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Lesson: Villains, Heroes and Heroines

This lesson introduces students to the ways that heroes and villains are portrayed in media. It begins with a discussion of real and media heroes and how they are similar or different. Students then compare a number of hero/villain pairs from Disney films and identify how specific visual cues are used to identify characters as being villains. They then consider the impact of representing features of diverse groups, such as larger bodies or disabilities, as being signs of villainy. Finally, students create a prototype for a photo or video filter that will make someone look more villainous.

Grade range: 4-6

Teacher Material: https://textbook.mediasmarts.ca/discoveringstudent/chapter/what-is-a-hero/

Student Material: https://textbook.mediasmarts.ca/discovering/chapter/heroes-and-villains-2/

Time Frame

One class period (45-60 minutes) Two or three class periods (90-120 minutes)  
Activities  

What is a Hero?

Heroes and Villains

 

 

What is a Hero?

Heroes and Villains

Villainize Yourself!

 

Preparation:

Make sure that students are able to access the interactive activities.

Prepare to print and distribute the handout Villainize Yourself!

There are two versions of the handout, one aimed at younger students and one at older. You can use either or both.

 

Learning Outcomes

Big ideas/key concepts: Students will understand that…

Media are constructions

  • Media are an imperfect reflection of reality
  • Media works are made by people who make choices that affect the final work

Media have social and political implications

  • Media representations influence how we see other people, the world and ourselves

Each medium has a unique aesthetic form

  • Different media communicate in different ways, using different codes and conventions
  • Different genres have their own traditions, codes and conventions that creators use and audiences expect to see

Key questions:

  • How is heroism different in media than in real life?
  • What do villains and heroes look like in media?
  • What visual clues tell us someone is a villain in cartoons?

Essential knowledge: Students will know…

  • Reading media: Elements of character design, such as colour, shape, and facial features, are used in animation to make someone look villainous; Codes and conventions in animation are influenced by older traditions in visual art
  • Media representation:a heroes are more likely to use violence to achieve their goals than real-life heroes; characteristics of diverse groups such as disabilities, larger bodies, darker skin and Jewish features are associated with villainy in animation.

Performance tasks: Students will be able to…

  • Use: Make a prototype for a simple media tool
  • Understand: Discuss the difference between real-life and media heroes; analyze the visual clues used to show that characters are villains in animation
  • Engage: Consider the implications of media representations of heroism and villainy

 

Curriculum Connections

 

Strand A: Literacy Connections and Applications

 

A2 Digital Media Literacy

A2.4 Forms, Conventions, and Techniques

demonstrate an understanding of the forms, conventions, and techniques of digital and media texts, consider the impact on the audience, and apply this understanding when analyzing and creating texts

A2.5 Media, Audience and Production

demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships between the form, message, and context of texts, the intended audience, and the purpose for production

A2.6 Innovation and Design

select and use appropriate digital and media tools to support the design process and address authentic, relevant, real-world problems by developing innovative solutions

A2.7 Community and Cultural Awareness

communicate and collaborate with various communities in a safe, respectful, responsible, and inclusive manner when using online platforms and environments, including digital and media tools, and demonstrate cultural awareness with members of the community

A3 Applications, Connections, and Contributions

A3.2 Identity and Community

demonstrate an understanding of the historical contexts, contributions, lived experiences, and perspectives of a diversity of individuals and communities, including those in Canada, by exploring the concepts of identity, self, and sense of belonging in a variety of culturally responsive and relevant texts

 

Strand C: Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts

C1 Knowledge About Texts

C1.1 Using Foundational Knowledge and Skills to Comprehend Texts

read and comprehend various texts, using knowledge of words, grammar, cohesive ties, sentence structures, and background knowledge

C1.2 Text Forms and Genres

Grades 4-5: describe some characteristics of various text forms and genres, including cultural text forms, and explain how they help communicate meaning

