Team

sallarVista Verde School, CA, United States

TamirVista Verde School, CA, United States

MadisonVista Verde School, CA, United States

SuzanneVista Verde School, CA, United States

NaderVista Verde School, CA, United States

Age Range

15 & under

Coaches

Nancy NicholsVista Verde School, CA, United States

Category

Books & Literature > Storytelling

Audience

Ages 9 and up

Language

English

Site Features

Quiz

Teacher Resources (Lesson Plans, Worksheets)

Team Collaboration

All members participated in the collection of information about one hero and the impact he or she had on their culture. Together the team worked on formatting and creating a cohesive website that was instructional as well as interesting and attention getting. One key factor was that the project center on the heroes that we studied all year long in our 7th grade English class. This was termed the "Year of the Hero" and continued our knowledge of heroes we had studied in sixth grade, too. By creating this webpage we recognized the depth of the epic hero and the cycle of the warrior's life as he or she passed into the legends and folklore of stories that last well over 3,000 years in some cases. Our most beloved heroes share common traits that are identifiable in heroes that Hollywood and television are currently creating.

Team Diversity

Each team member selected one of the heroes presented at the beginning of the academic school year to research, read, watch, and question. The larger group found information about the cycle of heroic lives, or the path of a hero that many epic heroes face. Because we have diverse religious and cultural backgrounds ourselves, we tended to be attracted to heroes that matched our own interests or histories. One student selected Moses, he is Jewish and has just returned from a trip to Isreal; another selected Mulan since she has a Chinese history, and Beowulf was selected by a student who values the ancient Celts and Scandinavian cultures. Although Petrucio from Taming of the Shrew is not an epic hero, his comedic hero is Shakespearian; he was a choice of a student who wants to become a writer one day. Each team member connected in part to their character, setting, plot or author in some personal measure.