The hero’s journey is an ancient story pattern that can be found in texts from thousands of years ago or in newly released Hollywood blockbusters. This interactive tool will provide students with background on the hero’s journey and give them a chance to explore several of the journey’s key elements. Students can use the tool to record examples from a hero’s journey they have read or viewed or to plan out a hero’s journey of their own. For additional ideas on how to use this tool, see Tips for Using Hero’s Journey.

Visit this interactive tool at: http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/herosjourney/.

ReadWriteThink Lessons That Use This Tool

Heroes Are Made of This: Studying the Character of Heroes (9-12)
Using a variety of individual and group activities, students will analyze the complex ways in which authors use characterization to present and explore heroism and the heroic.

Preparing for the Journey: An Introduction to the Hero Myth  (9-12)
In this lesson that prepares them to read or view a larger hero myth narrative, students read a variety of picture books that contain elements of the hero’s journey and use an online interactive tool to analyze the stories.

Tracking the Ways Writers Develop Heroes and Villains (9-12)
After considering how the Star Wars character Darth Vader is cast as a villain, students read novels in small groups and track aspects of character development. After reading, students create a presentation that shares how a trait is developed for a character in their reading.

Weaving the Old into the New: Pairing The Odyssey with Contemporary Works (9-12)
After exploring The Odyssey and a contemporary epic, students choose paired characters from the texts, complete a graphic organizer, and place their characters in hypothetical contemporary situations.