Grade 6: analyze a variety of text forms and genres, including cultural text forms, and explain how their characteristics help communicate meaning

C1.3 Text Patterns and Features

Grade 4: identify text patterns, such as spatial order in a graphic text, and text features, such as type styles and hyperlinks, associated with various text forms, including cultural texts, and explain how they help readers, listeners, and viewers understand the meaning

Grade 5: identify text patterns, such as cause and effect in a persuasive text, and text features, such as a preface and glossary, associated with various text forms, including cultural texts, and explain how they help readers, listeners, and viewers understand the meaning

Grade 6: analyze text patterns, such as problem-solution in a report, and text features, such as subheadings and pull-down menus, associated with various text forms, including cultural texts, and explain how they help readers, listeners, and viewers understand the meaning

C1.4 Visual Elements of Texts

Grades 4-5: explain how images, graphics, and visual design create, communicate, and contribute to meaning in a variety of texts

Grade 6: analyze and compare how images, graphics, and visual design create, communicate, and contribute to meaning in a variety of texts

C1.5 Elements of Style

Grade 4: identify various elements of style in texts, including voice, word choice, word patterns, and sentence structure, and analyze how each element helps create meaning and is appropriate for the text form and genre

Grade 5: describe various elements of style in texts, including voice, word choice, word patterns, and sentence structure, and analyze how each element helps create meaning and is appropriate for the text form and genre

Grade 6: identify various elements of style in texts, including voice, word choice, word patterns, and sentence structure, and analyze how each element helps create meaning and is appropriate for the text form and genre

C1.6 Point of View

Grades 4-5: identify the narrator’s point of view, including first, second, or third person, in a variety of texts, and describe the advantages and disadvantages of the approach used in each story

Grade 6: identify the narrator’s point of view, including first, second, or third person, in a variety of texts, providing evidence, and explain how using an alternative point of view would change each story

C2. Comprehension Strategies

C2.1 Prereading: Activating Prior Knowledge

identify and explain prior knowledge from various sources, including personal experiences, that they can use to make connections and understand new texts

C2.5 Monitoring of Understanding: Making Connections

Grades 4-5: describe how the ideas expressed in texts connect to their knowledges and lived experiences, the ideas in other texts, and the world around them

Grade 6: explain how the ideas expressed in texts connect to their knowledges and lived experiences, the ideas in other texts, and the world around them

C2.7 Reflecting on Learning

Grades 4-5: explain how strategies, such as visualizing, making predictions, summarizing, and connecting to their experiences, have helped them comprehend various texts

Grade 6: explain and compare how various strategies, such as visualizing, making predictions, summarizing, and connecting to their experiences, have helped them comprehend various texts and set goals to improve their comprenension

C3 Critical Thinking in Literacy

C3.1 Literary Devices

Grade 4: describe literary devices, including personification and anthropomorphism, in a variety of texts, and explain how they help create meaning and are appropriate for the intended purpose and audience

Grade 5: describe literary devices, including imagery and humour, in a variety of texts, and explain how they help create meaning and are appropriate for the intended purpose and audience

Grade 6: describe literary devices, including hyperbole and idioms, in a variety of texts, and explain how they help create meaning and are appropriate for the intended purpose and audience

C3.2 Making Inferences

Grades 4-5: make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to extend their understanding of various texts

Grade 6: make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to develop interpretations about various texts and to extend their understanding

C3.3 Analyzing Texts

Grade 4: analyze various texts, including literary and informational texts, by identifying main and supporting ideas, sequencing the events of multiple plots, and explaining cause and effect

Grade 5: analyze various texts, including literary and informational texts, by identifying main and supporting ideas, sequencing the events of multiple plots, recording relevant information, and explaining cause and effect

Grade 6: analyze various texts, including literary and informational texts, by identifying main and supporting ideas, evaluating the quality of information and its relevance for a specific purpose, and formulating conclusions

