Writing a Narrative About Fairness
Grade
Grade 6
UNIT
7
•
Fairness
In Unit 7, Lesson 3, “Writing a Narrative About Fairness,” students will craft a Hero’s Journey, based on the work of Joseph Campbell and recent research. The Hero’s Journey story will feature one of the people we learned about—from one of the texts we read earlier in this unit—who faces challenges, overcomes adversity to seek fairness, and returns transformed.
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SUGGESTED TIME:
60 minutes
RELATED SUBJECT:
English Language Arts
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Understand the seven core elements of the Hero’s Journey (protagonist, shift, quest, challenge, allies, transformation, legacy).
- Write a Hero’s Journey narrative containing all seven elements.
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
- Video: The Hero's Journey according to Joseph Campbell - video by Matthew Winkler and Kirill Yeretsky by Ueber-Brands (~3 min)
- Prohuman Grade 6 Unit 7 Worksheet 3: Writing a Narrative About Fairness: Crafting A Hero’s Journey
VOCABULARY:
Fairness: I treat everyone the same. If someone has been left out, I bring them in.
ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
- Today we will write a narrative, a Hero’s Journey.
- The Hero’s Journey is a narrative structure identified by mythologist Joseph Campbell.
- It is a story arc with a protagonist or main character who faces challenges, overcomes adversity, and returns transformed (Rogers et al. 2023).
- Play video: The Hero's Journey according to Joseph Campbell - video by Matthew Winkler and Kirill Yeretsky by Ueber-Brands (~3 min)
- Choose a person whose hero’s journey you would like to write from one of the three texts we read earlier in this unit. You will focus on how they faced challenges, overcame them, and focused on working for fairness:
- We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration by Frank Abe (Author), Tamiko Nimura (Author), Ross Ishikawa (Illustrator), and Matt Sasaki (Illustrator)
- “Second Lieutenant Susumu ‘Sus’ Ito.” The Nisei Soldier Congressional Gold Medal Digital Exhibition. Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
- “Reflection on Veterans’ Day,” by Daniel Lubetsky, Founder, KIND Snacks, Builders Movement. November 11, 2024.
- Tell students that their narratives will be shared with 3 classmates for peer review.
GRADE 6 UNIT 7 WORKSHEET 3: WRITING A NARRATIVE ABOUT FAIRNESS: CRAFTING A HERO’S JOURNEY
Step 1: Before you begin writing the Hero’s Journey, identify the person whose journey you would like to write from one of the three texts we read earlier in this unit:
- We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration by Frank Abe (Author), Tamiko Nimura (Author), Ross Ishikawa (Illustrator), and Matt Sasaki (Illustrator)
- “Second Lieutenant Susumu ‘Sus’ Ito.” The Nisei Soldier Congressional Gold Medal Digital Exhibition. Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
- “Reflection on Veterans’ Day,” by Daniel Lubetsky, Founder, KIND Snacks, Builders Movement. November 11, 2024.
Step 2: Identify the seven core elements:
- Protagonist: The central character of the story
- Shift: A change in setting or life circumstances that initiates the journey
- Quest: A clear goal or mission to pursue for fairness
- Challenge: Obstacles or difficulties that must be overcome to achieve fairness
- Allies: Friends, mentors, or supporters who aid in the journey to achieve fairness
- Transformation: Personal growth or change resulting from the journey for fairness
- Legacy: How the hero's journey to achieve fairness positively impacts others
Step 3: Write a Hero’s Journey of 3 pages about this person and do the following:
- 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.
- Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
- Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
- Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
- Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events about how the hero of your story worked to achieve fairness.
Note: Your Hero’s Journey will be shared with 3 classmates for peer review.
Prohuman K-12 Curriculum © 2025 by Prohuman Foundation is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/