Ideas for a Local Hero Project

• This is an opportunity to learn about special people in your community or area today or people who lived there in the past – your local heroes!
• When you are doing your research you may come across exciting stories of people’s great accomplishments or successes. Or you may decide at the beginning of your project that the purpose of your research is to look for these kinds of stories.
• They could be stories of survival, great hunts, politics, art, love, creation or perseverance through great difficulties.
• Collect the recordings or written stories of these heroes.
• You can work as individuals or divide into groups. Each group or individual chooses a story that interests them.
• Each group or individual works at writing the story of one local hero, based on the recorded or written interviews. You may have to add details that weren’t explicitly explained in the story, but rely on your research to make the details as realistic as possible.
• Proceed through the writing process using peer consultation and editing to refine the composition.
• The facilitator teaches mini-lessons on the writing process, syllabic keyboarding, grammar and any other topics as they come up.
• Type the stories on the computer and put them together in book form. Include photographs, illustrations or graphics if you want.
• People in the group can enjoy reading each other’s stories.
• These stories can be used as interesting reading material for future literacy groups and in schools.
• You could also make a video about a local hero. (See Videos in the Active Projects section.)
• Literacy group members could read the stories on the radio so other families can hear them too. (See Storytelling on the Radio in the Oral Projects section.)