Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is The Hero’s Journey? What examples can you find of The Hero’s Journey in other stories? Using a book or movie that you are familiar with, break down the events in the story into steps in the journey.

Teaching Suggestion: If students are unfamiliar with The Hero’s Journey concept, it may be useful to show them a diagram first and watch this video (also linked below). You might also consider using an example from a popular movie to explain each step of the process before asking them to create their own diagrams. It could be helpful to break students into groups to discuss a movie or book. If students have trouble thinking of stories that follow this path, you may want to brainstorm as a class or have students work in small groups.

• This diagram shows the different steps of The Hero’s Journey.
• This video is 3 minutes and goes through The Hero’s Journey. 
• This article breaks down the steps of The Hero’s Journey and provides examples from popular stories.