L2+Smart,+Darren

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION LESSON PLAN FORMAT
 * UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON

Teacher’s Name:** Mr. Darren Smart **Date of Lesson:** Second Lesson: Attributes of a Hero
 * Grade Level:** 12th Grade **Topic:** //Watchmen//

__**Objectives**__
Student will understand that during their time, heroes reflect cultural perspectives on important current events. Students will know the following terms: hero, villain, moral, justice, and icon. Also, they will be able to identify these important people: Rorschach, Ozymandias, Doctor Manhattan, the Comedian, Silk Spectre, and Nite Owl. Lastly, students will be able to identify the subplots of characters and their reactions in particular situations. Students will reflect on Watchmen and determine which characters should or can be consider either heroes or villains. Product: Comic Life or Glogster presentation.

__**Maine Learning Results Alignment**__
Maine Learning Results: English Language Arts- A. Reading A2 Literary Texts Grades 9-Diploma //Watchmen// Students read text, within a grade appropriate span of text complexity, and present analyzes of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry using excerpts from the text to defend their assertions. Evaluate the theme or themes, whether explicitly stated or implied, in a literary text.
 * Rationale:** In order to fully explain the theme of the novel, students must analyze the relation of the characters in //Watchmen// to heroes in culture. Each theme of the novel relies on the premise that the masked heroes aren't what a general audience would consider heroes at all.

__**Assessment**__
In groups, the students will be give a graphic organizer to write what characteristics a hero might possess. These can either come from the heroes shown in the movie or from their own experiences. The students are in groups to define the most common attributes of a hero and what each of these ideas means. They will work together to brainstorm and collect ideas from each other. These groups will then participate in a Cubing activity in which they must abstractly describe the traits of characters from __Watchmen__. Both the group brainstorming and activity and the class discussion afterward will allow the students to more carefully define their own ideas on a hero. Through these discussions and interactions, students will have the chance to edit their graphic organizer and make changes that could affect the direction they take for the assessment task.
 * Formative (Assessment for Learning)**

For assessment, students will create a presentation using Comic Life or Glogster that shows and explains why a character from the __Watchmen__ is a hero, a villain, or neither. In this presentation, students can include different aspects of the Cubing activity that might help them describe their opinion. Students will also include a hero of their choosing in the project and describe the attributes that apply to that person or character.
 * Summative (Assessment of Learning)**

__**Integration**__
The class will start with a movie that is designed to address three separate mediums; it will include audio, images, and video that depict heroes and allow the students to brainstorm on the characteristics each person shares. For assessment, the students will have the chance to work with two new software applications: Comic Life and Glogster. This allows each student to branch out and use the software creatively. Both programs contain a wide spectrum of personalized features that students can change and modify for their presentation. The video will contain many different images and sequences that are artistic in a variety of ways. Both the music chosen to complete the images or video and the images themselves will capture a mood and tone. The aim of the video is to display the chosen characters in ways that current media does. For the students' presentations, each will have many different chances to customize their projects in creative and artistic ways through each of the programs available. The video of heroes that will be shown at the beginning of class uses music to set a tone, mood, and underlying theme. The music thoroughly enhances the presentation.
 * ===Technology:===
 * ===Art:===
 * ===Music:===

__Groupings__
Students will be grouped together to discuss the different attributes of a hero and report their findings to the class as a whole. They will also be together for the Cubing activity. To make groups, the teacher will use the [|Shake, Rattle, 'N Roll method.]For this, the teacher will bring in the same amount of canisters as there are kids in the class. If there are eighteen students in the class, there will be eighteen canisters. If the teacher wants the class in groups of three, there will be six sets of items in each of the canisters. For example, there would be three paperclips in three canisters, three cotton balls in three canisters, etc.. Students will choose a canister from a hat or bag, and students who choose the same items are grouped together.

__**Differentiated Instruction**__

 * Strategies**: These intelligences will be addressed:
 * **Verbal:** The teacher will give instruction and there will be discussions held both as a class and in groups.
 * **Logical:** Students will discuss abstract meanings as they apply logically to the individuals.
 * **Visual:** Each student will be given a graphic organizer in which to brainstorm and develop answers.
 * **Bodily/Kinesthetic:** The students will move between stations during the Cubing activity.
 * **Intrapersonal:** The presentations will be created independently.
 * **Interpersonal:** Students will work in groups to both discuss the attributes of a hero and participate in the Cubing activity.
 * **Musical/Rhythmic:** There will be a station during the Cubing activity that is designed around music's ability to describe a person.
 * **Naturalist:** There will be a station during the Cubing activity that allows students to compare characters to items and animals that can be found in nature.

