Introduction:

A group of friends have just finished seeing Shrek the movie and as they walk out of the theater they hear someone say, "Shrek is my new hero!" Giving each other puzzled looks the group begins to discuss the possibility that Shrek is a hero. Unfortunately the group just can't come to an agreement on the topic mostly because they are confused about this idea of 'hero.'

The object this WebQuest is to help this group come to a consensus by learning about what a hero is, determining some heroic traits, comparing these traits to what is known about Shrek and creating a multimedia presentation on the answer to the question....

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Task:

In groups of 4 students who take turns with the writing and typing chores, you are to:

1. Create a working definition of 'hero.'

2. Make a list of 'heroic' type character traits that can be used to help refine the working definition. This list will be represented in a table that includes the hero in question, what they did and at least 3 or 4 traits or words that describe the person.

3. Read (or re-read) William Steig's The Shrek to refresh your memory about the Shrek himself.

4. Combining what you know about the Shrek and the concept of 'hero' create a PowerPoint presentation that you could present to the group from the theater to help them decide whether Shrek is a hero or not. The presentation should include the original definition that the group coined, the table (or information from it) and your final assessment of the data that you gathered.

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Process:

Step 1: Formulate a definition for 'hero' by checking out the definition used on one of the following sites:

Heroism in Action -- AskJeeves for Kids (ask 'what is hero?' and check out the encyclopedia link) -- Searchopolis (make sure that you click on 'elementary' before searching and then use the Encarta option)

(hint: think about what the different sites have in common). You may also consult some of the print or CD-ROM resources available in the room (encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus). Make sure that the definition that the group forms is written down.

Step 2: Print out and fill in the table with at least 3 'heroes,' what they did and their heroic type character traits. Use the following sites to help you find information on heroes.

TABLE (click to go to table)

GreatKids Network -- Heroism in Action -- Heroism in Action -- People Past and Present -- Hercules: Greece's Greatest Hero -- Images of Greatness: The Lives of 12 Enduringly Famous Indivuals -- Time for Kids -- or to these individual biographies: Abraham Lincoln -- Ethan Allen History -- Amelia Earhart -- Bessie Coleman -- Betty Friedan -- Booker T. Washington -- Buckminster Fuller -- Cesar Chavez -- Dalai Lama -- Dorothy Day --Eleanor Roosevelt --Elie Wiesel -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton -- Helen Keller -- Jackie Robinson -- John F. Kennedy -- Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Mother Teresa -- Rosa Parks -- Susan B. Anthony

Step 3: Read (or re-read) The Shrek by William Steig. If you want a little more help go to one of the following websites:

Kidsreads.com (Steig) -- Kidsreads.com (Shrek) -- William Steig, Children's Author

Step 4: Discuss the book and the character Shrek. You might notice that the book is different from the movie. It's ok to discuss both but pick one or the other to use for the rest of the Quest. Make sure that you include which one you are using in your final presentation.

Step 5: Look at the definition from Step 1 and the table from Step 2. Fill in the table with the same type of information for the Shrek.

Step 6: Based on this information and what is known about the character Shrek answer the question: Is Shrek a hero? Write down the reasons for your answer.

Step 7: Using PowerPoint create a presentation that includes everything that has been found out about heroes: the definition, stuff from the table and the reasons that were given for the final answer to the question in Step 4. You must also turn in all written notes, the definition and the completed table.

Step 8: Present to the class.

Extra Credit: If your group is extra speedy, pick another one of William Steig's characters (go back to the sites mentioned in step 3 to choose) and repeat Steps 2 and 3. Include this information in your presentation too.

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Resources:

GreatKids Network - A site that profiles kids and their accomplishments (go to the 'Stars' option of the menu).

Heroism in Action - A Thinkquest unit designed to study the concept of heroism and various heroes ('Heroism' link leads to biographies on various heroes).

Important Women - Activity oriented site designed to teach lower elementary students about the lives of women who had an effect on society. (See resources for a list of biographies).

People Past and Present - ALA's site that specifically highlights the lives of a number of important people.

Hercules: Greece's Greatest Hero - This site provides a biography of Hercules, also called Herakles.

Abraham Lincoln (and others) - Short biographies of Abraham Lincoln and other notables written for kids by kids. Bottom of the biography page includes a link to "Wall of Inspiration" which lists all persons cited.

Images of Greatness: The Lives of 12 Enduringly Famous Indivuals - Twelve biographies of famous people.

Time for Kids - As the title states, this is the Time magzine version for children.

Kidsreads.com (Steig) - A special section of the Kidsreads.com webpage that is devoted to William Steig.

Kidsreads.com (Shrek) - A special section of the Kidsreads.com webpage that highlights Steig's book The Shrek.

William Steig, Children's Author - A comprehensive site about the author and his works.

Copies of The Shrek by William Steig (at least enough for 2 per group).

Print or CD-ROM reference materials such as encyclopedias, dictionaries and a thesaurus.

Other books by William Steig (see the William Steig, Children's Book Author website for a complete list).

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Evaluation:

You have completed the Quest. In a few sentences, tell what you liked best about this unit, what you liked least about it, and what would make it better for the next people who work through this WebQuest.

Click Product Rubric to rate your WebQuest and Process Rubric to rate your group. (The teacher will be filling them out too.)

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Conclusion:

The all-important question: "Is Shrek a Hero?" has been answered. There is no correct answer. What matters is that during the course of your research you found out about several different heroic people and used many different kinds of tools. These tools helped you find the information that you needed and organize the data so that it could be shared with the class. You also used that information to help you understand something else. Congratulations on a job well done!

If you want to know more about heroic people check out some of the links in the Process or Resource sections that you didn't look into before.

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Teacher Notes:

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