Hero’s Journey:
Curriculum Outline
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Introduce the concept of transformation as the foundation for understanding the journey pattern
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Introduce the three-stage process of transformation, using the rite of passage as a model
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Introduce the death-and-rebirth metaphor and symbols associated with transformation
-
Make students aware of points of passage and markers in their own lives, and to explore the importance of markers
-
Ritual and Rite of Passage (handout)
-
For in-depth discussion: Ritual and
the Creation of Meaning
-
Film: The Air Up There (a good film
for this unit as it has both a hero’s journey and a rite of passage)
-
Blackfoot legend: The Buffalo Dance
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Introduce the pattern of the hero’s journey using an eight-stage generic model that can be applied to myth, literature and life
-
Introduce the key events in the journey process and the significance of those events in growth and transformation
-
Provide students with a heuristic for understanding, analyzing and relating to literature and film
- Anticipation Guide: What makes a hero?
- Discussion: Athletes, actors and actresses, and victims as heroes
- Elements of the Journey: note taking, discussion and film
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Introduce students to the concept that the challenges we face in our journeys almost always reflect our own needs, fears and weaknesses
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Students study a well-known legend to explore the journey pattern in literature
-
Give students a basic model to practice applying the journey pattern to understanding and analyzing literature
- Introduce students to the importance of symbol and metaphor in the journey model
- The Legend of Gawain and the Green Knight (handout)
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Lecture (or reading): Background materials on “Gawain, King Arthur, the Round Table”
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Log Gawain’s Journey (activity)
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Understanding the Nature of the Challenge (study questions)
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Interpreting stages of the Journey (discussion)
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Introduce the theme that quests usually have both physical and mental components
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Explore the role of compromise as part of taking individual journeys in a shared world
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Introduce the theme of openness or permeability and its importance in our journeys
- Myth: The End of Eternal Spring (handout)―a retelling of the myth of Demeter and Persephone
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Quests and the importance of compromise (discussion)
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Mythology based vocabulary
-
Demeter’s and Persephone’s compromise (discussion and reflection)
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Writing about compromise (short reflective essay)
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Continue to study the journey pattern using one of the most famous quest stories in history
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Introduce the spiritual, including the call to spiritual growth or transcendence and the return with a spiritual gift
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Explore in more depth the symbols and metaphors associated with the journey process
-
Introduce the Buddhist concept of detachment or letting go and how it relates to growth in the journey
-
“The Legend of Buddha” (handout)
-
Film: The Little Buddha (optional)
-
For in-depth discussion: Buddhist Non-Attachment and the Hero’s Journey (NEW)
-
Understanding mythological motifs, archetypes and metaphors (discussion)
-
Historical context: The Axial Age
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The Message of the Return, sacrifice and responsibility (discussion and reflection)
-
Understanding Buddha’s journey (review questions)
-
Analyzing The Little Buddha: Tibetan Buddhism, reincarnation, death as a journey, the father’s journey (discussion)
-
Students use journey pattern to study and analyze a film
-
Introduced stories with several characters on journeys
-
Show students see our roles shift as we interact with others in their journeys and they interact with us in ours
-
Use the journey heuristic to write a character analysis
- Field of Dreams (film) or another film (basic approach to using film is covered using Field of Dreams)
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Group collaboration: note taking, analysis and presentation
-
How our Journeys interlock (discussion and reflection)
-
Log Ray Kinsella’s Journey (activity)
-
Understanding transformation: charting a characters growth
-
Character analysis (major essay)
-
