Optimistic Closures

Below are three ways to utilize the CS Heroes Posters as closing activities during CSEdWeek (Lesson Closure/Exit Ticket) or throughout the school year (Unit/Lesson Connection and Heritage/Awareness Month).

The prompts for “Heritage/Awareness Month” mirror the Welcome Activities version and the prompts for “Lesson Closure” & “Unit/Lesson Connection” are adjusted to be conclusive versus introductory.

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LESSON CLOSURE - EXIT TICKET

Suggested Time: 7-10 minutes

Select a CS Hero to feature as a closing activity. Have students view the poster and more details on the CS Hero’s webpage and answer the following prompt:

• How does the work of this CS Hero impact your life?

​# mins	​Description
​1	​Introduce activity: Impact of CS Heroes
​3	​Think: Students independently read and respond
​3	​Pair: Students discuss the prompt with a partner
​3	​Share: Whole-class discussion

You can eliminate the pair discussion and go straight to group discussion. This can be documented in a journal/notebook, submitted online in a class discussion, or written on an exit ticket that students can turn in on their way out of class.

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UNIT/LESSON CONNECTION

Suggested Time: 10-15 minutes

Introduce a CS Hero whose work relates to a unit you're covering. Here are a few examples from the 2023 selection:

​CS Hero	​Curriculum Topic
Randi Williams Danielle Boyer Mehar Bhasin Grace Magny-Fokam	Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Sarah Applebaum Adhwita Gopi Selvan Alva Laster	Creativity and Arts
Dr. Maya Israel Jada Okeoghene Ogueh	Data Science

Answer the following prompt:

• How does the work of this CS Hero relate to the lesson/unit we’re studying?

​# mins	​Description
​1	​Introduce the CS Hero
​3-8	​View the featured video OR read a featured article.
​2	​Think: Students independently read and respond
​2	​Pair: Students discuss the prompt with a partner
​2	​Pair: Students discuss the prompt with a partner

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HERITAGE/AWARENESS MONTH

Suggested Time: 5-10 minutes (dependent on depth of coverage)

Feature a CS Hero that identifies with the heritage or awareness month that you are celebrating. Here are a few examples from the 2022 selection:

​Heritage/Awareness Event	​Date/Month	​CS Heroes
​Hispanic/Latinx Heritage	​Sep 15 - Oct 15	Kayla Roman-Flores
Disability Employment Awareness	​October	Ragib Ehsan Shadab Sarah Applebaum Danielle Boyer
​Native American/Alaska Native Heritage	​November	Danielle Boyer
​Black History	​February	Randi Williams Grace Magny-Fokam Jada Okeoghene Ogueh Myles Ezeanii Alva Laster Eden Wilson Dr. Christina Gardner-McClune
​Women’s History	​March	Kayla Roman-Flores Jada Okeoghene Ogueh Grace Magny-Fokam Dr. Lisa Milenkovic Adhwita Gopi Selvan Dr. Maya Israel Sarah Applebaum Alva Laster Eden Wilson Danielle Boyer Randi Williams Mehar Bhasin Dr. Christina Gardner-McCune
​Asian Pacific American Heritage	​May	Mehar Bhasin Adhwita Gopi Selvan Ragib Ehsan Shadab
​LGBTQ Pride	​June	Sarah Applebaum Danielle Boyer

Play the CS Hero’s feature video to the class and have students review the resources on the CS Hero’s CSEdWeek page and answer the following prompts:

• What do you and the CS Hero have in common?

• What about this CS Hero inspires you?

​# mins	​Description
​1	Introduce the CS Hero OR have students select one of the CS Heroes that identify with the heritage.
3	​Students independently read about the CS Hero.
3	Students respond to the prompts.
3	Students share with a partner/group/whole class.

5-Minute Version: Teacher introduces the CS Hero and students respond to the prompt to the whole class.