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
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What is a Hero? Heroes and Villains Villainize Yourself!
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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.
- Key vocabulary: genre, photo filter, prejudice, stereotype
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
A kind or category of media work that makers use and audiences recognize.
An app (or a feature of a photo/video app) that changes what you look like.
Believing that there is something bad about a whole group of people, based on who they are.
An image or picture of a kind of person that makes it seem like they are all the same.