C3.4 Analyzing Cultural Elements of Texts

Grades 4-5: identify cultural elements that are represented in various texts, including, norms, values, artifacts, sports, and music, investigate the meanings of these elements, and make connections to their lived experience and culture

Grade 6: analyze cultural elements that are represented in various texts, including, values, rituals and ceremonies, architecture, art, and dance, by investigating the meanings of these elements, making connections to their lived experience and culture, and sharing their interpretations with others

C3.5 Perspectives within Texts

Grades 4-5: identify explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, explain how these perspectives are conveyed, give some evidence of any biases the texts may contain, and suggest how such biases could influence an audience

Grade 6: explain explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, including narrative texts, provide any evidence that could suggest bias in these perspectives, and suggest ways to avoid any such bias

C3.6 Analysis and Response

Grades 4-5: explain how various topics, such as diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, are addressed in texts, and describe what insights or messages are conveyed

Grade 6: explain how various topics, such as diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, are addressed in texts, analyze the insights or messages conveyed, and identify different positions presented

C3.8 Reflecting on Learning

Grades 4-5: identify the critical thinking skills they used to analyze and evaluate various texts, and explain how these skills have helped them better understand the texts

Grade 6: compare the critical thinking skills they used when analyzing and evaluating various texts, identify the skills that best supported their understanding, and explain why they

 

Strand D: Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts

D1. Developing Ideas and Organizing Content

D1.1 Purpose and Audience

identify the topic, purpose, and audience for various texts they plan to create, and explain why the chosen text form, genre, and medium suit the purpose and audience, and how they will help communicate the intended meaning

D1.2 Developing Ideas

generate and develop ideas and details about various topics, such as topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to other subject areas, using a variety of strategies, and drawing on various resources, including their own lived experiences

D1.4 Organizing Content

Grades 4-5: select and classify ideas and collected information, using appropriate strategies and tools, and sequence content, taking into account the chosen text form, genre, and medium

Grade 6: classify and sequence ideas and collected information, using appropriate strategies and tools, and identify and organize relevant content, taking into account the chosen text form, genre, and medium

D1.5 Reflecting on Learning

Grades 4-5: describe the strategies and tools that helped them develop ideas and organize content for texts of the chosen forms, genres, and media, and explain how they helped them improve as a text creator

Grade 6: explain and compare how the strategies and tools used helped them develop ideas and organize content for texts of the chosen forms, genres, and media, and how they helped them improve as a text creator

D2. Creating Texts

D2.1 Producing Drafts

Grades 4-5: draft texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, persuasive, and informational texts, using a variety of media, tools, and strategies

Grade 6: draft complex texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, expository, and informational texts, using a variety of media, tools, and strategies

D2.4 Point of View and Perspective

Grand 4: identify the point of view used in their texts, and the perspectives and bias conveyed in their texts

Grade 5: identify the point of view, implicit and explicit perspectives, and bias conveyed in their texts, and explain how their messages might be interpreted by audiences with different perspectives

Grade 6: identify the point of view, perspectives, and bias conveyed in their texts, and explain how their messages might be interpreted by audiences with different perspectives

D3 Publishing, Presenting, and Reflecting

D3.1 Producing Final Texts

Grade 4: produce final texts using a variety of techniques and tools, including simple digital design and production tools, to achieve the intended effect

Grade 5: produce final texts using a variety of techniques and tools, including digital design and production tools, to achieve the intended effect

Grade 6: produce final texts, selecting a variety of suitable techniques and tools, including digital design and production tools, to achieve the intended effect

D3.3 Reflecting on Learning

Grade 4: describe various strategies that helped them present and communicate their message when publishing and presenting texts, and explain how they helped them improve as a text creator

Grade 5: describe various strategies and tools that helped them communicate their intended message when publishing and presenting texts, and suggest steps for future improvement as a text creator

Grade 6: compare how various strategies and tools helped them communicate their intended message when publishing and presenting texts, and suggest future steps for improvement as a text creator

 

 

 

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