Give students an opportunity to apply their knowledge of the journey pattern to write a short story of their own
-
Introduce through the context of the journey plot, character and conflict development
-
Provide students with an enjoyable activity that will takes them through all of the stages of writing, reviewing, editing and polishing a finished work
-
Write your own short story using the Hero’s Journey pattern as a foundation
-
Inventing and developing character, building setting and creating conflict (exercises from text)
-
Sentence modeling exercises for describing scenes and writing dialogue (from text)
-
Peer response editing (forms in text)
-
Introduce students to the consequences of rejecting the call (i.e., a rejection of the natural process of growth)
-
Present the call refused and the “too-late” revelation as an example of the downfall of the tragic hero in literature
-
Explore the concept that the need that triggered the call doesn’t go away when one ignores the call
-
“What if…?” (How would the lives of heroes differed if they had refused their calls?) (discussion)
-
Understanding the need for accepting your calls: Groundhog Day discussion
-
Analyzing Groundhog Day (review questions from text)
-
Understanding how refusing your call affects others (discussion of Minos myth)
-
Writing about a call you refused (short, informal essay)
-
Give students the opportunity to explore mythological heroes from various cultures of their choice (emphasis on non-Greek and non-Roman myths)
-
Students better learn the journey process by teaching it to the class with a group presentation of their selected myth
-
Students evaluate themselves and their peers using a rubric
-
Find a non-Greek/non-Roman heroic myth (student research activity)|
-
Group collaboration, rehearsal and presentation of the myth (group activity)
-
“A Member of the Team” (group and individual self-evaluation)
-
Students begin to explore explore their individual journeys by creating a personal mandala
-
Through the creation of the mandala, students deepen their understanding of symbolism and how it is expressed in life and literature
-
Introduce the journey as a process of psychological growth
-
With the mandala process, students learn an alternative mode for exploring and analyzing literature and characters
-
Students use journey heuristic as tool for self-reflection and autobiographical writing
-
Personal mandala pre-writing exercise (from teacher’s manual) including two NEW pages on the philosophy of the mandala and using mandalas in the classroom.
-
Directions for autobiographical essay writing project
-
Using the mandala as a window to self-discovery (discussion )
-
Using the mandala to analyze charcters from literautre and film (discussion and activities)
-
Revealing self through symbol and metaphor (discussion)
-
Finding the shadow self: personal qualities chart (activity)
-
Creating your own mandala (activity)
-
Writing a reflective essay about a heroic journey you have taken
Use this link to order the curriculum.
Welcome to Harris Communications
Hero’s Journey:
Curriculum Outline
Introduce the concept of transformation as the foundation for understanding the journey pattern
Introduce the three-stage process of transformation, using the rite of passage as a model
Introduce the death-and-rebirth metaphor and symbols associated with transformation
Make students aware of points of passage and markers in their own lives, and to explore the importance of markers
Ritual and Rite of Passage (handout)
For in-depth discussion: Ritual and
the Creation of Meaning
Film: The Air Up There (a good film
for this unit as it has both a hero’s journey and a rite of passage)
Blackfoot legend: The Buffalo Dance
Discussion: Teenagers and Modern Rites of Passage
Questions for review
Create your own ritual for a modern “life transition”
Introduce the pattern of the hero’s journey using an eight-stage generic model that can be applied to myth, literature and life
Introduce the key events in the journey process and the significance of those events in growth and transformation
Provide students with a heuristic for understanding, analyzing and relating to literature and film
The Hero’s Journey: outline and explanation of the stages and their relationships to literature and life (handout)
Film: Star Wars―A New Hope (you may use virtually any film to teach the journey)
Introduce students to the concept that the challenges we face in our journeys almost always reflect our own needs, fears and weaknesses
Students study a well-known legend to explore the journey pattern in literature
Give students a basic model to practice applying the journey pattern to understanding and analyzing literature
Lecture (or reading): Background materials on “Gawain, King Arthur, the Round Table”
Log Gawain’s Journey (activity)
Understanding the Nature of the Challenge (study questions)
Interpreting stages of the Journey (discussion)
Introduce the theme that quests usually have both physical and mental components
Explore the role of compromise as part of taking individual journeys in a shared world
