Journal

• Grab your journals from the back and answer the following questions:•What is a hero?•What qualities or traits does a hero possess?•Who is a hero in your life and why?

Hero Comparison• Read the article, “Heroes, Not

Celebrities”• Think about the traits of a hero you wrote

about in your journals and what you think Captain Sully possesses

• Discuss the following questions with a partner and be prepared to share with the class:

• Do celebrities qualify as heroes?• If they are heroes, what do celebrities

have that everyday heroes do not?• Do you agree with what the author is

saying? Why or Why not?

Hero Comparison

•Watch the following two video clips• Think about whether or not the two people portrayed were heroic or not• Is one more heroic than the other? Why?•What are some qualities or traits that you believe make a hero?

Talk About It

• How do people view these heroes?

• What obstacles/challenges have they overcome?

• How have they affected other people’s lives?

Heroic Scenarios

• Your group will receive a scenario. Read through it and discuss whether or not you think the person is heroic or not• List some of the traits that the person has• Create a rationale of why you chose your answer• Be prepared to share in front of the class

Exit Card

• Think about your answers in your journal• Does the person you identified as a hero still qualify?• What are some traits that you did not identify, but now consider to be heroic?• Write a new description of what is a hero.

Heroic Links• Ted Talks: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-makes-a

-hero-matthew-winkler• Cpt. Sully: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih5CPeKl-Ds• The Man in the Water: https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz9JKtvC_wE• Disney’s Hero’s Journey: https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBr97zaWj8M• Star Wars Hero’s Journey: https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xJoKilnqfw

Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey• A generalized sequence or pattern that individuals undergo

• Cyclical in Nature• Many stories and movies follow or borrow

from it

The Call to Adventure• Invites the initiate onto the adventure

• The audience meets the initiate and sees his/her everyday life

• The initiate wants to begin his/her journey

Mentor or Guide• Keeps the initiate

focused on goals and provides stability

• Character that encourages the initiate to answer the call

Threshold• The “jumping off

point”

• The point where the initiate begins his/her journey

• The initiate commits to whatever challenges may be ahead

Threshold Guardian (Gatekeeper)• Protects by blocking the initiate from taking

the journey before he/she is ready• Sometimes hopes to prevent the journey

from happening at all

Unknown• The world full of dangers and challenges

• The initiate is not aware of what awaits him/her here

• Meets allies and enemies

Abyss• Where the initiate “slays the dragon”

• The initiate will typically fail at first

• Initiate faces their greatest fear/challenge

Revelation and Transformation

• Revelation: During this stage, a part of the initiate dies so that a new part can be born

• Transformation: Sudden, dramatic change in the way one thinks

Atonement• Achieved when

the initiate is “at one” with himself or herself

• Comes to terms with the transformation and journey as a whole

The Return• In this stage, the hero begins contributing

to his/her society• In most cases, returns home with a gift or

treasure for the greater good

Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen• Answering the

Call:• Threshold:

• Mentor:

• Threshold Guardian:

• Unknown:

• Abyss:

• Transformation/Revelation:

• Atonement:

• The Return:

Volunteers as tribute for her sisterLeaving District 12 to compete in the games

Previous champion picked to train her

Best friend doesn’t want her to leave

Capital City, where she has never been before

The actual Hunger Games

Katniss plays by her own rules

Katniss is going to eat the berries, so there is no winner

Coming home as a champion

Harry Potter: Harry Potter• Answering the Call:

• Threshold:

• Mentor:

• Threshold Guardian:

• Unknown:

• Abyss:

• Transformation/Revelation:

• Atonement:

• The Return:

Harry leaves home to go to Hogwarts

Going to some forbidden area that he isn’t allowed

Dumbledore helps Harry in times of need

Best friends try to keep him out of trouble

Bypassing obstacles and challenges with magic

Meeting the villain and confronting him/herHarry nearly dies in the confrontation

Harry accepts his destiny and overcomes evilLeaving Hogwarts with new know knowledge or treasure

Group Journey

• Within your group, come up with a story

• It can be a popular one already made such as a movie or book

• Or it can be one that your group makes up

• Break down the parts of the hero’s journey and identify them on the back in a few sentences

Hero Jigsaw• Using the worksheet, identify the parts of a

Hero’s Journey with your table• Each person will go to a new table and

create their part of the Hero’s Journey from a story or movie on the list or their own

• They will then regroup at their regular seats to share their part

• Once everyone has shared their part, put together the whole story

• They are supposed to sound wacky!• We will share these as a class

Table Duties

• 1: Answering the Call, information of the Hero’s every day life, and The Return

• 2: The Mentor or Guide and Threshold Guardian (Gatekeeper)

• 3: Threshold and Atonement• 4: Unknown and Enemies and Allies and

Dangers ahead• 5: Abyss and the Hero’s greatest

fear/challenge• 6: Revelation and Transformation

List of Popular Hero’s Journies

• Batman• Iron Man• Harry Potter• Finding Nemo• Lion King• Percy Jackson• Man of Steel

(Superman)• Avatar• Harry Potter• The Goonies

• Star Wars• Lord of the Rings• Wizard of Oz• Cinderella• Lilo and Stitch• Thor• Captain America• Indiana Jones• Hunger Games• Holes

Your Turn• Using the handout, you are to construct

your own Hero’s Journey• It can be about someone in real life, but the

story has to be fictional!• Make sure that each part of the journey is

accurate about what we learned today