GIFT No.1 (Great Idea For Teaching)
The "Build Your Own Hero Kit"
My students shortened it to BYOH (bye-oh) kit. This was an intensive project that took about 3 weeks to complete with my group of Grade 7s but in the end they thanked me. THEY THANKED ME! How often do junior high students thank you for lesson planning?!
The essence of the project was this:
Recognize some of your most unique or important qualities and amp them up to superpowers.
Identify some personal goals and turn them into heroic missions.
Create a 3D cut-n-fold action figure of yourself.
Design a promotional package or poster.
That's what the students were told. But really...
Explore identity, self-empowerment, and goal setting.
Create visual representations of written work.
Learn about stereotyping, symbols, onomatopoeia, and hyperbole.
Use graphic organizers to plan and complete a complex project in steps
The level of creativity, problem solving, and co-operation that my Grade 7s demonstrated was amazing! All of my students shone in different ways: Visual learners created brilliant action figures. My tactile learners quickly figured out how to assemble their figures and then helped others. My auditory learners followed directions very carefully and filled out the planning booklets in great detail.
That's me at the front of the class photo! Yes... I own that garish sweater in real life.
DOWNLOAD THE BYOH KIT HERE