Introduce the theme of openness or permeability and its importance in our journeys
Quests and the importance of compromise (discussion)
Mythology based vocabulary
Demeter’s and Persephone’s compromise (discussion and reflection)
Writing about compromise (short reflective essay)
Continue to study the journey pattern using one of the most famous quest stories in history
Introduce the spiritual, including the call to spiritual growth or transcendence and the return with a spiritual gift
Explore in more depth the symbols and metaphors associated with the journey process
Introduce the Buddhist concept of detachment or letting go and how it relates to growth in the journey
“The Legend of Buddha” (handout)
Film: The Little Buddha (optional)
For in-depth discussion: Buddhist Non-Attachment and the Hero’s Journey (NEW)
Understanding mythological motifs, archetypes and metaphors (discussion)
Historical context: The Axial Age
The Message of the Return, sacrifice and responsibility (discussion and reflection)
Understanding Buddha’s journey (review questions)
Analyzing The Little Buddha: Tibetan Buddhism, reincarnation, death as a journey, the father’s journey (discussion)
Students use journey pattern to study and analyze a film
Introduced stories with several characters on journeys
Show students see our roles shift as we interact with others in their journeys and they interact with us in ours
Use the journey heuristic to write a character analysis
Group collaboration: note taking, analysis and presentation
How our Journeys interlock (discussion and reflection)
Log Ray Kinsella’s Journey (activity)
Understanding transformation: charting a characters growth
Character analysis (major essay)
Give students an opportunity to apply their knowledge of the journey pattern to write a short story of their own
Introduce through the context of the journey plot, character and conflict development
Provide students with an enjoyable activity that will takes them through all of the stages of writing, reviewing, editing and polishing a finished work
Step-by-step directions for writing your own short story based on the journey pattern (handout)
Directions for using short stories or films (from your own curriculum)
Write your own short story using the Hero’s Journey pattern as a foundation
Inventing and developing character, building setting and creating conflict (exercises from text)
Sentence modeling exercises for describing scenes and writing dialogue (from text)
Peer response editing (forms in text)
Introduce students to the consequences of rejecting the call (i.e., a rejection of the natural process of growth)
Present the call refused and the “too-late” revelation as an example of the downfall of the tragic hero in literature
Explore the concept that the need that triggered the call doesn’t go away when one ignores the call
The Call Refused: What happens when we reject the call to adventure (handout)
Groundhog Day (film)
The Myth of Minos and the Minotaur (handout)
“What if…?” (How would the lives of heroes differed if they had refused their calls?) (discussion)
Understanding the need for accepting your calls: Groundhog Day discussion
Analyzing Groundhog Day (review questions from text)
Understanding how refusing your call affects others (discussion of Minos myth)
Writing about a call you refused (short, informal essay)
Give students the opportunity to explore mythological heroes from various cultures of their choice (emphasis on non-Greek and non-Roman myths)
Students better learn the journey process by teaching it to the class with a group presentation of their selected myth
Students evaluate themselves and their peers using a rubric
Group activity: research non-Greek/non-Roman myths for a class presentation (instructions in workbook)
Non-Greek/non-Roman myths (from your curriculum or library)
Find a non-Greek/non-Roman heroic myth (student research activity)|
Group collaboration, rehearsal and presentation of the myth (group activity)
“A Member of the Team” (group and individual self-evaluation)
Students begin to explore explore their individual journeys by creating a personal mandala
Through the creation of the mandala, students deepen their understanding of symbolism and how it is expressed in life and literature
Introduce the journey as a process of psychological growth
With the mandala process, students learn an alternative mode for exploring and analyzing literature and characters
Students use journey heuristic as tool for self-reflection and autobiographical writing
Personal mandala pre-writing exercise (from teacher’s manual) including two NEW pages on the philosophy of the mandala and using mandalas in the classroom.
Directions for autobiographical essay writing project
Using the mandala as a window to self-discovery (discussion )
Using the mandala to analyze charcters from literautre and film (discussion and activities)
Revealing self through symbol and metaphor (discussion)
Finding the shadow self: personal qualities chart (activity)
Creating your own mandala (activity)
Writing a reflective essay about a heroic journey you have taken
Use this link to order the curriculum.