created by Gabriele Kinsley and Richard Nelson.

Grade: 3+ (This challenge is can be adapted to use at the early primary level in simplified form or modified through extension and increased complexity for middle school and secondary students.)

Critical task: To identify, define, and validate a contemporary hero of your choice and critically evaluate your criteria for choosing them.

Overview: This critical thinking unit has been developed to integrate the study of Canada and look at the 'heroes' of our history (i.e. Louis Riel, John A. MacDonald). It will give participants access to the tools they can use to become conscious of the distinction between hero, celebrity, and role model. Students will participate in a series of activities that will identify characteristics of heroes, anaylze the spheres of influence that shape their choice of heroes, and make a judgement based on criteria they develop. Students will be required to apply critical analysis and judgement in a variety of thought-provoking activities.

• what is a hero?
• what is culture?
• celebrity or role-model* 

• recognizes bias
• critical assessment of sources
• validity of sources
• recognizes ambiguity and vagueness
• criteria of a good role-model* 

• bias
• cause and effect
• stereotype
• point of view
• evidence 

• Venn Diagram
• The Target
• Ranking Ladder
• Data Analysis Charts
• T-chart
• the Right Angle*

• open-minded
• independent-minded
• inquiring attitude
• refrains from judgement 

Step A: Defining a Hero - Background Knowledge

• Using T-chart, have students identify what their perception of what a hero is and give an example of a contemporary hero.
• Define with students what a hero is using two contrasting examples from the class or from history.
• Brainstorm characteristics of the examples. Compare and contrast the two examples using Venn Diagram. The overlap should represent the characteristics that constitute a hero.
• Discuss the similarities and differences and what it is that defines a hero (e.g. varieties of success, has received recognition for achievement, has taken a significant risk)
• Using the Target thinking strategy have students individually organize and rank the information according to what they deem to be the most valued characteristics to the least valued characteristics.
• Have students go back to their T-chart and document whether and/or how their thinking has changed. 

Step B: Identifying the Impact - Building a Concept

• Play Superstar game to demonstrate how being in the presence of someone perceived as a hero affects individuals at different levels.
• Debrief and discuss students reactions in pairs then the whole group and ask why they think people are affected in these ways?
• Brainstorm how a hero figure could otherwise affect the individual or group e.g. behaviour, dress, habits, attitudes
• Follow up with Assimilation game to demonstrate how the "fan mentality" operates (e.g. fads, language patterns, styles, ...)
• Debrief and discuss the preceding activity and the concept of "groupthink".
• Students document the experience in writing with a focus on 'What did you learn?' 

Step C: Identifying the Spheres of Influence - developing Habits of Mind

• Within a given time frame, approximately a week have students collage and tally media images and coverage to visually illustrate the power of the media by documenting biased presentation and frequency of exposure.
• Simultaneously conduct interviews with family members and peers using student developed, relevant, and powerful questions such as:

• Chart information gathered, for example graph frequency of exposure by the various types of media or use a T-chart to compare peer and family expressed opinions.
• Construct a Ranking Ladder to rank the spheres of influence including the various media, peers, and family. Discuss dominant influences and their credibility in terms of bias, conflict of interest, and corroboration.

Step D: Analyze and Evaluate Data - Developing Habits of Mind

• Analyse the data through a guided, whole class activity to introduce students to the levels at which people engage others (e.g. intellectual, emotional, etc.). Fill in the Data Analysis Chart by brainstorming with the class to make meaning of the data.

Levels of Influence	Media	Peers	Family	*Dominant Culture
Intellectual	Colourful visual image	Exemplify an attitude	Opinion based on individual knowledge	Economic value Social norms.
Emotional	Feel good, happy	Empathy	Empathy or animosity.	Empathy or condemnation.
Physical	Visual and aural stimulation.	Exemplify behaviour.	Emulation.	Exploitation.

• Debrief and discuss the information represented in the chart and how it relates to Steps A and B above.
• Ask students to make some judgements based on the data analysis and to express their views a paragraph.
• Break the class into groups to analyze the different facets of the media based on intellectual, emotional and physical impacts (e.g. newspaper, Internet, television.)
• Individual groups will complete their section of the Data Analysis Chart.

Level of Influence	Newspaper	Internet	Television	Magazines	Radio
Intellectual/ Thinking				Considering point of view, bias.
Emotional/ Feelings
Physical/ What are you doing?	Reading and viewing pictures.	Interacting at a distance.	Hearing and seeing.	Reading and viewing pictures.	Tapping fingers

• Debrief and discuss the information represented in the Data Analysis Chart. Tie in Step A: are the identified characteristics represented? How? How does this affect the individual or group in terms of behaviour, attitude etc? Students will come to an understanding that some media are more powerful than others are, and explore the reasons for that.
• In a paragraph, students are asked to answer: Who is this person? What is that judgment based on? Do you believe this to be accurate, why or why not?  

Step E: Validating Information - Developing Criteria for Judgement

• Brainstorm with students how to validate information gathered. Include information from interviews, is this information valid? Do the various articles corroborate one another? Look at presentation, the overall message, conflict of interest, economic interests, & etc.
• Students develop criteria for judgement.
• In pairs or small co-operative groups, have students use the T-chart strategy to evaluate information to get 'behind the image'. Give students sufficient time to evaluate critically the information gathered to establish credibility based on the criteria for judgement. They will either confirm or reject their perception of the 'hero'. They may discover a person that is not so unlike themselves.
• Revisit the question: Who is the person? What is your judgement based on? Do you believe this to be accurate? Is he a hologram constructed for another's purposes or a hero within your criteria? 

Step F: Independent Application

• Students use the Right Angle strategy to illustrate application of critical thinking to their own lives.
• Students identify a personal hero and use the Target to fulfil the critical task. 

Evaluation: Ongoing assessment and evaluation of student understanding, critical thinking, and participation in Steps A through E will be based on:

• Evidence of critical thinking in the organization and analysis of information.
• Ability to draw conclusions and justify their thinking.
• Application of critical judgment based on evidence.
• Ability to critically evaluate resources chosen. 

The critical challenge (Step E) which involves developing and using criteria to evaluate a personal hero is weighted more heavily (x2) the products of this step will be the basis of a summative assessment for the critical challenge.  

Assessment Rubric: Defining the 'hero' 

Grade 2/3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7

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