Below are three ways to utilize the CS Heroes Posters as opening activities during CSEdWeek (Class Opener/Warm-Up) or throughout the school year (Unit/Lesson Opener and Heritage/Awareness Month).
CLASS OPENER/WARM-UP
Suggested Time: 10 minutes
Select a CS Hero to feature as an opening activity. Have students view the poster and more details on the CS Hero’s webpage and answer the following prompt.
What about this CS Hero stands out to you? Why?
# mins | Description |
1 | Introduce activity: CS Heroes Think-Pair-Share |
3 | Think: Students independently read and respond. |
3 | Pair: Students discuss the prompt with a partner. |
3 | Share: Whole-class discussion |
UNIT/LESSON OPENER
Suggested Time: 5-10 minutes (depending on video/article feature)
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 Basin Grace Magny-Fokam Dr. Sepehr Vakil Dr. Christina Gardner-McCune | Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning |
Sarah Applebaum Adhwita Gopi Selvan Alva Laster | Creativity and the Arts |
Dr. Maya Israel Jada Okeoghene Ogueh | Data Science |
Select a CS Hero to feature as an opening activity. Have students view the poster and more details on the CS Hero’s webpage and answer the following prompt:
What about this CS Hero stands out to you? Why?
# mins | Description |
1 | Introduce the CS Hero |
3-8 | View the featured video OR read a featured article. |
1 | Explain how the CS Hero connects to the new unit. |
HERITAGE/AWARENESS MONTH OPENER
Suggested Time: 10-15 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 2023 selection:
Heritage/Awareness Event | Date/Month | CS Heroes |
Hispanic/Latinx Heritage | Sep 15 - Oct 15 | Kayla Roman-Flores Sarah Applebaum |
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-McCune |
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 Dr. Sepehr Vakil |
LGBTQ Pride | June | Sarah Applebaum Danielle Boyer |
Introduce the CS Hero by playing the CS Hero’s feature video to the class. Students can independently read more about the CS Hero by viewing the resources on the CSEdWeek website or students can research more online. Students 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 or teacher plays the feature video to the entire class. |
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 whole class.