1997 - 98 Curriculum

Return to Archive Home Page
Return to Contest Home Page
Return to Website Home Page

Follow different media presentations (i.e. CNN, FOX News, PBS, magazines, tabloids...). Compare and contrast the way celebrities and heroes are depicted by some media.
List some advertisements you have seen that use celebrity endorsements. Are you influenced by these ads in your buying decisions? (Think about T-shirts, sports equipment, cars, make-up, fast food...)
Select a fictional hero and list or describe the characteristics that make that person a hero.
Write a scenario with you as the hero.
Create a comic strip that depicts a hero as a "difference maker" or a "problem solver".
Invent a "super hero" who illustrates heroic qualities.
Research heroes from the past and decide whether the qualities that made them heroes would still qualify them for hero status today.
Interview your parents, friends, or local celebrities to see if each one had a mentor, role model, or hero who influenced their lives.
Stage a debate about a controversial hero or celebrity and evaluate whether he or she is really a hero or celebrity. Discuss whether someone could fit into both categories.
.Invite a local hero or celebrity to the classroom to be interviewed about the characteristics required for hero or celebrity status. Ask how that status has changed his or her life.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What role do the media play in your personal choices about celebrities and heroes?
Do the media project some heroes or celebrities in a more favorable light than others? Give examples.
How does media exposure affect the status or popularity of a celebrity or a hero?
Who in your school do you think is a hero?, a celebrity?, both?
Do the media use celebrities or heroes to their advantage? (Give examples to support your ideas.)
Discuss any differences between the roles of mentors, celebrities, heroes, and role models. Are these terms really all the same?
Discuss various types of heroes and their contributions (e.g. sports figures, scientists, politicians, religious or inspirational leaders, people who have overcome handicaps or obstacles, etc.)
Create a list of heroes and a list of celebrities.
Assign the following terms to our list of heroes:

difference makers

solution finders

lasting role models

mentors

survivors

leaders

10. Which of these characteristics do you feel is most important in a hero?

courage

charisma

leadership

compassion

decision making

HERO RESOURCES

Hooray for Heroes! By Dennis Denenberg and Lorraine Roscoe (1994, The Scarecrow Press)

Heroes, an interdisciplinary unit for intermediate grades and middle school (1994, Teacher Created Materials 1-800-662-4321)

"Who Are Our Heroes?", March, Learning94

"Everyday Heroes", cover story, May 29, 1995, Newsweek

"The Heroes Among Us", July 20, 1997 issue of Parade Magazine

"Heroes for Today", a monthly feature in Reader's Digest magazine

Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, 1-800-447-8900

Various components of the BEYOND BLAME high school level kit available from the
Center for Media Literacy (1-800-226-9494)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

"Persistence keeps us great", March 7-9, 1997, USA Weekend