Our Everyday

Heroes
Big Idea: Heroes Grade: 5th
Created By: Kaela Punsalan, Jenna Conrad, Montha Mouer, Samantha Hughston

What Makes a Hero?

***How are heroes in books & movies different from

heroes in real life?

Lesson Overview:

Students will be able to recognize how there are

heroes all around us, especially in their daily lives.

Students will understand what it means to be an

everyday hero and be able to recognize a hero in his/
her life.

Students will be able to recognize traits of a hero.

Essential Questions:
1. What are traits of an everyday hero? Why do you think
this?
2. How do heroes/mentors impact your life?
3. How are heroes in books & movies different from heroes
in real life?
4. How do the traits of an everyday hero make you want to
become a hero to someone?

Real Life Heroes

***How do the traits of an everyday hero make you want to

become a hero to someone?

Lesson Objective
1. Content area 2 Literacy: The students will (TSW) be able to understand
the meaning of an everyday hero after reading the article, "Unraveling a
Meaningful Mentor Relationship: A Visual Culture Dialogue Between an
Art Education Professor and her Former Students"
2. Content area 1 Visual Art: The students will (TSW) be able to identify
and design icon logos, and other graphic devices as symbols for ideas
and information.
3. Content area 3 Visual Culture: The students will (TSW) be able to
identify heroes in their everyday life and how they impact their lives.

Key Concepts
! Heroes can be personal or cultural.
! Heroes represent moral values.
! Heroic characteristics change over time.
! What makes a hero is not uniformly agreed upon now
who is a hero.

Vocabulary
Recontextualization-positioning a

Hybridity-contemporary artists

familiar image in relationship to

incorporate various media into their

pictures, symbols, or texts with which

pieces, using whatever is required to

it is not usually associated and

fully investigate the subject.

generates meaning in an artwork.

Appropriation-taking ,aterial as reusing

Representin-describes the strategy of

images from the internet for example

locating ones artistic voice within ones

and recycling the material to create

own personal history and culture of

ones own artwork.

origin.

Show this video if you were to change this lesson plan

to fit towards younger elementary school aged children.

Lesson Procedure:
Students will think of an everyday hero in their life. They will think of a type of
"emblem" to represent their hero (I.e. cross, fire truck, military symbol) and they
will print it out and bring it to class. Students will then put the emblem on a piece
of cardstock paper and use materials provided to create a collage and design the
surrounding emblem. Students can write words, create drawings and designs to
represent their hero on their paper.We will have the students pair share at their
table and do a "show & tell" talking about their artwork they have created and
why they chose to use their emblem as a representation of their hero. Students
will do a gallery walk at the end to see all of their classmates artwork.

Group Discussion: Connect the importance of the

following topics to being a mentor
Pages 144-145

Group 1: A Sense of Place

Group 2: Similar Roots

Group 3: Desire for Connection

Group 4: Reciprocity and Possibility
Group 6: Conclusion (why does your group think its important to have
mentors/heroes in the workplace?)