Lesson: Heroes vs. Celebrities – Hall of Pride field experience
Objectives: After completing these activities, students will be able to:
 Match five vocabulary terms (celebrity, volunteer, hero, leader, philanthropy) to a correct definition
 Differentiate between “hero” and “celebrity”
 Actively participate in a cultural field experience
 Illustrate their knowledge of Iowa heroes and demonstrate the findings of their research by creating a visual display
(i.e. Iowa Hero poster)
Curriculum Connections (examples)
Reading Standards: (The following are DesMoinesPublicSchool elementary standards)
 Reading – comprehension – cognitive strategies – “draw conclusions from text and support with evidence”
o Completed during research of Iowan
 Reading – comprehension – cognitive strategies – “paraphrase information from text”
o Completed during research
 Reading – comprehension – informational text
o Completed in various areas of this lesson
Pre-field trip activities:
 Introduce the terms – HERO and CELEBRITY
o Have students list heroes and characteristics on one t-chart
o Then list celebrities and characteristics on another t-chart
o Contrast the two words
o Define the two words

Introduce five new vocabulary terms
o Hero – Any person admired for great courage, qualities, or achievements
o Celebrity – A highly visible person, known for some form of talent
o Leader – person who shows the way or directs others; guide
o Volunteer – person who does a job without being paid
o Philanthropy – Good will or love toward others
o

(Can follow with a vocab quiz)
Introduce Iowa Hall of Pride field trip by completing KQL chart
o After students have filled in the K and Q sections – teachers should tell them it is a place that pays tribute to
Iowa Heroes from all walks of life
 Can further discuss various Iowans that the students consider heroes and why
o Followed by explaining the “Iowa Hero” poster project
 Hand out rubrics and show example of poster
 Each student then chooses an Iowa Hero from the list provided
 Give them time to do some preliminary research



May want to walk them through a Google and Wikipedia search
Talk about “good” vs “bad” websites, searching for images, and avoiding the distracting links on
websites
Research can also be done at the IHOP (see attached sheet)
During trip activities:
 Students will participate in a scavenger hunt to get a general sense of the Hall of Pride

Students will also need to do any research required by their teacher – using any note-taking technique (see PMI chart below)
Post-field trip activities:
 Students will use knowledge gained from internet research and IHOP research to create an “Iowa Hero” poster and
share it with their classmates
o Teachers may use the provided rubric to grade posters
Example T-chart:
Name of Hero
Ex: “My Dad”
Characteristics or Description
Ex:
“He had a hard life growing up. He had very
little money and little support from his parents.
Now he works very hard and owns a very
successful business and is the best dad ever!”
Name of Celebrity
Ex: Hannah Montana (Miley Cirus)
Characteristics or Description
Great singer, performer, and songwriter. Has a TV show
on the Disney Channel.
Vocabulary terms:
o Hero – Any person admired for great courage, qualities, or achievements
o Celebrity – A highly visible person, known for some form of talent
o Leader – person who shows the way or directs others; guide
o Volunteer – person who does a job without being paid
o Philanthropy – Good will or love toward others
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Examples of Vocabulary Quizzes:
Directions: Match the words on the left with the correct definition on the right.
1. _____ HERO
A. Person who does a job without being paid
2. _____ VOLUNTEER
B. Good will or love towards others
3. _____ LEADER
C. A highly visible person, known for some form of talent
4. _____ PHILANTHROPY
D. Any person admired for great courage or achievements
5. _____ CELEBRITY
E. Person who shows the way or directs others; guide
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Directions: Using the word bank below, fill in the blanks with the correct word.
VOLUNTEER
HERO
LEADER
CELEBRITY
PHILANTHROPY
One day Steven decided that when he grew up, he wanted to be someone’s _______________.
He thought long and hard about what he needed to do to become an admired person. After lots of
thought, he decided he’d start by going to the Homeless Shelter and asking to become a
_____________ . He already had a full-time job, so he didn’t want to be paid for the time he spent at
there. Steven really enjoyed working with the homeless people in his community. After several
months of helping out at the Homeless Shelter, the other people Steven worked with decided he should
be the _________________ of their group. He will set such a good example for them. The others he
worked with said, he may not be a rich and famous _____________________, but he should definitely
be remembered for all the ____________________ he had done.
