Today I Went on a Free Association Vacation

A Wordle Creation by Vickie Moriarity

I have spent my morning brainstorming ways to incorporate the theme of "Hero" into my classroom decor this year.  I realize you may be thinking "What a dumb way to spend your morning!  Couldn't you be a little more productive?"  Yes, I guess I could be, but this is some of the fun that teaching provides...ways to waste a perfectly good morning contemplating the impending school year. 

You see, this type of free association allows me to cruise the web for teaching tidbits relevant to the theme (or not) that I would never even consider during the school year as my entire goal some weaks is to keep my head above proverbial water comprised mainly of paper grading, meeting attending, parent phone calling and e-mailing, and student counseling regarding all facets of behavior and/or life situations that have either been thrust upon them or in which they willingly immerse themselves.  This is a time when I don't have to worry about a list of neverending priorities that all scream out for immediate attention.  This is time when I can dream big about the possibilities of the upcoming school year, where I don't have to affix an allotted time frame into my imagined lessons - THESE lessons can go as far as my imagined ideal students will take them.  Of course, I know I will have to land on earth again soon, but it sure nice to spend a ton of time on the tiniest of details. From this mental field trips,  successful ideas have been born in the past.  It is days like today that inspire me to work harder for the students that will soon be in my care.

Today's excursion to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary Site for a working definition of the word "hero".  That visit netted me four working definitions for "hero":
1.  A mythological or legendary figure.  Yes, an immediate connection for the reading teaching in me!  Mythology is filled with heroes like Hercules, Odysseus, Jason who searched for the Golden Fleece.  This also ties into the core content my students will be tested on in May.  Oh joy!
2.  An illustrious warrior:  Well, there are only about a million of these in history, and what a great way to tie into current events with our current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Maybe this could lead to a service project that honors our modern day heroes!  Our traditional Veteran's Day program will have so much meaning for the students with the them of hero taught throughout the year!
3.  A man admired for his achievements and noble qualities:  Oh my gosh, think of all the leaders in history who have demonstrated noble qualities:  Jesus, Ghandi, Elenor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Jr., President Kennedy and on and on.  Just about every single profession has its heroes, and this will allow us to hone in on heroic qualities.  For example, many kids last year viewed Chuck Norris as a bit of a hero, and I questioned the qualities on which they based this.  Of course, good ol' Chuck "portrays" heroes in his movies, but does that really make him a hero?  Not unless he does certain things in real life. 

That got me searching the web, and I found an article written by Chuck Norris entitled "The Heroes of America's Academic Halls".  Wow! Chuck just became my new hero because it's an extremely well written article that urges Americans to reinstill the Christian values that helped build this nation.  What a lucky find!  Kids will read this article because they are enamoured with Chuck, the actor.  This will again cause them to think about heroes more in depth.

4.  The principal male character in a literary or dramatic work:  This definition has several lessons I could teach.  First of all the feminine form of hero is heroine - no, not the drug; that has no "e" at the end.  This could be an important lesson if they ever need to write about a heroic woman or the drug.   The ability to locate the hero or heroine in a piece of literature is of course important.  But then I can scaffold the term "protagonist" - a literary term they need to know, and its antithesis - the "antagonist".  The chances those new terms will stick will be greater because they have a firm understanding of what a hero is.  I can also teach students about the anti-hero like Mel Gibson's creation "Mad Max" and the tragic hero which Shakespeare used repeatedly (just read all the tragedies, and you will know what I mean - Hamlet, MacBeth, King Henry, etc.)

The writing possibities are, of course, endless.  There is the My Hero project based learning website that would contain an entire year's worth of lessons.  Students can create a "My Hero" webpage complete with writing, pictures, art work, and video.  What a cool way to incorporate technology that kids need to know how to use!  If I had more computers I would be doing this one regularly as you can also complete lessons and talk with other classes around the world thereby sharing some cultural ideas regarding heroism.  How cool is that?!  This is truly a phenomenal site that I never would have found had I not had some free association time.

After that, I found "hero" music such as Nickelback's song "Hero" from the Spiderman soundtrack.  This will create a real connection with the kids as they have all heard, and they have probably seen the movies.  Superheroes are archetypes used through literature and I am sure I can introduce the literary term "hyperbole" to kids who see that superheroes are huge exaggerations of the qualities we desire.

Then I wandered over to the Wordle website to see if I could create a word cloud.  This is a pretty amazing site where you list a bunch of words with a common theme, and the size of the word will be based upon the frequency a word is used.  It is a fun way to combine words in an artistic way. I thought I could use these as decorations around my room, and I might have students create wordles by hand on other topics throughout the year (like "protagonist" or "essay structure" - who knows where that could lead.

Finally, I can see how discussing the word "hero" will lead (no pun intended) to a better discussion regarding "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens" because good leaders possess many of the qualities that heroes do. 

Maybe this morning's Internet vacation wasn't as silly as I first thought.   Free association time is crucial to my creative process, teaching is both scientific and creative.  After reflecting on this experience today, I feel rejuvenated and excited about what the future holds.  I can think of no better way to spend a hot summer morning and afternoon!