The "Searching for a Hero" unit was developed for tenth grade English students, but could easily be adapted to fit the curriculum of any high school level English course. This unit is a research paper project that will ask students to answer several questions regarding a professional athlete's ability to serve as a hero or role model for a young person. Whereas both sides of the athlete-as-hero debate are presented in the narrative of the unit, students will have to form concise, one-sided answers to the following questions: What is a hero? Do professional athletes qualify as heroes? And, do professional athletes have a choice about whether or not they are viewed as heroes? In addition to answering the above questions, students will develop their researching and writing skills in order to successfully support and argue their thesis statements. During the course of this unit, activities using current news articles and sports poetry and drama will be utilized in order to provide students a springboard for their ideas. Most importantly, students will develop confidence and dexterity in expressing well-supported opinions. It is the ultimate goal of the unit to develop independent thinkers and confident writers.