ELA.F

SUMMARY

KEY INFORMATION

Students will craft an original story that follows the hero’s journey narrative pattern and present their original work using media of their own selection. While reading The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, students will learn the narrative pattern described by American scholar Joseph Campbell, which describes the typical path of the archetype known as The Hero, who leaves home to accomplish great feats, encounters specific types of characters and conflicts along the way, and then returns home a new person. Students will be able to harness their own strengths to construct their stories. Some students will be able to take advantage of high-end audio recording equipment that has been sent to all middle school ELA classrooms to record a podcast. Visual artists might choose to highlight their artistic prowess by putting together a graphic novel. Wordsmiths may choose to write a more conventional narrative. Students will use a tuning protocol to provide consistent feedback to one another throughout the project.

GRADE
7

TOPIC
Hero's Journey

LESSONS
Download Download Download

DURATION
7-8 Days

INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL
Close Reading

AUTHOR(S)
Russell Helsabeck

RESOURCES

The lessons Download lessons

for this Cornerstone require the resources listed below. More information regarding the use of each of the resources can be located in the Cornerstone lesson plans.

SUPPLIES & TECHNOLOGY

Materials Overview
Cornerstone 4 PPT Deck Download Cornerstone 4 PPT Deck	Lessons Plans Download Lessons Plans	Do Now Worksheet Download Do Now Worksheet	Cornerstone Overview Download ornerstone Overview
Lesson 1	Lesson 2	Lesson 3	Lesson 4
Hero's Journey Cards Download Hero's Journey Cards	Brainstorming A Worksheet Download Brainstorming A Worksheet	Brainstorm B Worksheet Download Brainstorm B Worksheet	Amazing Grace Transitions Worksheet Download Amazing Grace Transitions Worksheet
Hero's Journey Caption Worksheet Download Hero's Journey Caption Worksheet		Modified Brainstorm B Download Modified Brainstorm B
Preference Slip Download Preference Slip
Project Description Download Project Description
Lesson 5	Lesson 6	Lesson 7	Lesson 8
Tuning Protocol Guide Download Tuning Protocol Guide	Tuning Protocol Guide Download Tuning Protocol Guide
Artist Worksheet Download Artist Worksheet	Artist Worksheet Download Artist Worksheet
Modified PARCC Rubric Download Modified PARCC Rubric	Modified PARCC Rubric Download Modified PARCC Rubric

TEXTS AND WEBSITES

Required Reading

The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm

CURRICULUM INTEGRATION

Cornerstones are relevant, rigorous, and aligned to national learning standards. Use the tabs below to learn more about aligning to standards, embedding the Cornerstone in your unit of study, and preparing to teach the Cornerstones.

STANDARDS

KEY STANDARDS

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.3 Links to an external site.

Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3 Links to an external site.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.5 Links to an external site.

With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.4 Links to an external site.

Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.5 Links to an external site.

Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND EXTENSIONS

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Students will be familiar with how to construct a narrative from earlier writing assignments. They will use those skills and practice a couple new writing skills as a part of this Cornerstone. Teachers can remind them of the narratives they wrote after reading Boy: Tales of Childhood.

PLACEMENT

BEFORE

Students have become familiar with the hero's journey by reading The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm. The material in the first few lessons regarding the hero's journey should be a review.

DURING

Students will learn how to use an explicit narrative structure (the hero's journey) to construct a narrative.
Students will learn how to use and improve their transitions in a narrative.
Students will learn how to present a narrative in a creative way, using a new medium.

AFTER

Students will write an original story that follows the hero’s journey narrative pattern. Final products will vary based upon the medium each student has chosen to use to present their story. Students will present their final products to their classmates. This Cornerstone is a project students can be proud of, so teachers should find a way to preserve student work. As the final project of the school year, teachers might keep track of these projects over the summer and present them to their students at the beginning of the following school year in order to remind them of what they are capable of accomplishing.

PLANNING

Students will have the opportunity to use their creativity to tell an original narrative in an interesting way. Teachers should use this opportunity to remind students of the writing skills they have learned this year and ask them to demonstrate mastery best they can. This project also serves as a summative writing task for unit 4 in that it tests students' knowledge of the Hero's Journey and their ability to apply that knowledge to an original narrative.

INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH

This Cornerstone is written in way that should should be easy to modify for atypical schedules. Instruction will likely take place during PARCC testing, so teachers should view this project as an active way for students to continue their learning while focusing on the important assessment that is occurring at the same time.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

None

LESSON PACING

Below is a recommended pacing for this Cornerstone and the objective for each lesson. More information regarding each lesson can be located in the Cornerstone lesson plans.

LESSON	OBJECTIVE
Lesson 1	Model Text Analysis Students will play a game that allows them to piece the Hero's Journey together and write original captions to tell a story. Students will be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of what the Hero’s Journey is and how to construct a story using it as a model.
Lesson 2	Brainstorming A Students will identify the major components of their narratives (characters, setting, major conflicts). Students will be able to build on the previous lesson and use the Hero’s Journey model to brainstorm appropriate characters and settings.
Lesson 3	Brainstorming B Students will complete a Hero’s Journey plot outline. Students will be able to use a graphic organizer to plot the events of their Hero’s Journey from the ordinary world to a special world and back.
Lesson 4	Writing Mini-lesson - Transitions Students will use the children's book Amazing Grace, by Mary Hoffman as a model text in a mini-lesson that asks them to add effective transition words and phrases to increase the narrative flow of the story. Students will be able to use creative transition words to enhance the transitions in their narratives.
Lesson 5	Writing (Tuning Protocol A) Students will learn a tuning protocol to use for providing feedback to one another. Students will be able to use a tuning protocol to seek and provide feedback to one another in the middle of the writing process.
Lesson 6	Writing (Tuning Protocol B) Students will continue writing drafts and have another opportunity to seek feedback.Students will be able to using a tuning protocol to seek and provide feedback to one another in the middle of the writing process.
Lesson 7	Publication Deadline – Presentations Students will present their completed projects to their classmates. Students will be able to present their Hero’s Journey narratives to their classmates using the appropriate, formal presentation techniques.
Lesson 8	Presentations and Final Reflection Presentations will continue until they are complete. After presentations are completed, students will reflect on their 7th grade year and this Cornerstone experience. Students will be able to reflect upon this Cornerstone experience and the work they have accomplished.

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