captain america | superlessons

This Summer In Review: A Comics Retrospective Presented By Your Students

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Kirt Ethridge

“I retire for what, like, five minutes, and it all goes to shit.” -Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Captain America: Civil War

Summer break is long and short at the same time: long enough for the kids to miss their friends and drive their parents/grandparents/babysitters/siblings nuts, short enough for it to feel, one week into school, as if they’d never left in the first place.

A lot happened in the superhero world in just a few short months. Captain America: Civil War, the comic event Civil War II, Batman: The Killing Joke, Suicide Squad, and of course San Diego Comic-Con. There have been Doctor Strange trailers and Punisher teasers, and both Tom Hiddleston and Mark Ruffalo posted great photos from the set of Ragnarok.

{Image is a photograph of Mark Ruffalo on the set of Thor: Ragnarok. He is wearing massive Hulk fists and punching towards the camera.}

What was your class’s favorite comic event of the summer? This week’s lesson plan is an essay that answers this question.

Students will engage in whole group instruction, discussion, peer tutoring, and a project.

Materials Needed:

Notebooks and black pens/pencils for first drafts
Red pens for revisions
Computers for student use with access to the Internet for research + with Microsoft Word for final drafts

Standards Met:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.D Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.

Ask the students what important comic-related events happened over the summer. This can include films, comic books, graphic novels, Comic Con panels, and etc. Discuss. This should take five to ten minutes.
Tell the students that they will be researching and writing a one-and-a-half to two-page essay about what they think was the most important comic event of the summer. Tell them again that this can include live action films (such as Civil War, Suicide Squad), animated films (such as the Batman: The Killing Joke adaption), comic books (such as Civil War II), graphic novels, Comic Con panels, and etc.
Have the students raise their hands and remind you of the steps of the writing process (planning/outline, the draft and revision cycle, peer editing, and the requirements of a final copy). This should take five minutes.
Have the students make a plan or outline of their essay on notebook paper. If they need ideas, they may look up comic book news articles on the computer.
For the rest of the class period, have students write their rough draft on notebook paper. Have them double-space so that they will have room for edits.
During the next class period, pair up the students and have them peer edit each other’s papers. Students may use the rest of that class period to work on a final draft of their paper.
A final typed and double-spaced draft of the essay will be due at the beginning of the third class period. Have students volunteer to present their papers to the class, either by summarizing their ideas or reading the essay in its entirety.

What was the most important comic event of your summer? What issues did your class discuss during the essay-writing process? As always, let me know what you thought about this lesson plan in the comments!

Surprise! I’m Still Here!

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Kirt Ethridge

“When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree by the river of truth, and tell the whole world “No, you move.” -Steve Rogers

It’s been a long few months filled with all kinds of pain and trauma. Yes, I am talking about Captain America: Civil War. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to SuperLessons. I apologize for being MIA. All Cap 3 jokes aside, I’ve had an incredibly busy semester that culminated in my graduation:

{Image is a photograph of two graduation caps. The one on the left is my graduation cap. It has Cap’s shield painted on it, encircled by the words “Write like you’re running out of time.” The cap on the right is my fiancee’s graduation cap. It has a teacher’s apple sticker on the top, followed by the words “Going with all the light you can manage try to grab them.”}

I saw Civil War:

{Image is a photograph of my friends and me at the midnight–well, 7 PM–opening night showing of Civil War. All faces but mine and my fiancee’s are blurred to protect privacy. I am holding Cap’s shield.}

And I’m currently spending my morning going on a Twitter rant about the twist at the end of the new Captain America comic (click for spoilers). The Steve Rogers rage is real.

Now what? Well, it’s summer, which means that I get my classroom back! This summer, I’m working with the “bigs” classroom, which this year includes fifteen 4th-8th graders. I’m looking forward to science projects, field trips to the library, and, of course, our annual Superhero Week.

This summer, this blog will be a repository for superhero-related summer activities. There’ll probably be a series of anecdotes about my kids as well.

Happy summer! (Unless you’re Steve Rogers. Sorry, Steve.)

