Heroes and Role Models

Overview:

This unit asks students to reflect on heroes and role models. Students will write about people they know as well as celebrities they admire. There is an opportunity to do research, learning about new role models and finding out more about our current heroes. Writing is a big part of this unit. Students are expressing themselves on a topic they care about, so they should be more motivated to work on their writing.

Subject Matter

• All stages of the Writing Process, but especially the planning and pre-writing stages, Oral Language Skills, Critical Thinking.
• Research skills, especially Internet-based researching.

Learning objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Write reflectively
  
• Research using the Internet
  
• Write descriptively
  
• Write examples
  
• Write reports

Standards

National Standards
These lessons are designed to help students obtain the skills they need to move ahead according to National Standards: The National Reporting System of Adult Education. These are the standards required by the 1998 Workforce Investment Act. See http://www.air.org/nrs/ for details.

Materials:

Media Components

Research is a part of this unit. Resources for research need to be available for students. Internet and print resources are recommended. Writing is part of this unit. Aside from paper, pens, and pencils that students need, you will need a few packets of 3 X 5 inch index cards and several rolls of tape. (If students make displays as suggested in “cross curricular extensions,” other materials can be used: markers, poster board, crayons, construction paper, newspapers, magazines, and other materials to create good-looking displays)

Web sites and video can be used to augment these lessons.

Web sites:

• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/index.html
  
• http://myhero.com/home.asp
  
• http://myhero.com/New_Guestbook/guestbook_table.asp
  
• http://klnlive.factmonster.com/people.html
  
• http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref15.00.00/
  
• http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa

Video and TV:

• Any biographical videos can be used here. “American Masters” is a great series to use in this unit
  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters
  Check local listings for broadcast schedule. “American Masters” is in the video collections of many libraries too.

Prep for Teachers

Try writing the “My Role Model” Essay yourself before you ask students to do it. That will give you a better understanding of the activity and help you recognize any potential points that may be confusing or difficult. It will also help your students to see the cut-and-pasted rough draft of your essay. They probably have never written that way before. Seeing an example helps.

Also, make sure you check all the Web resources suggested here before trying to use them with students. Web sites change. They all worked when this unit was written, but sometimes Web addresses stop working.

Check the Channel Thirteen broadcast schedule for appropriate material on heroes and role models: http://www.thirteen.org/watch/index.php