ALEX Learning Activity

My Hero's Journey Book Proposal

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Candice Richardson
System:Boaz City
School:Boaz Middle School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2270
Title:
My Hero's Journey Book Proposal
Digital Tool/Resource:
My Hero's Journey Book Proposal - Interactive Google Slide
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

This learning activity should be an after-activity to allow students to demonstrate their understanding of patterns and characteristics associated with the traditional Hero's Journey myth (mono-myth). This learning activity could be used with the "What Makes a Hero?" lesson plan to introduce these concepts. The students will brainstorm ideas for a personal hero who fits the characteristics of the traditional myth using a My Hero's Journey Book Proposal and The Hero's Journey interactive guide. The assignment is presented to students as a letter from a publisher asking them to submit their ideas for a book using the traditional hero's journey pattern and characteristics. The students will answer questions and insert illustrations from The Hero's Journey resource to help them think through their ideas.  

This activity is a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 8
R3. Use digital and electronic tools appropriately, safely, and ethically when researching and writing, both individually and collaboratively.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 8
R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 8
3. Analyze how authors use key literary elements, including setting, plot, theme, characters, internal and external conflict, dialogue, and point of view, to contribute to the meaning and purpose of a text, using text evidence as support.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 8
8. Produce clear, coherent narrative, argument, and informative/explanatory writing in which the development, organization, style, and tone are relevant to task, purpose, and audience, using an appropriate command of language.

a. Write narratives that establish a clear purpose, use narrative techniques, and sequence events coherently.

Examples: narratives - memoir, short story, personal narrative; techniques - dialogue, pacing, description, reflection;
sequencing - chronological, reverse chronological, flashback

b. Write informative or explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas or processes effectively, by developing the topic with relevant information or data from credible sources and using appropriate transitions and precise vocabulary.

c. Write an argument to defend a position by introducing and supporting a claim, distinguishing the claim from opposing claims, presenting counterclaims and reasons, and citing accurate, relevant textual evidence from credible sources.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 8
13. Create and edit digital products that are appropriate in subject, occasion, audience, point of view, purpose, and tone.
Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to identify the characteristics of the traditional hero myth (mono-myth) and the typical pattern of their journey.
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
After/Explain/Elaborate
Activity:

The student's goal is to demonstrate their understanding of and ability to apply the characteristics most often associated with a hero's journey.

The students will work independently to complete the interactive Google slides, My Hero's Journey Book Proposal. The students will have access to this Read-Write-Tool to help them review the characteristics through examples while they work.

The students will answer questions about a self-created Hero's Journey and illustrate each characteristic related to their Hero's Journey using My Hero's Journey Book Proposal.  

The students will use the My Hero's Journey Rubric to self-assess as their work as they go. 
Assessment Strategies:

The teacher will use the My Hero's Journey Rubric provided in this activity to assess each student's level of understanding.
Advanced Preparation:

  • The teacher will need to introduce the idea that writers are often drawn on the works of writers of the past especially in terms of themes, patterns of events, or character types. 

  • The teacher will also need to introduce the traditional hero's journey myth (mono-myth). The learning activity "What Makes a Hero?" could be used to introduce these ideas.

  • The teacher will need to create a copy of the My Hero's Journey Book Proposal and personalize it by replacing the highlighted question marks with his/her own name and school name.

  • The teacher will need to share his/her personalized version of My Hero's Journey Book Proposal with the students via Google Classroom or any integrated digital app.
Variation Tips (optional):

  • The teacher may want to make paper copies of the My Hero's Journey Rubric to share with the class.

  • The teacher may want to shorten the assignment based on student need or allow students to work in partners.

  • The teacher may want to provide a model of an illustrated slide to help students to better understand his/her expectations.

  • The teacher can choose a different method of assessment.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

Once the teacher makes a copy of the Google slide and rubric, it can be altered to fit their classroom.
Students should already be familiar with the idea that writers draw on themes, patterns of events, and character types from myths, traditional stories, religious works, etc., and the traditional Hero's Journey myth before they begin this assignment.

This activity could be combined with the following learning activities on ALEX:

    • "What Makes A Hero?"

    • "Narrative Writing Revision Boot Camp"

    • "My Hero's Journey Narrative"

The teacher will find the following instructions embedded in the My Hero's Journey Book Proposal:   

"You must stay true to the characteristics discussed in this unit. You do, however, have some creative freedom. You may choose not to include some of the characteristics (no more than 3 without permission), but you must include a clear explanation for why the omitted characteristic is not appropriate for your story. Your explanation(s) should be included in the slide of the characteristic(s) you chose to omit."

If the teacher does not plan on using the Learning Activities mentioned above to create a unit project, the following wording, "You must stay true to the characteristics discussed in this unit," will need to be changed when he/she alters My Hero's Journey Book Proposal.
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: heros journey, literary motifs, monomyth, myth, traditional patterns and characteristics