//**I will review each student's IEP, 504, or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.**// If the student is unable to attend the lesson, the student is responsible for collecting the resources and assignment from their class wikispace. If necessary, the student should arrange a meeting with the teacher for instruction and assistance.
 * Modifications/Accommodations**:

A large aspect of the summative assessment requires students to analyze a hero of their choosing. This character or person can be someone fictional, an iconic figure, someone they know, etc.. Because they are able to choose their hero, the students can delve deeply into the topic. There will be no limitation on the amount of detail and creativity a student may wish to use in their project. If a student is particularly excited about the topic, there is plenty of room in the project to expand and add depth.
 * Extensions**

__**Materials, Resources and Technology**__

 * Materials and technology:**
 * LCD projector
 * Laptop for teacher and students
 * Speakers
 * Writing utensils
 * Copies of //Watchmen//
 * Access to the internet
 * Comic Life software
 * Glogster accounts (which are free)
 * "Attributes of a Hero" graphic organizer
 * Cubing activity graphic organizer


 * Resources:**
 * [|How to create activity groups.]
 * [|The hero's journey.]
 * [|Attributes of a hero] (the same blog as the hero's journey link).
 * Attributes of a hero [|lesson plan.]
 * [|More ideas] on the hero in a classroom setting.

__Source for Lesson Plan and Research__
The teacher should give credit to Dan Ryder for his help in brainstorming ideas, and [|this site] gave great advice for creating activity groups in a classroom. Both the rubric and graphic organizers were created by Darren Smart (the rubric was modified from an original on the [|RubiStar] website). Through the following links, students can read more about both [|Alan Moore] and [|Dave Gibbons.] This [|lesson plan] also lists good techniques to teach students about heroes.

__**Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale**__
Rationale:** In this lesson, students will have a wide range of activities to participate in during both the class and for the summative assessment. For example, during the Cubing activity, students will have the opportunity to compare characters to music that they listen to and life they find in nature. This formative assessment will require the students to place logical summaries of character in abstract environments. Different learning styles are also utilized in the assessment; the students are able to choose their hero and create a unique presentation on them and can delve beyond the requirements of the task. By creating groups and having them participate in creative class activities, the class will grow more comfortable and see each other in different learning environments. For each station of the Cubing activity, the graphic organizer will allow the students to write down their thoughts and keep track of new ideas as they talk and discuss opinions throughout the exercise.
 * //Standard 3 - Demonstrates a knowledge of the diverse ways in which students learn and develop by providing learning opportunities that support their intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and cultural development.//

Rationale:** The focus of this lesson is to have students learn about the personalities of each character on a much deeper level. By applying the personalities of each character in //Watchmen// to an abstract situation, students will develop a much better understanding of each character and see how their attributes affect the situations around them. This lesson will use real world elements of comparison like songs or animals to relate to the characters of the graphic novel. For the students' presentation, the information they collect during the activity will give them abstract ways of applying these attributes to heroes they are familiar with. Therefore, this lesson will not only further their knowledge of the heroes, villains, and citizens of //Watchmen,// but it will also give students tools to examine exactly what makes a hero and how the media decides how and why these people are the heroes we claim they are.
 * //Standard 4 - Plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, curriculum goals, and learning and development theory.//

Rationale:** These intelligences will be addressed:
 * //Standard 5 - Understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies and appropriate technology to meet students’ needs.//
 * **Verbal:** The teacher will give instruction and there will be discussions held both as a class and in groups.
 * **Logical:** Students will discuss abstract meanings as they apply logically to the individuals.
 * **Visual:** Each student will be given a graphic organizer in which to brainstorm and develop answers.
 * **Bodily/Kinesthetic:** The students will move between stations during the Cubing activity.
 * **Intrapersonal:** The presentations will be created independently.
 * **Interpersonal:** Students will work in groups to both discuss the attributes of a hero and participate in the Cubing activity.
 * **Musical/Rhythmic:** There will be a station during the Cubing activity that is designed around music's ability to describe a person.
 * **Naturalist:** There will be a station during the Cubing activity that allows students to compare characters to items and animals that can be found in nature.

