Jessica Godar

Big Idea: Heroes

Heroes Unite
Big Idea:

What is a Hero?
o Exploring the idea of different kinds of heroes.
o Expanding the thought of everyday people being heroes, including
themselves
o What does it take to be a hero?
o What are attributes of different heroes?

Rational and Goals:

Everyone can be a hero.

By exploring the different attributes of heroes, students will have
opportunity to be and experience what a daily hero is like through
meaningful art making.
The students will think critically while expanding on different levels of
heroes.
This thinking will inspire them to explore what being a hero means to
them personally through their own art.

Knowledge Base and Key Questions:

Heroes can be explored on many different levels

Being a hero is an opportunity to be a better individual for yourself and for
your community.
Growing your heroic attributes builds personality, self-identity, and
character

Essential Questions:

What are the different ways that we have experienced heroes?

How can the image of a hero be communicated through materials?
How does the way we use materials change the way its viewed?
Can making art be more about the process of change rather than the final
product?

Objectives:

Artists use certain materials as an element of meaning.

Art can always change to make it state what you want.

Art never stays the same, its always changing to be improved and to add
dimension and growth to your project.

Unit Vignette
Lesson 1: Day 1
11:00-11:10pm

Hand out and fill out Hero post-it notes and put them on the idea
board, Discuss as a class.
What do you think an attribute of a hero is? (yellow)
Who is your hero? (blue)
How can you be a hero? (pink)

11:10-12:20pm
12:20-12:30pm

VTS Image, Jack Kirby comic book characters.

Write in journals, your ideas of heroes.
Write in journal what makes these people heroes?
If you could have a super power what would it be?

12:30-12:35pm

Introduce project and show examples of watercolor and show

techniques.

12:35-12:45pm

Play with watercolor on your own.

Sketch ideas of what your super power would look like

12:45-12:50pm

Clean up

(Day 2)

Continue to finish up samples of playing with watercolor

11:00-11:20pm
11:20-11:45pm

Start on final project

11:45-11:50pm

Clean up

(Day 3)

Finish watercolor project. Write artist statement in journal.

11:00-11:45pm

Why did you pick this power?

Why did you depict it the way you did?

11:45-11:50pm

Clean up

Lesson 2: Day 1

Watch Hercules

11:00-11:50pm
(Day 2)

Finish watching Hercules

11:00-11:30pm
11:30-11:50pm

Discuss,
Why did we watch this movie? What did you learn? How did this
relate to our unit? How did your idea of a hero change during the
movie? If it changed how so?

(Day 3)
11:00-11:10pm

Look back at discussion board we made on the first day, get ideas
for someone that you find to be a hero in your own personal life,
past or present.
Doesnt have to be someone you know or a person at all. It could
be a person you want in your life that has certain qualities that
you would want them to have.

11:10-11:20pm

Introduce project, show examples.

11:20-11:45pm

Play.
Sketch ideas in journal, play with different mediums.
What colors do you think of when you have this person in mind?
Why are they a hero to you? How can you show that?
What makes them a hero to you?
What is their best hero quality?
What kind of materials would fit this person? Paint? Torn paper?
Etc.

11:45-11:50pm

Clean up; tell class to bring any personal items from home that
they might want to collaborate into their project. Pictures, other
materials, etc.

(Day 4) 11:00-

Start final project

11:45pm
11:45-11:50pm

Clean up

(Day 5) 11:0011:45pm

Finish final project

11:45-11:50pm

Clean up

Lesson 3: Day 1

Write in journal, What kind of hero do you want to be? What kind
of traits do you want to have as you grow up that are heroic?

11:00-11:15pm

Write artist statement in journal

11:15-11:45pm

Brainstorm and sketch ideas on how you can change your image
to make it into the hero you want to be. Paint over things,
transform objects into completely different things or ideas.

11:45-11:50pm

Clean up

(Day 2) 11:0011:45pm

Work on final project

11:45-11:50pm

Clean up

(Day 3) 11:0011:30pm

Finish final project

11:30-11:45pm

Finish artist statement in your journal, try to bring together all of

your artist statements into a complete artist statement on how
your idea of a hero changed throughout the unit, how you project
transformed into what it is now, What would you have done
differently, what would you change? Etc.

11:45-11:50pm

Clean up

(Day 4)

Make Hall of Fame of Heroes in hallway, hang class made sign

Heroes of Fame.

11:00-11:45pm

Invite your heroes to come to our exhibition to show them how

your idea of a hero has changed, and how you see them as a
hero.
11:45-11:50pm

Clean up

End of Unit
Materials:

Construction paper
Scissors
Watercolors
Paint brushes
Acrylic paint
Exacto knifes
Printed paper
Watercolor paper
Markers
Tissue paper
Any kind of scraps in the art room or found materials

Assessment:

Each
o
o
o

lesson would be assessed through completed artist statement

Shown understanding of the lesson
Depth of thought and explanation of project
Use of color and imagery to show their super power

Unit Assessment:

Connection and unity of all three lessons

Completed artist statement that explains the transformation of the project
and their ideas
Understanding the ideas of a heroic trait and the transformation from a
comic hero to a true everyday hero.
Use of different materials