Grade 8, Unit 1: The Challenge of Heroism
Timeline: September 8 – October 24 (35 days)
EA 1: Weeks 1 – 4; EA 2: Weeks 4 – 7
Unit Goals
• To create an original illustrated narrative based on the Hero’s Journey archetype.
• To analyze and synthesize a variety of texts to develop an original definition of hero.
• To analyze and evaluate expository texts for ideas, structure, and language.
• To develop expository texts using strategies of definition.
Embedded Assessments
Embedded Assessment 1: Writing a Hero’s Journey Narrative
Think about all the heroes you have encountered in fiction and real life. What type of hero appeals to you? Write and create an illustrated
narrative about an original hero. Use the Hero’s Journey archetype to develop and structure your ideas.
Embedded Assessment 2: Writing a Definition Essay
Think about people who deserve status as heroes – from the past, from the present, from life, and from literature. What defines a hero?
Write a multi-paragraph essay that develops your definition of heroism. Be sure to use strategies of definition (function, example, and
negation) to guide your writing.
Essential Questions
What defines a hero?  How does the Hero’s Journey archetype appear in stories throughout time?
Common Core Focus Standards
RL.8.2; RL.8.3; RL.8.6; RI.8.2; RI.8.3; W.8.2; W.8.3
Language and Writer’s Craft
revising and editing 1.8  verbs and mood 1.8  transitions and quotations 1.15
Grammar
mood 1.8  prepositional phrases 1.9  appositives 1.12  parts of speech 1.13
Academic Vocabulary (Tier 2)
context  technique  synonyms  antonyms  concise  function  negation
Literary Vocabulary (Tier 3)
archetype  imagery  setting  point of view  conflict  protagonist  mood  plot  pacing  epic  tone  diction  denotation connotation 
nuance  definition essay  allegory  coherence  thesis
Resources for Differentiation
See my.psd401.net > Curriculum Links > Curriculum Resources > Literacy > Secondary > Curriculum Maps
for resources to support and extend.
Peninsula School District
8/22/14
Common Core Focus Standards
RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the
characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a
decision.
RL.8.6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader create such effects as suspense or humor.
RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events.
W.8.2 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
W.8.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and wellstructured event sequences.
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence
that unfolds naturally and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the
relationships among experiences and events.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
a.
Resources to Support
EA 1 Assignment: Think about all the heroes you have encountered in fiction
and real life. What type of hero appeals to you? Write and create an illustrated
narrative about an original hero. Use four stages of the Hero’s Journey
archetype to structure your ideas.
EA 1 Process Ideas:
• Use Activity 1.5 as a prewrite for the assessment.
• Ask students to sketch elements of their ideal hero as a prewriting tool.
Consider how those elements can contribute to their narrative.
EA 2 Assignment: Think about people we’ve read about who deserve status as
heroes – from the past, from the present, from life, and from literature. What
defines a hero? Write a multi-paragraph essay that develops your definition of
heroism. Use one strategy of definition (function, example, or negation) to
guide your writing.
EA 2 Process Ideas:
• Ask students to track the qualities of a hero they see in each class text.
Resources to Extend
EA 1 Assignment: Think about all the heroes you have encountered in fiction
and real life. What type of hero appeals to you? Write and create an illustrated
narrative about an original hero. Use the Hero’s Journey archetype to develop
and structure your ideas. Pay special attention to the pacing of your narrative.
EA 1 Process Ideas:
• Ask students to use the plot diagram to analyze a favorite novel. How
would changing the plot diagram affect their appreciation of the novel?
EA 2 Assignment: Think about people who deserve status as heroes – from the
past, from the present, from life, and from literature. What defines a hero?
Research additional examples (or non-examples) of heroism. Then write a
multi-paragraph essay that develops your definition of heroism, including at
least one outside source. Be sure to use strategies of definition (function,
example, and negation) to guide your writing.
EA 2 Process Ideas:
• Ask students to research other heroic figures from life or literature.
Peninsula School District
8/22/14
Peninsula School District
8/22/14