Welcome to Mrs. Lowe's Class

Everyday Heroes

Introduction

You are about to embark on an experience that may change your life. You are about to meet the extraordinary people that will shape the 21st century.

People that will fill you with inspiration and that will shape the world in which you live.

From them you will learn important yet simple life skills that will make you and your life more fulfilling and send you on a quest where you will discover these unique people and along the way, you may just discover yourself.

Let's face it, it's not always easy to do the right thing when things are going well and when faced with problems it's even more difficult to be a "stand up" person.

People who can do the right thing in adverse situations are people that possess character. They are "everyday heroes"; they are people like you and me.

The dictionary says that a hero is: a person noted for feats of courage and nobility of purpose. Sometimes it takes courage to possess character and to do the right thing. In this webquest we will examine four character traits and determine if we possess these traits.

Each man is a hero and oracle to somebody. --Emerson.

I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. Christopher Reeve (Actor)

That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end. Lise Hand, describing the late Irish journalist Veronica Guerin.

I was not only proud of what he did in the pool, but I was proud of the way he handled himself out of the pool. The measure of a true champion is not how they win. It’s how they handle defeat. Gary Hall Sr. An Olympic silver medallist in swimming, the quote above is about his son, Gary Hall Jr., who won two gold medals but finished second in a third race in the Atlanta Olympic games.

The Task

You are a member of the television station "HERO" News Team. Your news producer is wanting to do a piece on character and call it, "everyday heroes". He is giving your news team the plumb assignment to investigate four character traits and people that possess them. Your piece will show on the evening news a week from today.

The Process

There will be four reporters on your news team. Each of you will assigned one of four character traits.

The traits are: loyalty, self-control, democracy and trust.

You will find the definition of the traits and create a powerpoint slide about them. In addition to these tasks; you will recognize people in our classroom or school that possess these qualities and nominate them as "Everyday Heroes" using the "Everyday Heroes nominaton application".
(you must have MS Word to open this document)
The team will create a powerpoint presentation about "everyday Heroes". The team members will work cooperatively on the cover slide.
Each team member will produce three slides about their chosen character trait. The first slide will name the trait and give it's definition.
Each person will anchor their piece (their slides about their nominee) and nominate a student from our classroom or school that they have witnessed exhibiting their chosen character trait. They must name the person and give the example of the act of heroism this person performed. This will be placed on the hallway bulletin board entitled, "everyday Heroes" along with their picture.
The news cast will be shown to judges that will consist of two teachers and a classroom of students, who will choose the four people that they feel are worthy of the "Everyday Heroes" award.
All other nominees will receive an honorable mention.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Nomination Application	The application is completed.	Application completed. The trait matches the example of moral courage.	Application completed and moral courage evident.	Application filled out completely. Examples of moral courage and what can be learned are definitely evident.
PowerPoint	PowerPoint contains trait slide and nomination.	PowerPoint contains trait slide and definition clear.	PowerPoint contains trait slide and 1 nomination slide.	PowerPoint contains trait slide and 2 nominee slides.
Oral Presentation	Illogical order with fragmented delivery.	Somewhat interesting and in logical order. delivery fragmented.	Interesting and in logical order. fluid delivery.	Very organized, interesting and well rehearsed. smooth delivery.
Team Work	The workload was not divided equally, with person doing the work.	The workload was not divided equally, with two doing the work.	Most team members contributed their fair share of the work.	Workload divided equally and team worked cooperatively.

Teacher Resources

Conclusion

The goal of this WebQuest was to help you realize that we all are heroes when we do the right thing and treat people as they should be treated. I hope that you have learned a little more about yourself and the people around you. If you have, pass on that knowledge to someone else and try to make this world a better place.

It's not always easy doing the right thing and sometimes you're the only one who knows if you've done right or wrong...but then you are the one person who really counts because YOU will know.