Untold History: Hidden Figures - Lesser-Known Heroes

Write the word "hero." Ask students to define hero.

Ask students to name heroes in various areas: cartoon, comic book, and movie superheroes, political/government, historical/national, civil rights, religious, athletic, etc. List students' contributions.

Ask volunteers to talk about one of the heroes on the list. What is that person known for? Ask students if heroes need to be famous or well-known.

Tell students that some heroes are personal heroes. Ask if anyone knows of a personal hero. As desired, talk about your own personal hero.

Other heroes can be "hidden figures," or lesser-known. You may choose to name a few.

As students if they can think of one word or phrase to say to what all heroes have in common.

Ask students to name famous athletes and to say whether or not they can be considered heroes. If so, ask students to explain why.

Tell students that they are going to learn about a lesser-known hero, an American athlete who competed and won in the Olympics. Ask if they know any Olympians. Tell students that this athlete was voted in a poll of sports fans as the Greatest Athlete. Who could it be? Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Wayne Gretzky, Jack Nicklaus, and Michael Jordan were among the vote-getters.

Tell students that the winner was a native American. Can they name any well-known native American athletes? If not, this is why this athlete is known as a "lesser-known hero."

1. Listen: video.

Distribute the video questions about Jim Thorpe. You may also choose students to watch individually on their own for homework or create a listening exercise using a tool such as EdPuzzle or Quizziz interactive video.

The video is captioned and is available on the Untold History website at https://untoldhistory.org/jim-thorpe/ and on YouTube at https://youtu.be/UtcJSn4yevc. Have students watch the video, answer the questions, and compare with classmates before checking as a whole group. 

These are the questions and the answers?

1. When did sports writers vote for the greatest American athlete of the century?

a) 1950

b) 1912

c) 1953

d) 1919

2. What was Jim Thorpe's native name?

a) Bright Path

b) Jim Thorpe

c) Watho Huck

d) Fork

3. Where was Jim Thorpe born?

a) Oklahoma

b) New York

c) California

d) Florida

4. What was Jim Thorpe's achievement in the Stockholm Olympics?

a) He won gold in pentathlon only

b) He won gold in decathlon only

c) He won gold in both pentathlon and decathlon

d) He didn't win any medal

5. What was the toughest individual sport that Jim Thorpe competed in?

a) Football

b) Basketball

c) Pentathlon

d) Baseball

6. What was Jim Thorpe's achievement in pro football?

a) He won the championship with a stunning 95-yard punt

b) He played for the New York Giants

c) He played for the World Famous Indians

d) He didn't play pro football

7. Why was Jim Thorpe stripped of his medals after the Olympics?

a) He broke the competition's strict amateur rules

b) He used performance-enhancing drugs

c) He didn't show up for the medal ceremony

d) He was caught cheating during the competition

8. Why did it take almost a century for Jim Thorpe to feature on a Wheaties box?

a) He was not a popular athlete

b) He didn't want to be featured on a Wheaties box

c) He was stripped of his medals

d) America wasn't ready to accept a Native American as an all-time great

9. What was the reason for Hollywood casting a white actor in the lead role in the movie about Jim Thorpe's life?

a) There were no Native American actors available

b) It was a deliberate decision to exclude Native Americans

c) The white actor was more talented than any Native American actor

d) The movie was not about Jim Thorpe's life

10. When did Jim Thorpe die?

a) 1953

b) 1912

c) 1950

d) 1919

Correct answers:

1. a

2. c

3. a

4. c

5. c

6. a

7. a

8. d

9. b

10. a

Note: These questions were generated by Twee.

After checking the answers, ask students to say or write a sentence in their own words why Jim Thorpe was a hero, and in particular, a hidden figure or lesser-known hero.

2. Conversation.

Tell students that they are going to discuss in small group their thoughts about heros. Distribute the hero conversation questions for students to ask and answer in pairs or small groups. Debrief after the conversation.

3. Brainstorm.

Have student do an associative brainstorm of words and phrases related to heroes.

Option 1: Use Jamboard. Make a copy of this Hero Mind Map Jamboard. Demonstrate how to post with a sticky note or a text box. If your class is small, students can post on the first first. If you have a larger class, assign groups to post to different frames. You can move to new frames at the top with the right arrow. There are a total of 10 frames. Select the three dots to delete or duplicate the frame.

Option 2: Have students individually, in pairs or small groups create a single account at Bubbl.us. After registering and logging in, select create and choose the "Circle Layout" mindmap. Demonstrate how to type "Hero" in the middle and enter words in each of the outside circles. Students can share their mindmaps with you with the share icon in the top right. 

Have students present their mindmaps, as time permits, or print or post them for all to see. Ask students to look for simiilarities and unique ideas.

4. Distribute the hero prompt and explain. Students may choose a famous hero, a lesser-known hero, or a personal hero.

Students may use the Untold Stories Hidden Figures videos, CNN Heroes, or other sources.

Provide a sample presentation to help students understand expectations. If you plan so use a rubric to evaluate the presentation, provide it and explain. Ask students to complete the project in stages. Begin with a due date for their topics. Then ask them to tell what technology tool they will use. You may provide a note-taking form or ask them to submit parts of the assignment in stages, giving feedback on the content.

Students present their hero presentations. Provide summative feedback with a checklist, rubric, self-assessment tool, or peer feedback form.

Students will be able to synthesize information in order to plan and deliver oral presentations on researched topics, integrating graphics or multimedia when useful.