To begin class, the teacher will create a PowerPoint or KeyNote that utilizes video, visuals, and sound to depict both real and fictional heroes that the students will recognize. The aim of the hook is to have students thinking about what each of these characters have in common and be able to discuss these attributes. Students will also be able to choose between two new software applications: Comic Life and Glogster. Both of these programs allow for a wide variety of creativity and novelty in each project a person creates.

Rationale:** In groups, the students will be give a graphic organizer to write what characteristics a hero might possess. These can either come from the heroes shown in the movie or from their own experiences. The students are in groups to define the most common attributes of a hero and what each of these ideas means. They will work together to brainstorm and collect ideas from each other. These groups will then participate in a Cubing activity in which they must abstractly describe the traits of characters from __Watchmen__. Both the group brainstorming and activity and the class discussion afterward will allow the students to more carefully define their own ideas on a hero. Through these discussions and interactions, students will have the chance to edit their graphic organizer and make changes that could affect the direction they take for the assessment task.
 * //Standard 8 - Understands and uses a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and support the development of the learner.//

Furthermore, students will create a presentation using Comic Life or Glogster that shows and explains why a character from the __Watchmen__ is a hero, a villain, or neither. In this presentation, students can include different aspects of the Cubing activity that might help them describe their opinion. Students will also include a hero of their choosing in the project and describe the attributes that apply to that person or character.

__Teaching and Learning Sequence__

 * DAY ONE:**
 * 1) When students enter the room, they will draw a canister from the bag and sit at their desks. As the students settle in the classroom, the teacher will show a video that has different depictions and images of heroes. After this, the students will be divided into their groups based on the content of their canister. The students will each be given an "Attributes of a Hero" graphic organizer. In their groups, students will discuss the attributes of a hero in both the video they watched and their personal experiences. //**20-30 minutes.**//
 * 2) As a class, the groups will discuss their ideas and define the attributes of a hero as a whole. Through teacher intervention, they will modify the traits as they pertain to different categories of heroism. For example, do the traits that they've established apply to both parents and law enforcement? What becomes different and why does it change? Do we recognize heroes now that won't be labeled that way years from now? //**25 minutes.**//
 * 3) The teacher will show students where to find tutorials for both Comic Life and Glogster. Then the teacher will hand out the summative task assignment and link the students to the rubric on the class website. //**25 minutes.**//


 * DAY TWO:**
 * 1) As students file into class, they will be asked to gather in the groups that they were in for the last class activity. Each student will then be given a graphic organizer for the Cubing activity. The teacher will then explain the task and what is expected of the students during the class activity. //**15 minutes.**//
 * 2) Each group will move throughout the stations, and the students will complete the graphic organizers. For each station, the students must reach consensus on their final decisions. //**25 minutes.**//
 * 3) Once the activity has finished, the groups will report their answers to the class and write them on the board. The class will then vote on which comparisons fit the characters best. By the time discussion has finished, each character will have a final list of comparisons that correspond to the Cubing activity. //**25 minutes.**//
 * 4) To finish class, the teacher will ask if the connections the students made during class will help them define what the particular attributes of a hero are. Will this help them further their presentation? The teacher will tell the students that they can complete the Cubing activity outside of class for the character they chose. //**15 minutes.**//

Students will understand that during their time, heroes reflect cultural perspectives on important current events. Especially with the recent boon of comic-to-movie adaptations, students can see the media highlight characters whose qualities reflect their era. To understand why heroes exist, students must look at the caricatures that media creates all around us. **//Evaluate the theme or themes, whether explicitly stated or implied, in a literary text//**. At the beginning of class, the teacher will show a video that depicts heroes of varying nature and in different situations through images and moving picture. This presentation will act as the launching point of the lesson because the groups will gather and define the attributes of a hero as peers. Initially, the teacher will allow the students to brainstorm without assistance.
 * **Where, Why, What, Hook, Tailor: //Visual, Logical, Verbal, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Musical.//**

