The Archetype of the Hero's Journey

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The all-purpose guide to epic movies
This chart shows different archetypal roles at work in Harry Potter, Star Wars, and other movies: the hero, the threshold guardian, the trickster, etc.

George Lucas and the Power of Myth
Students explore the archetype of the hero's journey, myths of good and evil and their impact in the modern world, and the impact of George Lucas in modern myth. Students read, research, write, debate, and produce projects. This set of standards-based lessons is from the PBS American Masters series.

Hero: The Hero Archetype in Literature, Religion, and Popular Culture
An outline of characteristics with illustrations from Star Wars, Braveheart,The Lion King, and other stories.

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.