Create your own Superhero! – A computer room lesson using PPT for teenagers and younger learners.

Thanks to mhealthwatch.com for the image

I’ve been teaching functional skills IT this year to my pre-intermediate teenage ESOL learners and the materials we have to use with them are fightningly dull. Here’s a lesson I knocked up for them on designing your own superhero using PowerPoint and the superb super hero generator   http://www.ugo.com/games/superhero-generator-heromachine-2-5 . The worksheet asks them to design a PowerPoint show around a superhero that they create or research,and broadly speaking, covers their IT requirements as well. Getting students to work in pairs and to present their show to the rest of the class adds a bit more fun and well-meaning speaking practise.

Here the worksheet: Make your own Superhero http://chrisspeck.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/make-your-own-superhero.docx

How to run the lesson.
For this pre-intermediate – intermediate lesson you will need.
- Computers that can connect to the internet with PowerPoint installed, preferably one between two students.
- Some way to show the student PowerPoint presentations to the class, such as a projector or and IAWB.

1. Write the name of a superhero you like on the board, like Spiderman or Superman. Ask students to tell you about him. Ask ‘What can he do?’ Generate discussion on what powers the person has, where they live, who they fight and so on. You might also like to show students something from youtube.com

2. Now explain that students are going to make a PowerPoint presentation about a superhero they create, they are then going to show this to the rest of the class and answer any questions asked.

3. Pass students a copy of the worksheet and ask them to read through before they start. Make sure students understand what you want them to do before they start.

4. Now ask students to work in pairs to create a superhero. Set a time limit of 20 minutes and make this the deadline for students to email you the presentation. Monitor students constantly to make sure they are on task and to discuss any superhero problems they might have.
***Some students might not have the creative spirit to do this, in this case you can ask them to make the same presentation about an existing Superhero from this list: Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Wolverine, Iron Man or any other superhero they like!***

5. After the time is up or everyone has finished, ask each pair to come to the front of the class and explain/show their presentations to everyone. If time, encourage questions and ask a few yourself.

*This lesson will only work if students are familiar with the concept of a superhero as a western ‘hero’. Many cultures across the world do enjoy American films and students who are familiar with the genre will find this task easy to understand. Students not familiar with the genre will be confused and this won’t be a good task for them.

*If you think that creating a super hero will be too much of a difficult task them you could ask students to research an existing superhero that they already know.

Here’s the worksheet again http://chrisspeck.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/make-your-own-superhero.docx