Trailer Techniques

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Kirt Ethridge

Unless you’ve been shot into space, possessed by Loki, or frozen by Hydra in the past week, you’ve probably already seen the Captain America: Civil War trailer. If you’re me, you’ve seen it so many times that you have it memorized. (“He’s my friend.” “So was I.” Cue continuous pained sobbing.) Bucky remembers Steve stuffing his shoes with newspapers. Tony wants to punch Steve in his perfect teeth. Sam Wilson is worried that he’ll be caught in the crossfire, and STEVE ROGERS CAN HOLD DOWN AN ENTIRE HELICOPTER WITH THE FORCE OF HIS RAGE. Oh, yeah, and Steve and Bucky apparently find the time to practice throwing the shield back and forth like a Frisbee just so they can beat the holy hell out of Iron Man. Fun times all around.

If you’re me, you like watching trailers repetitively for a variety of reasons: spoiler-hunting, character analyzing, or something in between. Trailers are addicting–that’s why they’re such good marketing tools. If a trailer makes you stare at your computer screen while emitting high-pitched shrieks of glee, it’s doing its job.

How do trailers convince us to buy movie tickets half a year in advance? How much of the film’s plot do they reveal anyway? With this week’s lesson plan, your students will analyze trailers for plot, character, and theme, and then compare their analysis to the plot, character, and theme of the film itself. They will also discuss which marketing techniques work on them and which don’t.

Students will engage in visuals, lecture, whole group instruction, discussion, and a project.

Materials Needed:

Computer
Projector
Computers available for student use, with (monitored) access to YouTube

Standards Met:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

Tell the students that they will primarily be watching trailers today. Give them a moment to process this and then calm down. Remind them of the rules for watching films in class (be quiet, pay attention, etc.).
Play the Civil War trailer for the students. Once the trailer is finished, ask them what film techniques they noticed in the trailer. What colors did they notice? Was the trailer dark or light visually? What was the mood of the trailer? What does the film’s plot seem to be from the trailer? Did they notice any spoilers or easter eggs? This discussion should last five to ten minutes.
Tell the students that this trailer analysis is the basis for their large project. In class, they will watch two trailers of their choice, one for a film they have not seen and one for a film they are familiar with. These trailers do not have to be superhero-themed, but they may be, as this is a superhero-themed unit.* They will analyze both trailers as stand-alone pieces of work; they will write a short description of both discussing the visual and plot elements of the trailers. Their short description will conclude with a few sentences describing what they expect the plot arc of the film to be, based on the trailer. Then, for the trailer of the film they have seen, the students will write an additional paragraph discussing what actually occurs in the film. How is it different from the trailer? Is the mood different? Is the plot substantially different from what they see represented in the film? With all of these issues considered, do your students think that this trailer accurately represents the film?
1. The students will have time to type up this short analysis as homework.
When the students turn in their analyses, have them discuss what they found. Overall, did they find that trailers were true to the films, or did they seem to be false advertising? With what they have discovered in mind, do they think that the Civil War trailer accurately portrays what will occur in the film? What sort of important parts of the film do you think the trailers’ makers purposely left out?
Conclude class by watching another trailer. Or rewatch Civil War. Rewatching Civil War is always an option.

*Here are a bunch of links to superhero film trailers!

What did your students think of the Civil War trailer? What do you think? As always, if you use this lesson plan or any of the others in your classroom, let me know in the comments!

Thanksgiving

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Kirt Ethridge

I am thankful for this two-day week and five-day weekend. At this point in the semester, this is my face:
{Image is of me, a blonde-haired white person with wire-rimmed glasses. I am wearing a red sweater and headphones. I am holding a thick textbook over my head and glaring at the camera.}

But I am still here, alive, mostly healthy, and far more educated than I was at the beginning of the school year. I’ve learned so much from my professors and from my students. I’m getting better at debating and listening productively and respectfully. I’ve learned to blog and to put together a podcast. I’ve learned more about who I am as a person and how strongly I believe in what I believe in. I am incredibly grateful for my education, and I am wonderfully blessed to be able to help educate the kids I work with. They make all this end-of-semester exhaustion worth it.
I am thankful for Captain America and the people who write his comics. Steve Rogers is the standard of morality that I hold myself to. He doesn’t like bullies. He defends what’s right, not just what’s stereotypically “American.” He listens to people carefully, and he befriends people based on how good they are, not based on their culture, race, sexuality, or gender. When written well, he represents not necessarily the US as it is but the US as it should be–fair, just, righteous, and open.
{Image is a scan of a comic cell. Captain America is facing the reader with his right hand outstretched. He is saying: “Well, I say America is nothing! Without its ideals–its commitment to the freedom of all men, America is a piece of trash! A nation is nothing! A flag is a piece of cloth!!”}
I’m thankful for Iron Man, too, even when he’s a jerk. He makes me laugh when I feel like doing anything but laughing.
{Image is a scan of a comic cell. Iron Man is in the center of the cell with his back to the reader. He is saying, “My name is Tony Stark. And Captain America dances in his underwear to the Andrews Sisters.}
I am thankful for my fiancée. She’s the Bucky to my Steve–which, if you know anything about fandom, probably sounds tacky or cheesy or ridiculous. But it’s true. She encourages my writing, even when I’m moaning about how I feel stuck in a rut. She wrestles with me in the snow and reads me the lesson plans she writes for her third graders. She shares every single one of these lesson plans on her social media. She makes me feel safe and smart and listened to. Those aren’t words I historically would have applied to myself. But with her, they’re true.

