Superheroes

Superheroes
Oral Presentation
3 credits
By Christine Wells
Learning Outcomes
In this unit you will:
•
Identify and describe the traditions and
conventions associated with storytelling.
•
Research the history of the comic;
conventions; types of characters and
themes associated with the storylines.
•
Evaluate the educational benefits of
comics.
•
Write creatively and formally.
•
Prepare and present an oral presentation.
KWL: Storytelling traditions
What do I already What do I want to know? What have I
Know?
learnt?

•
Before language and words, people told stories
through images, signs, and sounds. They drew images
on cave walls, on stone, and wood.
•
Oral tradition means that the information, the

stories, are told rather than written down. Because
people hold the oral tradition in their memory, and
sometimes the story changes with the telling, oral
histories can be more fluid, more dynamic, more alive,
than written histories.
TASK:
1. Write the heading Oral Traditions in your book.
2. Briefly explain what oral traditions are in your own
words.
Oral Traditions
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Storytelling is the art of conveying
events in words, images, and sounds, often
by improvisation or embellishment.
•
Stories are shared in many cultures as a
means of entertainment, education,
preservation of culture and to instill
knowledge and values/morals.
•
Important elements of storytelling include
plot and characters, as well as the
narrative point of view.
Storytelling
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Traditionally, oral stories were passed
from generation to generation, and
survived solely by memory.
•
With written media, this has become less

important.
Task:
1. List 3 ways of telling stories.
2. Explain why many cultures share stories.
3. Identify 3 important parts of storytelling.
Storytelling
Comics
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What are comics?
•
How would you describe them?
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What would you expect to find
in a comic?
TASK:
1. Create a describe filter in your
book which answers the above
questions.
2. Create a compare/contrast filter
which compares comics with
the oral tradition of storytelling.
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Common Characteristics
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Extraordinary powers and abilities
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A sidekick or helper who knows their secret
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A strong moral code
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A motivation or reason
• A secret identity
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A distinctive costume
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A number of enemies including an arch enemy
who is more troubling than the others
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Independent wealth or an occupation that
allows for minimal supervision

• An "origin story"
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Headquarters or a base of operations
Common costume features
Many features of superhero costumes
recur frequently, including the
following:
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A mask
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A symbol, such as a stylized letter or
visual icon, usually on the chest.
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Form-fitting clothing, tights or
Spandex.
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Capes are closely associated with
super heroes.
Task:
Imagine you have been asked to
write the recipe for a superhero.
The main conventions that we
have covered about superheroes
are the ingredients.

•
You must have at least 7
ingredients.
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Give your recipe a snappy title.

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Draw a picture of your superhero.
Creative Writing: Superhero Story
Task: Write a story about how he/she
became a superhero.
Include:
•
A description of where they were born
and grew up
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An event which they discovered that
they had superpowers
• A description of their powers
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A conflict that they were involved in
where they had to use their
superpowers
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The name of your superhero and an
explanation of why they chose it
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Your story should be at least 200 words
in length.
•
Your story should also include the use of
5 poetic techniques such as metaphor,
simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
assonance and personification.
Superheroes Web quest

A group of very old and conservative English teachers
who see no value in learning about superheroes are
trying to ban the reading of comics in New Zealand.
Your mission: To convince them of the benefits of
studying superhero comics.
To do this you will need to prepare a power point
presentation which shows all the valuable aspects
of the superhero comic.
Links to this information are on a webquest in the
Superhero folder on the Ultranet.
Include the following information:
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A history of the comic
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Conventions of the superhero comic
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Types of characters
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A description of the main settings
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Themes associated with the storylines
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Reasons why you believe they contain valuable
benefits to your education.
Scamper: what is it?
SCAMPER is a technique used to look at a story
another way. Using Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
work through the following to change the story.
•
S: Substitute (a person, place, time or situation)

What do you think would have happened if there had been
a Crazy Scientist Bear instead of Father Bear?
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C: Combine (bring together assorted ideas and situations)
What would have happened if the three bears were
returning from a reunion with relatives who had escaped
from a zoo where they had been badly treated by the
zookeepers?
•
A: Adapt (or adjust to suit a purpose)
How might the story have changed if Goldilocks had had a
leg in plaster and was using crutches?
Scamper: what is it?
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M: Modify (for example, by changing the physical size
or personality traits of some characters or changing
the setting)
What would have happened if the bears had been cubs
and much smaller than Goldilocks?
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P: Put to other uses (for example, put a different slant
on the plot)
What if Goldilocks was only pretending to be lost and
was really looking for an excuse to break into other
people’s houses?
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E: Eliminate a feature of the story
How might the story change if there were no Father
Bear?
• R: Rearrange or reverse the sequence of the story

What if Baby Bear had returned home before the
others?
Your turn!
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Select a superhero story and
SCAMPER it!
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You may work in pairs.
Close reading unseen text
•

Rich task: Part 1 -Research.
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Read through your options and
work in groups to choose which
tasks you will complete.
Formal Writing
Write 300 words to either agree or disagree
with the following topic:
Superhero comics have no value in
the 21st Century
Remember the lessons on formal writing that
we did at the end of term 1 and use those
methods.
Public speaking
1) A good speaker doesn’t…
2) The best techniques for public speaking are…
3) The best public speaker I have ever seen was______________
because…
4) Teachers don’t realise it but public speaking is___________ because…

5) When I have to speak in front of a large group I feel________________
because…
6) There is no point in learning to speak well in front of others because…
7) Duh! You have to be able to speak well in front of others because…
Speech games
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On a piece of paper write a random
topic.
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Put into a container.
•
Each person draws put a topic and
speaks for 30 seconds on the topic.
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You can not say ‘um’, repeat yourself
or have long gaps or you are
eliminated.
Oral Presentation Checklist
1. Use cue cards with the outline of the presentation
on it.
2. The speaker should stand tall and his/her face
should be clearly seen.
3. The presentation should be clearly heard by
everyone.
4. The speaker's tone of voice should change as the
presentation is given.
5. The speed of the speaker’s voice should change at
times in the presentation.
6. Make eye contact with the audience.
7. The presentation should be interesting and involve

the audience because it has:
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A strong opening statement
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A good clear structure
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The main ideas are repeated
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It uses features of oral language e.g.
- humour if appropriate.
- props if appropriate.
Rich task: Part 2 Oral Presentation
•
You must select only one rich task from the following
options. Some tasks are allow you to work in pairs and
some allow you to work individually, however, no matter
what task you select you will be assessed individually.
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Rich task options:
A) Drama (Maximum 4 people)
B) Seminar (Pairs)
C) Speech (Individual)
D) Debate (6 people)
E) Storytelling (1-2 people)
Bibliography
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Adapted from Myths and Legends unit by Sarah
Kereopa
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