Imaginative Power - Exploring Superheroes

Third Grade

by Carrie Markello

Objective:  After a discussion of comic book and cartoon characters, the students will be able to:

• Identify super human powers and their use found in comic and cartoon characters. 
• Identify use of visual elements such as line, shape, and color in the characters observed and discussed.
• Create a drawing of an original super character with at least two extra powers, one visually obvious power and one power that is less visually less obvious.

Focus:  Look at examples of comic book and cartoon characters and discuss the super hero’s characteristics in terms of extra powers and artist’s use of design elements. Create a list of super human powers.

Rationale:  It is important for students to gain understanding about the use of power through the exploration of heroic fantasy characters.

Instructional Input:  Students will discuss comic book and cartoon imagery including male and female super powers, such as: Power Puff Girls, Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman or any current popular imagery. Students will identify the obvious and less obvious powers associated with the characters.

Guided Practice: Students look at a variety of super hero characters in small groups. The students create a list of characters and their super powers. The group also selects one character that visually demonstrates a super power and one character that has a less obvious power to share with the class.

Independent Practice:  Students draw an original character demonstrating a visually obvious super human power and a less obvious power. The drawing should include clues for the viewer to identify the powers.

Closure:  Students volunteer to share their characters and their super powers with the class. The discussion will focus on the super powers that are obvious and less obvious. Students describe the visual elements used to create their character.

Evaluation: 

Student—Students create an original character that visually describes at least one super human power. Student can identify the art elements used to create the character

Lesson—90% of the students were able to complete the objectives

Materials Needed:  Markers and colored pencils, 9 x 12” paper

TEKS Correlations: 1a, 1b, 2b, 3b, 4a

Cross-curricular Ideas: 

Language Arts—students write a story about how their character obtained their power.

Social Studies/Language Arts—students read and/or listen to ancient myths with super-human characters.           

Math—students make a graph from a list of the super heroes and their super powers.

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