{Image is a photograph of my fiancée and me from this Halloween. We are standing outside by some orange leaves. She is in costume as the Winter Soldier. I am in costume as Captain America. She is holding Captain America’s shield over our heads to protect us from the rain.}

And I’m thankful for you, person who is reading my blog. Thank you for reading my lesson plans. Thank you for engaging with comics on a meaningful level. Thank you for embracing your geekery and your students’ geekery. Thank you for sharing these plans on social media and for trying them out in the classroom.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Watch the Macy’s Parade and the dog show. Eat until somebody has to roll you out to your car. Curl up with the people you love, whether they’re family by blood or by choice, and let them know that you love them.

Enjoy the break! I’ll be back with your regularly scheduled lesson plans on Monday.

(No word on how coherent said lesson plans will be. The post-turkey coma is rough.)

Not the Winter Soldier: Cosplay, Trick-or-Treating, and Safety

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Kirt Ethridge

As evidenced by my Halloween post, I cosplay fairly frequently. I don’t hand-sew my costumes like some people do. To be honest, most of my cosplays are thrown together the night before the event I’m dressing up for—or the day of.

{Image is of me cosplaying as Tony Stark for the Iron Man 3 premiere. I am wearing a black Iron Man t-shirt from the boys’ section of Target and purple sunglasses I got for free somewhere. I have an arc reactor button pinned to my shirt. My hair is dyed brown, and I’ve painted a goatee on my face with mascara. All of this outfit was decided on just hours before the movie started.}

I enjoy dressing up. I’m willing to bet that most of your students do too, even the ones who don’t enjoy comics. High schoolers might be older kids, but they’re still kids. Ask who dressed up for Halloween, and I’m sure almost all of your students will raise their hands. Ask who went trick-or-treating, and some hands might go down, but you’ll still have some hulking teenage boys (and tiny teenage girls) with their hands half-raised.

The problem with big kids in costumes isn’t that they don’t deserve to have fun. But adults tend to view these huge costumed people shuffling to their door as a sham, or worse, as a threat. Not me, of course. I trick-or-treated through my freshman year of college, guys; I won’t turn anybody who wants candy way.

What happens when fully-grown adults wander the streets in costume? How about when they do so, and it’s not Halloween? This is the dilemma cosplayers are often faced with. Nobody wants to have to get dressed at the convention center, especially if they’re going to wear a handmade replica costume of, say, Iron Man. Con restrooms can be gross and awkward, and besides, some of the best photo ops happen when you’re in line for big events.

This leads to people wandering the streets as Captain Marvel or Harley Quinn. Not a big deal, right? Sure, cosplayers probably get funny looks (and unfortunately, cat-calls), but they aren’t generally perceived as dangerous.

Until they get ahold of replica weapons.

A man cosplaying as the Winter Soldier was arrested in Canary Wharf the other day because people mistook his replica gun for a real weapon. He was in town for a convention and, therefore, wandering in costume. As someone who spent a good amount of Halloween wrapping their fiancee’s arm in tinfoil, I can only imagine how much effort it would have taken him to apply and remove his extraordinarily realistic-looking metal arm. He probably wasn’t thinking about how he might appear to people who aren’t familiar with the erstwhile Bucky Barnes.

As some people have pointed out, cosplayers are supposed to leave the tips of their replica guns unpainted—usually they’re orange, if the gun is Air Soft. But even with a bright orange tip, from afar, guns look like a threat.

I sort of think the cosplayer’s bright silver metal arm should have been a hint that he was in costume. Not that people don’t have prosthetic arms, but usually they aren’t indestructible metal.

