Summary
This lesson guides students to investigate literary elements and character traits as they examine and create superheroes. Students begin the lesson by sharing prior knowledge of and experiences with superheroes and superhero stories. Students then watch videos about superheroes and literary elements then read and analyze a short narrative. After assessing representations of superheroes in media, students collaborate to create an original superhero that they then feature as the protagonist of a comic strip and narrative. To conclude the lesson, students present their works while their classmates take notes over literary elements and superhero traits present in each story.
Essential Question(s)
What are the elements of a story? What makes someone (or something) a hero? What role do heroes play in stories?
Snapshot
Engage
Students write down their prior knowledge of and experiences with stories during a Quick Write activity, then revise their writing after watching an informational video.
Explore
Students identify and discuss characteristics of modern superheroes.
Explain
Students read and annotate a short story then discuss the literary elements and superhero traits present in the work.
Extend
Students create a comic strip featuring an original superhero then describe the events of their comic strip in a narrative that includes literary elements and a description of the superhero’s traits.
Evaluate
Students present both their comic strips and narratives and take notes over the literary elements and superhero traits present in their classmates’ work.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
KWHL Graphic Organizer handout (attached; one per student)
Triangle-Square-Circle handout (attached; one per student)
Mind Map handout (attached; one per group of three to four students)
“Theseus and the Minotaur” short story (linked; one per student)
Writing utensils
Paper
Engage
30 Minute(s)
Introduce the lesson using the attached Lesson Slides. Display slide 3 and go over the essential questions.
Have students take out a piece of paper and writing utensil. Show slide 4 and introduce the following Quick Write prompts:
What prior experiences have you had with reading and writing stories?
What elements make up a story?
What components must be present for something to be considered a story?
Encourage students to consider their prior knowledge and experiences with writing as they work. Start the 5-minute timer.
Display slide 5 and have students find an Elbow Partner. Have partners share their responses with each other then ask for volunteers to share their writing with the whole class.
Transition to slide 6 and play the Khan Academy video, Story Spine.
Show slide 7 and invite students to discuss the similarities and differences between their writing and the story structure presented in the video. Display slide 8 and have students revise and add to their writing using the information they learned from the video.
After students have revised their work, have them share their changes with their Elbow Partner. Encourage each partner to consider one change they made to their work that they are particularly proud of. Invite students to share out their changes.
Lead a whole class discussion on the key elements of a story. Have students consider the structure of their Quick Writes and stories they have read. As students share, guide discussion towards the key elements that will be the focus of the lesson: plot, setting, characters, conflict, and theme.
Show slide 9 and review the five elements of a story that are the focus of the lesson. Encourage students to share out prior knowledge of these literary elements and identify examples of these elements in their own Quick Writes. Invite students to share out any additional literary elements that they are familiar with.
Display slide 10 and share the following learning objectives with students:
Explore different character traits and develop a complex character.
Write narrative stories including plot, setting, characters, conflict, and theme.
Explore
40 Minute(s)
Display slide 11. Pass out one copy of the attached KWHL Graphic Organizer handout to each student. Alternatively, you could have students draw their own KWHL Graphic Organizer on paper.
Introduce the topic of superheroes to students. Have them begin by filling out the “K” column with everything they know about superheroes. Allow students time to fill in the column, then have them pair up with a classmate and compare and contrast responses.
Have students fill out the “W” column with what they don’t know or what they want to know regarding superheroes. Have them also fill out the “H” column with how they will find the information to the questions they wrote in the “W” column. Allow students time to discuss their responses with an Elbow Partner.
Display slide 12 and direct students’ attention to the “L” column of their organizer. Play the Spider-Man: Homecoming movie trailer and have students record what they learned about superheroes using the knowledge gained from the trailer.
Show slide 13. Invite students to share out what they noticed from the trailer. As students share, record their responses in the blank space provided on the slide. Have students add information from the slide to their handouts.
Transition to slide 14 and introduce the topic of credible sources. Use the guiding questions on the slide to facilitate a whole class discussion on how to assess the credibility of a source.
Have students individually conduct research over superheroes and the process of writing superhero stories. Tell students to gather three different sources and list them in the “H” column of their KWHL Graphic Organizers. Allow students time to work then have them share out the resources they found and discuss how they evaluated the credibility of their sources.
