Varsity Tutors has a detailed listing of webpages around the Internet that have curricula for teaching the Hero’s Journey. Although there are now a few dead links, the following are some of the best curricula sites described in the Varsity Tutors “The Archetype of the Hero’s Journey” page:
Heroes are Made of This: Studying the Character of Heroes
Students explore the concept of heroism in life and in literature. Most of the 6 sessions of this unit plan can be used consecutively or individually. This lesson is designed for grades 9-12.
The Hero’s Journey
The resources on this page were designed by a classroom teacher. They include multiple worksheets detailing the hero’s journey (including the ones found in Star Wars and The Lion King ), a project in which students design a Hall of Heroes, analysis of songs related to heros, the Oliver Stone essay “Where I Find My Heroes,” and more.
Identifying Supporting Evidence from a Text – What is a Hero?
Students watch a 3-minute video about Ping, a young hero who proves himself worthy to be the emperor of China. Students identify what makes Ping’s behavior special using evidence from the story. This lesson is designed for grades 1-4. It includes video and support materials.
Multi-Media Hero Analysis
Students will recognize the positive character traits of heroes as depicted in music, art and literature. The class will break into groups and write a working definition of a hero which they will present to the class. Students will discuss multi-media representations of heroes as well as cultural differences among who is considered a hero. The teacher will provide various works of art depicting heroes, and the students will choose one hero to research for an essay.
A Story of Epic Proportions: What makes a Poem an Epic?
Students learn about the epic poem form and to its roots in oral tradition. They study the epic hero cycle and will learn how to recognize this pattern of events and elements in both ancient and modern texts, including Star Wars , The Lord of the Rings , and Harry Potter .
Check out other powerful hero resources at TheHeroPlace, including Hero Wisdom (such as that of script-writing coach Skip Press) and Hero Organizations (such as the Gallery of Heroes) as well as other Hero Tools (such as StoryCraft Hero-Story Writing Software). Also, search or submit to hero databases (such as hero-story databases) from around the Internet in the Your Heroes section of TheHeroPlace.
Help us maintain, improve, and expand this and other posts in TheHeroPlace. Contact us today to add to our unique resource for “All Things Hero!”
