All of their stories (and so many others) fit the classic storytelling pattern of a heroic journey, as established by famed scholar Joseph Campbell.
Using many of the steps of the heroic journey as chronicled by Campbell, I built a dynamic multimedia presentation to use with our classes. Students will be on the edge of their seats as you connect the stories they love (from The Matrix to Star Wars to Finding Nemo) with elements of the Ancient Greek storytelling tradition.
The high-interest lecture (free for you to use, just click here) is a 78-slide Prezi that features numerous embedded video clips. If your computer can view a video on YouTube, you’ll be able to view this file. This is great for a full-class period lecture, but could also be used in a flipped English classroom. Have students view the Prezi at home and then work in teams in class to connect the steps to their own assigned film title.
Don’t forget to click on the slides with video clips (Harry Potter, Matrix, Lord of Rings, and Wizard of Oz) for maximum fun. Also, use the “fullscreen” option in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and you’ll be able to project the presentation to your class. Enjoy!
Want to turn this presentation into a full speech assignment for your class? Click here for student assignment handouts and a detailed grading rubric for you!