Display slide 15 and have students navigate to the Wakelet on the slide. Have students explore each link in the Wakelet and read the information about superheroes and literary elements of superhero stories. As they read, encourage them to add to the “L” column of their KWHL Graphic Organizers. Have them also add to the “H” column as they discover more resources about different aspects of superheroes.
Once students have completed the “L” and “H” column of their organizers, distribute one copy of the Triangle-Square-Circle Graphic Organizer handout to each student. Display slide 16 and introduce the activity based on a modified version of the Triangle-Square-Circle instructional strategy. Have students include the following information in each shape:
Triangle: Write down one idea for the plot of your story.
Square: Write down one idea for the central conflict of your story.
Circle: Using what you learned about superheroes, write down your favorite idea for your story.
Encourage students to share out what they recorded in each shape. Facilitate a whole class discussion about what students learned from their research.
Explain
40 Minute(s)
Display slide 17 and pass out copies of the “Theseus and Minotaur” short story. Review the Stop and Jot strategy with students and have them annotate the short story as they read.
Introduce the activity to students using the directions on the slide. Tell students to read the story silently and jot down literary elements, characteristics of superheroes, and their reaction to the text in the margins of each paragraph.
Once students have read and annotated the text, facilitate a whole class discussion about the literary elements and superhero traits students noted.
Extend
45 Minute(s)
Arrange students into groups of three or four. Introduce the next activity by notifying students that they will collaborate with group members to create a comic strip and write a narrative about an original superhero.
Display slide 18 and distribute one copy of the Mind Map handout to each group. Explain to students how to brainstorm ideas and fill in their Mind Maps. Have students brainstorm ideas for the elements present on the slide and on the handout including story title, plot, setting, characters, conflict, and theme. Begin the 10-minute timer and have groups begin brainstorming.
Display slide 19 and review how to use the Pixton tech tool. Consider presenting a brief tutorial to students that addresses the uses of the tool and any questions students have. At this time, review the rubric or evaluation method you plan to use to evaluate student work.
Review the following criteria for the comic strips as presented on the slide:
a minimum of three different settings
a minimum of two characters (superhero, archenemy) with unique characteristics
the name of superhero
a representation of how the superhero gained their powers
a representation of the superhero’s powers
a representation of the superhero’s weakness
Have groups begin working and start the 20-minute timer on the slide.
Show slide 20 and review the following criteria for narrative portion of the assignment:
a minimum of two paragraphs
third-person point of view
plot
settings
characters
conflict
theme
Tell students that their narrative must follow the sequence of events that they created in the comic strip. Encourage students to personalize their superhero by giving them a catchphrase and fatal flaw. Have students begin working and start the 15-minute timer on the slide.
Evaluate
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 21 and have students take out a piece of paper and a pencil. Tell students that they must now present their superhero narratives and comic strips to the class.
Invite students to begin sharing their stories. As students share out, have their classmates take notes over the literary elements and superhero traits they notice.
After all students have shared their comics, consider inviting audience members to share common literary elements and traits they recorded. Consider having students pair up and have their superheroes challenge each other. Their classmates can then decide which superhero would win the battle and describe why based on the characteristics and traits present in each story. Encourage students to cite specific details in each story to support their claims.
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). CommonLit. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2170
K20 Center. (n.d.). Elbow partners. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/116
K20 Center. (n.d.). KWHL graphic organizer. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/127
K20 Center. (n.d.). Magicschool AI. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/3416
K20 Center. (n.d.). Mind maps. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1277
K20 Center. (n.d.). Quick write. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1127
K20 Center. (n.d.). Stop and Jot. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/168
K20 Center. (n.d.). Triangle-square-circle. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/65
K20 Center. (n.d.). Pixton. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/1307
K20 Center. (n.d.). Wakelet. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2180
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 5 minute timer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVS_yYQoLJg
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 10 minute timer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gy-1Z2Sa-c
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 15 minute timer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3zT2IxZQaw
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 20 minute timer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjcwzinQlEE
Khan Academy Labs. (2017, April 26). Story spine [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilDsFrcHsuI&t=16s
Lane, S. (2020). Theseus and the minotaur. CommonLit. https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/theseus-and-the-minotaur-1
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Sony Pictures Entertainment. (2016, December 9). Spider-Man: Homecoming - Official trailer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk-dF1lIbIg