My Final Project: LET'S CELEBRATE OUR SUPERHEROES: A module celebrating female superheroes and the girls and women we look up to, for Grades K-2

What's it all about?
For my final project, I have created a print and video lesson plan for educators and parents of young children on the topic of female superheroes and why she matters to everyone. The link to the video can be found here.

The frontispiece of my youtube video, References and a disclaimer can be found on the last slide of the piece

What's its aim?
The module dissects the values related to female superheroes, delving into concepts of empowerment, fantasy, cultural differences/diversity and any other relatable topics, and discuss how the female superhero is experienced via visual and tactile means (i.e. TV programs, comics, and marketing and merchandising aimed at young children). Per my proposal, I was able to execute the goals I wished to be represented on this video guide. 

My Timeline 
I was able to complete my project based on the 20-day play to research, create and execute the final video.

My Resources

I needed the lesson to be relatable and easily digested by the educator who has no time to spare. Included in my video are a list of references which may serve to be useful and informative guides for the adult educator to consume, prior to executing this module. 
The references are as follows: 

Siede, Caroline. “Female Heroes Are Even More Important for Boys than Girls.” Quartz, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2016,          qz.com/631070/female-   heroes-are-even-more-important-for-boys-than-girls/.

Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia. “The Top 30 Female Superheroes of All Time.” The Daily Dot, 31 May 2018,   https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/female-superheroes/

Porter, Rick. “The World Needs More Female Superheroes, BBC America Study Says.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Nov. 2018, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/world-needs-more-female-superheroes-bbc-study-says-1150075.

May, Cindi. “The Problem with Female Superheroes.” Scientific American, 23 June 2015, www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-female-superheroes/.

Lulic, Michelle. “Why Marvel's Newest Female Superhero Is Important.” Bustle, Bustle, 13 Nov. 2018, www.bustle.com/articles/154320-why-marvels-newest-female-superhero-is-an-extremely-important-addition-to-the-universe.

         

Kilbourne, Jean. “‘The More You Subtract, the More You Add’: Cutting Girls down to Size.” Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World., pp. 251–270., doi:10.1037/10658-014.

The Video Guide

Lessons Learned

This was a fun exercise that I actually got to practice at a local public school. The audience was a kindergarten class and it was highly enjoyable, as the kids were quite engaged. Instead of creating the capes to be work, we created capes for a puppet superhero, made out of felt sheets, and popsicle sticks. I had a limited amount of time and realize the ambitiousness of such an undertaking. However, if the educator follows the advice I included about reaching out to parents and volunteers for help in creating the materials for the craft activity, I believe it would have rolled out quite smoothly, and engaged both the students and the grown-ups.

I received two comments from the educator and the parents present.  First, they were quite surprised that I focused on the FEMALE superhero. It is not that common to only talk about that particular topic, and some little boys did express disinterest and reluctance at the beginning of the module. This goes to show that their reactions may also be based on their exposure (or lack thereof) towards a positive reception for the female superhero. Also, they did discover the negative aspects of the female villain within some of their discussions. I was quite surprised that kindergarteners picked up on that theme.

Overall, I believe this can be a useful guide, for as long as the educator's budget and time can accommodate the necessary expenses for the materials used. Given the suggested time frame of March as a viable time to execute the piece, I believe kids could greatly benefit from learning about the strengths and values of the women they are exposed to in the media. 

UPDATE:

Since posting this entry, I have had the 2 kindergarten teachers whom I know consider the inclusion of this activity in their lesson plan for March 2019 in celebration of Women's History month. The public school teacher hopes to include this in a "Fun Friday" activity (time-permitting), while another that works in a Montessori school does intend to deploy it "as-is" with the help of parent volunteers.

NOTE: Per the recommendation posted on the inclusion of the LGBTQ page, a serious consultation with school administrators is necessary should they wish to include this page or concept into the activity. I look forward to the day when such topics will no longer need this additional step.