Students develop a ceremony to honor a person or commemorate an event in history.

This resource contains an abundance of ELA infused, cross-curricular lessons organized by themes for Grades 4, 5 and 6. Non-fiction, poetry and fiction reading lessons are all included. 

After discussing the differences between idols and heroes, students choose a real world hero and create media resources that celebrate and promote their actions.

Designed to explore the hero and the heroic in literature, this unit asks students to discuss their ideas of heroism and analyze heroes in literature.

Using the character of Edward Cullen from the Twilight series, this lesson introduces the Byronic hero and asks students to compare the Byronic hero to the traditional hero and villain.

This lesson provides ideas for celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by encouraging students to explore the connections between Dr. King and themselves through journaling and inquiry-based research.

This comprehensive site offers art lessons and activities at a wide range of levels:
- PreK-K
- Grades 1-2
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 6-8
- Grades 9-12
- College/University

Students read a variety of picture books that contain elements of the heroŐs journey and use an online interactive tool to analyze the stories.

What goes into each reading adventure pack?

Parent information sheet with an introductory note that you can personalize, instructions about how to use the packet, and tips for sharing fiction and nonfiction books with children.

Two books: one fiction and one nonfiction, selected by Reading Rockets for high quality and wide availability in school libraries

Creativity Activity: a hands-on craft project

Imagination Activity: encourages imaginative play, writing, or drawing

Get Real Activity: focuses on real-world experiences for parent and child

Bookmark: lists the featured titles and alternative titles

The Reading Rockets reading adventure packs contain the instructions, activities, and bookmarks for you to download and print, for free.

K-3 all subjects!

Students will examine the sculpture of the Greek hero Herakles (Hercules to the Romans) and discuss what it means to be a hero in ancient Greece and today. They will then choose a modern hero and create a sculpture that expresses the hero's identity and attributes.

Everyone knows that "Star Wars" character Darth Vader is a villain. This lesson asks students to explore how they know such things about heroes and villains they encounter in texts. After examining how moviemakers communicate the villainy of Darth Vader, students examine a passage from Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone that describes the villain Voldemort, noting how Rowling communicates details about the character. Students then read novels in small groups, with each group member tracking a character in a reading log. When they finish their novels, students design posters and present details on their novels to the class. After the presentations, students make observations on how authors develop character and write journal entries reflecting on what they learned.