1. All – Read through expectations for Hero Essay.
Students decide what main quality constitutes a hero
They will research to find examples of who they will use for their 3 heroes.
Literary – Sidney Carton of A Tale of Two Cities -- Sacrifices his life so that Darnay can live and the woman he loves will not suffer.
Historic – “Tank Man” – the man who stood in front of the tanks that were on their way to Tiananmen Square. No one knows what happened to him. It is believed that he died for this valiant act.
Contemporary -- Luis Urzua – the final miner and shift boss for the Chilean miner who were trapped under ground for 69 days. He volunteered to be the last man up. Also Todd Beamer would work with this thesis – Todd Beamer phoned home on United Flight 93 that was hijacked on 9/11 even though he might die for his actions. He was one of many passengers who rushed the hijackers in an effort to prevent them from causing more deaths by crashing the plane into the White House.

2. THESIS
It is only after you look at what your 3 heroes have in common that you can formulate your “thesis” – Which is the answer to the prompt – To whom can the term “hero” be applied? What is it that all of your selected heroes share?

3. My thesis statement based on my 3 choices:
The term “hero” can be applied to any person who, in spite of possible or even probable harm to himself, acts boldly and selflessly to help others who cannot help themselves.

4. Different Choices Paul Fisher (literature)
Martin Luther King Jr. (history)
Glen Beck (modern day)
The term “hero” can apply to those who choose to speak out against injustices knowing full well that they may be persecuted for their words or views.

5. Different Choices
Moses and Israelites battle Canaanites over the “promise land.” (literature)
First Continental Congress of the U.S. (history)
Soldiers fighting in Afghanistan (modern day)
The term “hero” can apply to those who fight in order to defend their national unity and to protect their country.

6. Attention-getter
In a recent poll by the BBC, when teenage boys were asked about heroes and heroines, ranked in the top of the poll were Bart Simpson and Cat Deeley while at the bottom of the poll were Mother Theresa, Margaret Thatcher, and Winstson Churchill. (Newsround)

7. Tie attention getter to the point you intend to make – Incorporate a sentence that indicates that there are examples of heroes in literature, history and the contemporary world.
This statistic is alarming because it indicates that most young people are not truly aware of the powerful heroes that abound in literature, history and “real world” who deserve a higher place in rank than the obscurity in which they currently dwell. What, though, is it that qualifies a person for the title of hero? In other words, what is it that sets a person like Todd Beamer apart from Bart Simpson?

8. Thesis statement:
The term “hero” can be applied to any person who, in spite of possible or even probable harm to himself, acts boldly and selflessly to help others who cannot help themselves.

9. Putting it together:
In a recent poll by the BBC, when teenage boys were asked about heroes and heroines, ranked in the top of the poll were Bart Simpson and Cat Deeley while at the bottom of the poll were Mother Theresa, Margaret Thatcher, and Winstson Churchill (Newsround). This statistic is alarming because it indicates that many young people are not truly aware of the powerful heroes that abound in literature, history and “real world” who deserve a higher place in rank than the obscurity in which they currently dwell. What, though, is it that qualifies a person for the title of hero? In other words, what is it that sets a person like Luis Uzura apart from Bart Simpson? The term “hero” should be applied to any person who, in spite of possible or even probable harm to himself, acts boldly and selflessly to help others who cannot help themselves.

10. Body paragraph
Heroes reside not only in literature, but they also have lived in history books, making the ultimate sacrifice for the helpless in everyday life.

11. Heroes reside not only in literature, but they also have lived in history books, making the ultimate sacrifice for the helpless in everyday life. In 1989 in the incident of Beijing's’ Tiananmen Square, a man known only as “tank man” or “the unknown rebel” exemplified such courage. By 1989, the communist government of China had been in existence for 40 years, longer than enough time for the people of Beijing to know that to rebel would mean certain death. However, during the early spring of 1989, primarily young college students, doctors, teachers and soldiers held a protest rally in the heart of Beijing, Tiananmen Square. In the wee hours of the morning, the government made its move on the unsuspecting and powerless protesters and, according Time Magazine, "sent tanks from all different directions toward Tiananmen Square and killed hundreds of workers and students and doctors and children, many found later shot in the back" (Iyer 5). The "Tank Man" spoke for every innocent life lost that day by one selfless and brave action. As the tanks were leaving the scene, the government, oblivious to the idea that the world would soon know the horror of the massacre committed that day, one lone man, knowing the probable outcome, placed himself in front of the front tank "with a line of 17 more tanks behind it" (Iyer 5). The Unknown Rebel refused to let the tanks move away from the atrocity that had been committed that morning, and pictures were snapped that made their way around the world in an instant. This man who had been an ordinary citizen was thrust to heroic status by not thinking of what might happen to his own life, but instead, acting on the behalf of those who could no longer speak for themselves. No one knows what happened to the unknown rebel after that day, but most believe that he was arrested and is assumed dead. The Times article sums up his heroic sacrifice when they claim that his image "did not cut humanity down to size but elevated and affirmed it, serving as an instrument for democracy and justice" (Iyer 5). In other words, the picture that captured his action earned him the badge of "hero".