The good people of San Francisco, California can sleep a little more soundly.
Last Friday, their city was been made safer by a very special superhero.
Batman and a special Batkid spent the day patrolling the streets and battling crime.
Batkid’s real identity (ssssh, don’t tell anyone!) is five-year-old Miles.
Miles has been winning his own battle, ever since he was just one year old—against a disease called leukemia, which is a form of cancer.
Miles’s leukemia is in “remission,” which means that he is doing very well now. In fact, he started kindergarten this year.
Miles has always loved superheroes. He is rarely seen without a superhero costume on.
One of his favourite superheroes is Batman.
He asked The Make-a-Wish Foundation (which grants wishes to children who have a serious medical condition) if he could be a Batkid for a day.
And boy, did he get his wish!
The foundation turned San Francisco into Gotham City for a day. And Miles—Batkid—spent the day going through the streets, fighting crime wherever he saw it.
Batkid’s day started with a call for help from the Chief of Police. Batkid, along with his side-kick, Batman, jumped in the Batmobile to rescue a damsel in distress who was tied to the Hyde Street cable car line.
After Batkid successfully untied the damsel, he came across the Riddler, who was in the middle of robbing a bank vault.
Batkid made short work of the Riddler, who was carted off in a police paddy wagon.
After lunch and another rescue, Batkid was given the key to the city by the mayor of San Francisco.
The story of Batkid has been shared on Facebook and Twitter by tens of thousands of people. All of them grateful that the streets of San Francisco are a little safer, thanks to the adorable, pint-sized superhero.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Miles is a real super hero who has been battling a very serious illness. If you had to pick someone in your life who you think is most like a super hero, who would it be and why? If you can, let them know why you picked them… it might just make their day!
Reading Prompt: Elements of Style
Every writer has his or her own style. Sometimes a writer will try to hide their personality when they write; however, at other times, writers will choose to “show their true colours.” The author of today’s article did just that in the following sentence,
And boy, did he get his wish!
How is this sentence different from the other sentences in today’s article. How does this sentence add character to today’s article?
Primary
Identify some elements of style, including voice, word choice, and different types of sentences, and explain how they help readers understand texts (OME, Reading: 2.4).
Junior
Identify various elements of style – including word choice and the use of similes, personification, comparative adjectives, and sentences of different types, lengths, and structures – and explain how they help communicate meaning (OME, Reading: 2.4).
Intermediate
Identify various elements of style – including foreshadowing, metaphor, and symbolism – and explain how they help communicate meaning and enhance the effectiveness of texts (OME, Reading: 2.4).
Grammar Feature: Metaphor
A metaphor is a type of comparison. Quite often, when people make a comparison, they use the word “like” or “as.” For example, they might say, “It was as hot as a sauna!” or “The sky was like a beautiful painting.” However, a metaphor goes one step further; it makes a comparison by what something is. For example, “Ms. Papanastasiou is the Queen of the library.”
In today’s article, Miles is described as fighting different types of battles. What battle is he fighting metaphorically?
