Unit Two: The Value of Having Heroes

Lesson 1: What makes a hero?

Students will explore what makes the difference between a hero and a celebrity by identifying attributes of heroes and comparing and contrasting these attributes with those of celebrities. They can identify when someone is both a hero and a celebrity while recognizing that not all celebrities act in heroic ways.

Lesson 2: Connection with a personal hero

Many teens report that they do not have a positive role model to help them when they are struggling, , including dealing with depression, anxiety, or stress. This lesson aims to help students understand the benefits of having a personal hero to help them feel more empowered in vulnerable times, and they will work to identify and connect with a personal hero.

Lesson 3: Importance of representation in pop culture

As young children, we learn the importance of representation: “If you can see it, you can be it.” How does a lack of representation of girls, women, people of color, and other minority groups negatively impact all of us? In this lesson, students will be able identify some of the benefits to individuals and society of having diverse heroes and characters represented in various forms of popular culture (movies, TV, and books) as well as the negative impacts of too little representation or characters largely built on stereotypes.

Lesson 4: Everyday heroism

As children learn how to act as heroes, they need to practice these pro-social behaviors. This lesson motivates students to improve the conditions of their own community (or even another community in need) by focusing on a single issue, problem, or population that interests them.