Still, I understand why someone called the police. Gun violence is no joke. It’s better to be prepared, to take action every time a gun might be present, than to let something slip.

Though this whole situation reminds me of an anecdote Viggo Mortensen tells in the behind-the-scenes clips from Lord of the Rings. He took his prop sword everywhere with him in order to practice his moves. One time, he was wandering the streets half-in costume, swinging his sword. A cop started tailing him. Somehow I think that a police officer working near the set of one of the biggest fantasy films of all time could have assumed that the sleep-deprived sword-wielder was an actor.

I can’t help but to think of the effect this must have had on the cosplayer, who didn’t have the good fortune to be a famous actor working on a film. I’ve been scouring tumblr to see if he has a blog so I can send him encouraging messages. He might have made a stupid mistake, but being arrested like that must have been traumatizing. In all of the photos of his arrest, he’s shielding his face.

{Image is of a police officer leading the cosplayer away. The cosplayer is handcuffed. He is shielding his face with his non-metal hand. Image (c) the Daily Mirror.}

Let’s say one of your larger boys, six foot tall—big guy, football player or basketball player—decides to be the Winter Soldier for Halloween. He goes all out for it—his best friends will be Cap, Falcon, and Black Widow, and they’re all designing their own costumes, so builds a metal arm and buys a replica vest. He even borrows Black Widow’s eyeliner to smear on his face as war paint.

As the final touch, he spray paints an Air Soft gun black.

Your big Winter Soldier goes trick-or-treating. Late at night: he’s fifteen or sixteen or seventeen, not a baby. He has his gun. He has his mask.

Somebody calls 9-1-1.

I have questions for your students and for you. What should the man on Canary Wharf have done differently? What are your thoughts/your students’ thoughts on older trick-or-treaters? On guns as part of costumes? On the culture of cosplay in general?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. Just more questions. Sometimes being a geek sucks.

Halloweek!

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Kirt Ethridge

The leaves outside school are mottled orange and brown. I keep slipping on them as I walk to class. The third graders are writing letters to the Great Pumpkin, and on Saturday, I’ll wrap my fiancee’s arm in tin foil. It’s that time of year again. It’s Halloweek.

In the time-honored tradition of ignoring schoolwork and feeding children enough sugar to make Steve Rogers a diabetic, I’m forgoing the typical lesson plan this week. Instead, I’m bringing you an offering of pictures from my life. I hereby present to you: Me As Various Superheroes, Halloween Edition.

Halloween 2012: Bruce Banner/The Hulk. I was low on time and funds, so I threw on some ripped-up old jeans and a green t-shirt, layered one of my dad’s plaid shirts over it, and put on my Hulk mask and fists. I brought along my Physics textbook for good measure. Also pictured is my friend Norah, a.k.a. Iron Girl.

Not pictured is Halloween 2013. I was in England at the time, and Thor 2 had just come out. I saw it in theatres in costume as Thor. I sewed a red cape out of an old skirt and made Mjolnir with a shoebox that I spray-painted silver. I used the empty spray paint can as the handle and taped it all together. I’ll upload the photo if and when I find it. I wish I had tried to smuggled Mjolnir back through customs. The duct-taped one I have at home can’t compete.

Not Halloween, but still a favorite. This is me as Tony Stark at the Iron Man 3 premiere in May 2013. I have an arc reactor button pinned to my Iron Man t-shirt. I sprayed my hair brown with colored hair spray, slicked my hair back, and drew on a goatee with mascara. I added the sunglasses for good measure.

Halloween 2014: Iron Princess, feat. my fiancee as Tinkerbell. I had seen a post about Tiny Princess Captain America and couldn’t resist adapting the costume for myself. Someone at our friend’s Halloween party asked why we hadn’t had a couple’s costume, or at least matching costumes, and so this year….

Halloween 2015: Captain America (me) and the Winter Soldier (my fiancee). I got so much joy out of wrapping her arm in tinfoil. It was also pretty hilarious to see her be chased around the yard by a horde of tiny Jedi and Sith.

I’m thinking of being the Punisher next year.

Do you have a favorite superhero costume? What are your classroom’s Halloween plans? Tell me all about it (with pictures, if you can find a way) in the comments.

I hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween, and I’ll talk to you again in November.