Name(s) ___________________________________
K
Q
L
“What do I KNOW about the Iowa Hall of Pride?”
“What QUESTIONS do I have?”
“What did I LEARN?”
Hall of Heroes
(These Iowans are featured on our two reading walls in the Hall of Heroes. Learn about them through videos, real
interviews, and text.)
James Van Allen – Scientist, Pioneer of space exploration
John Atanasoff – Scientist, Invented first digital computer
Norman Borlaug – Scientist, Has helped to feed the world
George Washington Carver – Scientist, Showed usefulness of peanuts and sweet potatoes
Carrie Chapman Catt – Activist, Women’s right to vote
Jay “Ding” Darling – Artist/Conservationist, Pulitzer Prize cartoonist – know for both his political and conservation cartoons
Mamie Eisenhower – First Lady, Wife of President Eisenhower
Simon Estes – Musician, International opera star
George Gallup – Business Leader, Popularized the opinion poll
Herbert Hoover – Politician, President of the US 1929-33
Harold Hughes – Politician, Governor of Iowa 1962-68
Natasha Kaiser-Brown – Athlete, World-class and Olympic track athlete
Karl King – Musician, Composer of marches/band leader
Nile Kinnick – Athlete, 1939 Heisman Trophy winner
Don Lamberti – Business Leader, Founder of Casey’s General Stores
Mauricio Lasansky – Artist, Printmaking artist/teacher
Luigi Liguitti – Activist, Rural family life issues
Glenn Miller – Musician, Popular bandleader of 1940s
Marvin Pomerantz – Business Leader and Humanitarian, Founder of The Mid-America Group
Robert D. Ray – Politician, Governor of Iowa 1969-83
Donna Reed – Actress, Academy Award winning actress (The Donna Reed Show 1940-50s)
John Ruan – Business Leader, Financial and civic leader in Des Moines
Dr. Frank Spedding – Scientist, World War II Atomic Project director
Henry Wallace – Politician, Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt
John Wayne – Actor, Western film screen actor
Peggy Whitson – Scientist, NASA Astronaut and biochemistry researcher
Andy Williams – Musician, Singer/Entertainer/television star
Roger Williams – Musician, Greatest selling piano artist
Meredith Willson – Musician, Known as Iowa’s own “Music Man”
Grant Wood – Artist, Famous painter from the 1930s
Other Iowa Heroes
(These Iowans can be found all throughout the Hall of Pride. Some have real interviews while others have text information.)
Shawn Johnson – Athlete, World-class and Olympic gymnast (exhibit located in Hall of Heroes)
LoLo Jones – Athlete, World-class and Olympic track athlete (located in Track exhibit)
Brandon Routh – Actor, American actor “Superman Returns” (located in Theater exhibit)
Dan Gable – Athlete, Olympic wrestler (located in Wrestling exhibit)
Wyatt Earp – Best known for his participation in the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” (found in the Pella school site)
Nate Kaeding – Athlete, Played football for the U of I – now plays in the NFL and is a spokesman for Character Counts (located in
Football exhibit)
Casey Blake – Athlete, Plays professional baseball (located in Baseball exhibit)
Charlie Wittmack – First Iowan to climb Mt. Everst, in Summer of 08 he’s attempting to also swim the English Channel (located
in Hall of Heroes
Example Rubric
(Adjust points and categories to meet your needs)
“IOWA Hero” Poster Rubric
Name of hero
Picture/Graphic
Hometown (or connection to Iowa)
Birth date
Famous for
4-5 sent. about life
Closing thought
Quoted Sources
2
2
2
2
3
4
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
(must have at least two)
Total ________
20
“IOWA Hero” Poster Rubric
Name of hero
Picture/Graphic
Hometown (or connection to Iowa)
Birth date
Famous for
4-5 sent. about life
Closing thought
Quoted Sources
2
2
2
2
3
4
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
(must have at least two)
Total ________
20
“IOWA Hero” Poster Rubric
Name of hero
Picture/Graphic
Hometown (or connection to Iowa)
Birth date
Famous for
4-5 sent. about life
Closing thought
Quoted Sources
2
2
2
2
3
4
2
3
(must have at least two)
Total ________
20
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
Name(s) ____________________________
Directions: Use this sheet to find Positives, Negatives, and Unique Facts about your Famous Iowan.