Students will know the following terms: hero, villain, moral, justice, and icon. Also, they will be able to identify these important people: Rorschach, Ozymandias, Doctor Manhattan, the Comedian, Silk Spectre, and Nite Owl. Lastly, students will be able to identify the subplots of characters and their reactions in particular situations. In groups, the students will be give a graphic organizer to write what characteristics a hero might possess. These can either come from the heroes shown in the movie or from their own experiences. During the second day, these same groups will complete the Cubing activity and report their findings to the class. Both the group brainstorming and activity and the class discussion afterward will allow the students to more carefully define their own ideas on a hero. Furthermore, the teacher will lead the class discussions and assert different opinions and interjections in order to create a stir in the students. For example, the teacher may ask if a parent is the same hero that a firefighter is. The teacher will further the students' knowledge by asking questions that cause rethinking and reconsideration.
 * **Equip, Explore, Rethink, Tailor: //Visual, Logical, Verbal, Naturalist, Musical, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Bodily/Kinesthetic.//**

Students will reflect on Watchmen and determine which characters should or can be consider either heroes or villains. To discuss the characters of the graphic novel by means of these categories, students must first consider what the definition of each is. In the first day, students will have the chance to view footage and images of different depictions of heroes in both real life and the fictional realm. The students will then gather in groups and discuss the common characteristics of heroes. As a class, a final list will be generated. The teacher will ask whether the listed attributes are final and universal to all heroes. During the group work, the teacher will moderate the management of the class, but it is up to the groups of students to develop rough ideas to present to the class. During the cubing activity on the second day, the groups will be asked to compare each character in Watchmen to an image in nature, an inanimate object, a music playlist, a sport, and a figure in the entertainment industry. By looking at each character in abstract comparisons, the students can more clearly flush out the characteristics of a hero. This activity will give the students a different perspective on each of the graphic novel's main characters.
 * **Explore, Experience, Rethink, Revise, Refine, Tailor:** **//Visual, Logical, Verbal, Naturalist, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Musical/Rhythmic, and Bodily/Kinesthetic.//**

For assessment, the students will create a Comic Life or Glogster presentation to show to the class. This presentation will include which characters from Moore's graphic novel the students believe are heroes, villains, and civilians. It will be required that the student provide short textual evidence for each of these decisions. Lastly, the student will choose a person or character separate from the novel and define whether the person is a hero or villain. The student can use both the activities and the graphic organizers that were completed during class. The student can also complete the same Cubing exercise that was done during class for the character they chose. Through both the formative and summative tasks, there is a strong focus on continuity. For example, the Cubing activity requires students to use symbolism and icons to express the personalities of each of the characters in //Watchmen//. For the rest of the text, identifying the characters as heroes or villains is important to the themes and plot of the novel. The final pages weight heavily upon these categories, and the students will see a connection throughout the novel to both this lesson and the first.
 * **Evaluate, Tailor:** **//Visual, Logical, Verbal, Naturalist, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Musical/Rhythmic, and Bodily/Kinesthetic.//**


 * Content Notes**
 * [|The hero's journey.]

Step 1 – The Mundane World
The first part of the Hero’s Journey sees the hero in the normal world. The hero has yet to be introduced to their journey. Often they are being held in the Mundane World by forces – sometimes through ignorance of the existence of another world.

Step 2 – The Call To Adventure
The spark that launches a hero onto the journey is the Call To Adventure. Something from the world of adventure appears in the hero’s Mundane World and the journey begins.

Step 3 – Crossing The Threshold
Now that the hero has received the call, he or she must step into the new world. This means Crossing The Threshold. This is often comes in the form of a task or a symbolic transition. Sometimes the Threshold is accompanied by guardians. These guardians help make sure the hero is ready for the adventure ahead.

Step 4 – The Path of Trials
Now that our hero has taken the first step, the Path of Trials begins. The path contains challenges for the hero – often covering all of the mind, body, and spirit. The trials vary in difficulty and usually culminate with a challenge that the hero must face alone.

Step 5 – The Master of Two Worlds
After the Path of Trials has been completed, the hero heads back to the Mundane World a changed person. The world has stayed the same, but the hero is changed forever. The Mundane World becomes a better place because it has the hero in it. The journey has made the hero the Master of Two Worlds – the Mundane and the Heroic. ////Not giving up until the goal is accomplished//// ////Doing what’s right regardless of personal consequences//// ////Doing more than what other people expect of them//// ////Staying level-headed in a crisis//// ////Overcoming adversity//// ////Changing society for the better//// ////Willingness to risk personal safety to help others//// ////Commanding the support and respect of others//// ////Not expecting personal recognition////
 * [|Attributes of a hero] (the same blog as the hero's journey link).


 * Handouts**
 * "Attributes of a Hero" graphic organizer
 * Cubing activity graphic organizer