Captain America and Propaganda: A Four-Day Unit

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Kirt Ethridge

“Captain America is among the truest of superheroes. He was born out of something very real and immediate. We were on the cusp of entering World War II and he stood as an answer to the fears of many American children.” –John Cassaday

All superheroes have been criticized for being one-dimensional, but Captain America gets the worst rap. His single-minded obsession with justice seems like an obvious choice for a guy prancing around draped in an American flag. In his most recent incarnations, Steve Rogers has felt more well-rounded: When he is asked in the film Captain America: The First Avenger if he wants to kill Nazis, he says, “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.”

(This is, for the record, my favorite superhero quote. I have it, along with Cap’s shield, tattooed on my shoulder.)

But Captain America began as nationalistic propaganda. Obviously he started out as a specifically anti-Nazi character. In more recent years, he’s been pro-American in different ways. The most blatant use of Cap as propaganda within the past fifteen years came just after 9/11.

{Image is a scan of a comic book cover. Captain America’s shield takes up most of the page. Faces of various men and women are in the background. Gold script at the top of the page reads, “Captain America.” Gold print at the bottom of the page reads, “Honor Them.”

Today’s lesson plan is a four-day unit about Captain America and propaganda in the 1940s and early 2000s. The unit’s plan assumes that your classroom runs on block scheduling with 90-minute classes. If you have shorter class periods, you can definitely amend the unit to match your time constraints.

Captain America: The First Avenger (film), dir. Joe Johnston, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Captain America: Honor Them (#5), John Ney Rieber (writer) and John Cassaday (artist)

Students will engage in lecture, whole group instruction, discussion, and a project.

Materials Needed:

Copies of Captain America: Honor Them
DVD copy of Captain America: The First Avenger
DVD player and projector
Poster board
Computers for research
Markers, glue, and other art supplies

Standards Met:

“CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.”
“CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.”

DAY ONE

Have the students define propaganda. This should take less than five minutes.
Show the students propaganda from World War II. Compare this to Captain America propaganda of the same time period. Have the students point out similarities and differences. This should take ten to fifteen minutes.

{Image is of an old Captain America comic. It shows Captain America punching Hitler in the face.}

{Image is a World War II propaganda poster. A Nazi soldier is in the foreground with a bayonet pointed at his neck. He is holding his hands up in surrender. A German WWI soldier is in the background, mirroring this position. The text reads, “We beat ’em before..we’ll beat ’em again!”

{Image is a World War II propaganda poster. A dead soldier lies across a barbed wire fence. The text reads, “You talk of sacrifice…he knew the meaning of sacrifice!”}

{Image is of Rosie the Riveter in her traditional “We Can Do It!” pose.}

Begin watching Captain America: The First Avenger. Have the students keep an eye out for any propaganda in the film. For example, how does Steve Rogers react to propaganda? How is he used as propaganda?

DAY TWO

Continue watching Captain America: The First Avenger. (The film is 124 minutes long.)

DAY THREE

Have the students recap Captain America: The First Avenger. What propaganda did they notice? How was that propaganda similar to what they saw of the original comics/the other 1940s propaganda? What did the students think of the film overall? This discussion should take 5-10 minutes.
Remind the students of the events surrounding 9/11. Discuss America’s mood directly after 9/11. What do the students already know? What gaps need to be filled? This discussion should take 5-10 minutes.
Show the students this image of Cap from the Ultimate Comics directly after 9/11, when some Americans were angry with the French for not supporting the War on Terror:

{Image is a scan of a comic. It is a close-up of Captain America’s face. He is pointing at the A on his cowl and yelling, “You think this letter on my head stands for France?”}

Divide the students into groups and give each group a copy of the comic to read. I advise this just because single issues of comics, especially older comics, can be so expensive. Captain America: Honor Them is available on Amazon for $2.97.
Pass out poster boards to each student. Have the students design posters explaining Captain America’s role as propaganda. They can refer to the notes they took on The First Avenger as well as any notes they took on Honor Them. How is Steve affected by propaganda? How is he used as propaganda? How does the effectiveness of this propaganda change over time—is it effective now? Would it have been effective when it was first published? This project may be completed outside of class.

DAY FOUR

Hang up the posters around the classroom. Give the students about ten minutes (can be more or less depending on how the class is acting) to study their classmates’ posters.
Have the students discuss elements of each other’s posters. What seems to be the overall consensus about Captain America and propaganda? What do the students like about Captain America? Do they prefer him as propaganda? What do they think makes comics fun?

As usual, if you use this lesson plan or any of the other lesson plans from this blog, tell me about it in the comments!

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