Heroes Among Us Family Activities for Preschool and Elementary School
The summer season is a wonderful time for many families to catch a great family-oriented movie, share popcorn together, and bond over some quality time. Watch a new release at a movie theatre, or view an all-time favorite in the comfort of your own home. Go have some fun!
Current Family-Friendly Movie:
Incredibles 2, rated PG
Other Current Movies
(may be better suited for older elementary students):
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
All-time Family Movie Favorites, all rated PG:
The LEGO movie
Ferdinand
The Sandlot
Despicable Me
Kung-Fu Panda
Materials
- Movies on the “hero” theme.
- Stories or books on the “hero” theme.
- Public service officer vehicles (ambulance, police car, fire truck, etc.)
- Play house or doll house
- Stuffed animals or other plush toys
- Small figurines (Calico Corner figures, Lego characters, etc.)
Activities
- For families with young pre-school aged children, read a story on the theme “Heroes Among Us” and use toys (vehicles, doll houses, stuffed animals, figurines, etc.) to role-play a “hero” story.
- Who is the hero?
- Who needs help?
- Where does the action take place?
- What is the problem?
- Is the hero willing or reluctant to help? Why?
- What can the hero do to help?
- What obstacles are in the way?
- How does the problem get resolved?
- For families with older children, read a story on the theme “Heroes Among Us,” and watch a movie with the “Hero” theme. Here are some follow-up activities you can do together:
- Families can compare the hero in the book with the hero in the movie. Host a friendly debate during dinner and choose the better hero.
- Which hero had the greater impact?
- How do you measure that impact?
- Does your hero have a character flaw or physical disability?
- Which hero had to overcome more difficult, external challenges?
- Which hero had to conquer more difficult, internal challenges?
- Families can compare the hero in the book with the hero in the movie. Host a friendly debate during dinner and choose the better hero.
3. Families can research and find another book or movie about a hero to recommend to others.
4. Family members can each recognize and thank a “Local hero.” Acknowledge someone in the family for their attributes or someone in the community for their contributions to the community.
5. Families can write a thank you card, present home-grown flowers, or bring homemade cookies for their favorite family member or local hero.
Common Core Standards
Listed below are relevant California Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy that support elementary school learners:
- Kindergarten – With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
- Grade 1 – Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
- Grade 2 – Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
- Grade 3 – Describe characters in a story (e.g. their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
- Grade 4 – Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
- Grade 5 – Compare and contrast stories in the same genre on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
Discovering the joy of teaching while in high school, Jaime pursued her B.A. in English at Santa Clara University. She also received a teaching credential and a M.A. in Education Administration from Santa Clara University. Jaime taught English Language Arts at Rancho Middle School, motivating and inspiring young people to become effective communicators and contributors in their community. From being a Middle School English Language Arts/English Language Development teacher to becoming a stay-at home mom, Jaime is an education consultant who presents literacy workshops. Her workshops focus on a combination of her ten years of teaching expertise with tried-and-true experiences that she uses with her own children. Jaime is also a Teacher Consultant with the San Jose Area Writing Project. Jaime’s mission is to share effective reading and writing strategies with families to encourage literacy.