed over time. To wrap up the activity, I will broaden our focus and put up pictures of a range of heroes from the present. These selections may feature such heroes as Superman, Aladdin, Princess Tiana, Black Panther, and Mulan, to name a few. We will be able to see that in the past most heroes (Princes Charming, Phillip, Eric) looked very similar. We will also see that in the present heroes come in many different varieties. Today, any person can be a hero.
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