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Tony Hawk, Professional Skateboarder and Entrepreneur

Finding Your Passion (Season One)

Overview

Tony Hawk Lesson | Teaching The Thread

"I finally found something that I felt a sense of accomplishment with and that I could do in my own style." - Tony Hawk, The Thread

Tony Hawk describes his journey in skateboarding as a mix of passion and determination. He talks about overcoming challenges by obsessively honing his skills, and recalls the iconic moment of landing the 900 at the1999 X Games. Hawk reflects on an entrepreneurial spirit that led him to start Birdhouse Skateboards in 1992 and shaping a culture defined by art, lifestyle, and sport.

Watch "Finding Your Passion"

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Lesson Objectives

Social Studies

*Understand the path of a niche subculture into a global market and sport

*Examine the power of youth subculture in shaping new cultural movements – art form, sport, and cultural movement

*Learn a different model of entrepreneurship focusing on sport and gaming

*Understand the interplay of risk-taking, hard work, and creativity

English Language Arts

*Explore topics of identity and subcultures

*Explore the idea of purposeful work and a meaningful life

*Examine the American Dream in a new light

*Examine perspective taking from the point of view of one athlete and entrepreneur

*Use Tony Hawk’s interview as evidence for a rhetorical argument, commentary, or synthesis essay using excerpts of his life story as evidence

Social Emotional Learning: By offering engaging personal narratives, students can discuss and strengthen the five SEL competencies - self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Media Literacy: Students will practice media literacy skills by analyzing information, points of view, and claims made in The Thread and be able to translate these strategies with all forms of media to make more informed decisions.

Tony Hawk Lesson | Teaching The Thread

First Take >

The "First Take" activity is a warm-up writing or conversation exercise created uniquely for The Thread to strengthen media literacy skills. Like an opening song in a musical, the first stanza of a poem, or even the first impression one person makes on another, the "First Take" asks students to reflect and share their initial thoughts and feelings about the episode’s opening and why the filmmaker and editor made these choices.

Download Tony Hawk's lesson to access the complete "First Take" activity.

Tony Hawk Lesson | Teaching The Thread

The Thread Up Close >

After watching the interview, students will debrief and discuss the life story and engage in a close read and analysis of her interview using the "Finding Your Passion" episode and transcript.

In this lesson, students will explore the myth of the American Dream through the life experience of Tony Hawk.

Download lesson to access “The Thread Up Close” activity.

Tony Hawk Lesson | Teaching The Thread

"Finding Your Passion" >

In this lesson students will explore on the title of this lesson and connect it to Tony Hawk's episode. Student's will also reflect and write about their own personal passions.

Download the lesson to access the complete "Finding Your Passion" activity.

Resources

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