Sometimes he eagerly undertakes this challenge, but more often there is a period of reluctance or even refusal as the dangers of the adventure are weighed against possible benefits.ģ) Mentors, Guides, and Gifts – A mentor appears to encourage the hero to accept the challenge of the call and gifts are often given to help him on his way.Ĥ) Crossing – The hero decides to act and crosses over into the New World.ĥ) New World – The hero faces small challenges as she learns to function in the New World.Ħ) Problems, Prizes, and Plans – A clear story goal is established and the hero makes plans for how it will be attained.ħ) Midpoint Challenge: Going for the Prize – An attempt is made to attain the Prize. Understanding the structure of narratives gives kids a framework not just for understanding the stories they hear and read, but also for telling the stories of their lives.Ģ) Call and Response – This may occur during or after the inciting incident. As a speech-language pathologist in the public schools, I serve students elementary through high school of all ability levels. I use this method both to create my own novels and to teach writing to kids of all ages as well as adults. Though I love both of these texts, I was looking for symbols a little more concrete for the students I work with, and terms that brought images easily to mind for them. The Secret Language of Stories (SLOS) is a twelve-step story analysis I created based upon The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell as well as The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler. If you’re a home-school parent, substitute teacher, or writer yourself – jump right in – and enjoy! LOTS more details at the links below. She’s a brilliant writer, teacher and story analyst, with a terrific plan of fun writing activities to do with your students based on the 12-step Hero’s Journey.

As you will see below she has oodles of experience doing this in the public school system as well as in classes and workshops around the country. I’m thrilled to introduce you to The Secret Language of Stories, created by my good friend and writing/critique partner, Carolee Dean. Does your book qualify as middle-grade?.Turning Kids Into Bookworms: A Book List For Parents.

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Take Me There by Carolee Dean