P - Plus
M - Minus
I - Interesting
Positive things, accomplishments, etc.
Negatives
Unique facts
Example Hero Poster
Governor Robert D. Ray
Born September 26, 1928 (currently 80 years old) in Des Moines, Iowa.
Graduated from Des Moines Roosevelt High School.
Robert D. Ray is best known for the 14 years (1969-1983) he served as Iowa’s
Governor.
He got his start in politics in 8th grade when he was elected president of his middle
school student council. That created an interest that never left him. While in office,
he was also a strong supporter of starting the 5 cent deposit on aluminum cans. In
the year 2000, Governor Ray was named the Most Influential Iowan. He is
remembered most for his honesty, sincerity, and integrity. Robert Ray is now the
Chairman of Character Counts in Iowa!
“At one time it was estimated that 98% of all Iowans recognized the name of
“Robert D. Ray.”
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_D._Ray
http://www.kuniradio.org/StatehouseConnectionRDRbio.htm
http://www.nndb.com/people/162/000120799/
Iowa Heroes Web Resources
Also available online at www.iowahallofpride.com/justforteachers.html
For general searches:
(Shawn Johnson)
http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=619/bio/
http://www.google.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
For more specific searches:
(Most of these are only starting points. You will need to
navigate further within each site to find detailed information.)
(James Van Allen)
http://www.astronautix.com/astros/vanallen.htm
(John Atanasoff)
http://www.johnatanasoff.com/
http://www.cs.iastate.edu/jva/jva-archive.sthml
(Norman Borlaug)
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1970/borlau
g-bio.html
(LoLo Jones)
http://www.runlolorun.com/
(Natasha Kaiser-Brown)
http://www.iptv.org/lii/feature.cfm?showNum=1131&featNu
m=94
(Karl King)
http://karlking.us/
(Nile Kinnick)
http://espn.go.com/classic/000802nilekinnick.html
(Mauricio Lasansky)
http://www.lasanskyart.com/
(Glenn Miller)
http://www.glennmiller.org/history.htm
http://www.normanborlaug.org
(George Washington Carver)
http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/gwc/home.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa041897.htm
(Carrie Chapman Catt)
http://www.catt.org/
(Jay “Ding” Darling)
http://www.fws.gov/refuges/history/bio/darling_fs.html
http://www.dingdarling.org/
(Wyatt Earp)
http://www.wyattearp.net/
(Mamie Eisenhower)
http://www.dwightdeisenhower.com/biomde.html
(Simon Estes)
http://www.answers.com/topic/simon-estes
(Dan Gable)
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/dan-gable/
(George Gallup)
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Fi-Gi/Gallup-George.html
(Herbert Hoover)
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/herberthoover/p/phoover.
htm
(Harold Hughes)
http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddc
beeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=6b19224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a0
1010aRCRD
(Marvin Pomerantz)
http://www.marvinpomerantz.com/
(Robert D. Ray)
http://www.kuniradio.org/StatehouseConnectionRDRbio.htm
(Donna Reed)
http://www.donnareed.org/
(Brandon Routh)
http://www.brandonrouth.com/
(John Ruan)
http://www.ruan.com/About.Ruan.html
(Henry Wallace)
http://www.answers.com/topic/wallace-henry
(Peggy Whitson)
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/whitson.html
(Andy Williams)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0930023/bio
(Roger Williams)
http://www.mrpianotoday.com/
(Meredith Willson)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0932745/bio
(Grant Wood)
http://www.grantwoodartgallery.org/
http://www.crma.org/
(Andy Williams)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0930023/bio
www.andywilliams.com
Note to teachers:
Please keep in mind all areas of this lesson can be adapted for many different grade levels. This
specific lesson is geared towards upper elementary or middle school students.
This lesson is also available online. Click on – www.iowahallofpride.com/justforteachers.html
Please call or email with questions or to book your group’s trip to the Iowa Hall of Pride.
Best regards,
Shelly Johnson, Education Coordinator
Iowa Hall of Pride
330 Park Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
515.564.8510
shelly@iowahallofpride.com