Bloom's Taxonomy discussion: Little Jack receives his ‘call to adventure’

There are six levels in the Bloom's Taxonomy discussion question process. After reading "Little Jack receives his ‘call to adventure’," the teacher will ask questions from all six levels.

Click this link to read Sections 1-6 of Middle School lesson plan: Little Jack receives his ‘call to adventure’

Section 7: Hero’s Journey Bloom’s Taxonomy Discussion Questions for story called “Little Jack receives his ‘call to adventure’”

Hero’s Journey story link: Little Jack receives his ‘call to adventure’
Hero’s Journey role-play link: Little Jack receives his ‘call to adventure’

Link to Teaching posters needed for these questions

The links to each level are included below:

Level 1 - Ask the Knowledge Questions.

Note to teacher: Post the poster called “Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey – 12 Steps and 7 Characters.” For your convenience, click on the following link to print a copy of this poster.

Click link for poster: Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey – 12 Steps and 7 Characters

1A. Teacher Says or Asks: Look at the poster of the 7 main characters of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey.

IDENTIFY and SELECT who is the hero of this last story that you heard. TELL how he or she fits Joseph Campbell’s definition of a hero.

Students Respond: Little Jack is the hero. He is definitely the character who grew, learned, and changed the most during the course of the story.

Level 2 - Ask the Comprehension Questions.

2A. Teacher Says or Asks: DESCRIBE and INTERPRET all the people who play the role of a mentor in this story about Jack.

Students Respond:

Mentors For Jack:
1. Jack is his own mentor. He makes choices to try to better his own life.

2. His Mom also play the role of the mentor for him as she takes care of him and watches over him.

3. Will kind of acted as a mentor for him as he too turned down Tom’s cigarette.

4. The Ancient One defnitely serves as a mentor as he gives advice and helps Jack think his issues through.

The Ones Who Are Not Mentors For Jack:
1. Tom and the kids who took the cigarettes would NOT be mentors for Jack as they tried to pressure him into doing something that he did not agree with nor want to do.

2B. Teacher Says or Asks: Who or what is being a threshold guardian for Jack?

Students Respond:

1. Jack’s fear of dying socially (i.e., thrown out if he refuses Tom’s cigarettes) is being a threshold guardian for him, trying to hold him back from happiness. He does not want to smoke, but he does not want to lose his friends either.

2. Jack’s decision to not smoke, drink, take drugs, or shoplift is causing him to be his own threshold guardian. He is holding himself back from doing things he doesn’t feel is right.

3. His Mom is kind of being a threshold guardian for him, holding him back from making wrong decisions as he does not wish to alienate her.

2C. Teacher Says or Asks: Who or what is acting as a herald in this story about Little Jack?

Students Respond:

1. Tom acted as a herald, giving Jack the call to adventure to smoke.

2. Jack acted as his own herald, giving himself the call to adventure to NOT smoke and to see if he can find the Ancient One again.

3. The Ancient One acted as a herald, giving Jack the call to adventure to be master of his own life instead of a martyr.

2D. Teacher Says or Asks: Who or what is being a shapeshifter in this story about Jack?

Students Respond:

1. Jack’s mood changed from that of feeling like a victim to that of feeling like an extraordinary hero, and also a master of his life instead of a martyr.

2. The Ancient One was a shapeshifter as one moment he wasn’t there and the next moment he was and vice versa.

3. Tom and the guys who smoked acted as shapeshifters for Jack, as they were friendly until Jack dared to say no to the cigarettes.

2E. Teacher Says or Asks: We will now go over the last two characters on the Characters of the Journey poster. We first will discuss the Shadow character. What do you think a Shadow character would be?

Students Respond: In the Hero’s Journey, a ‘shadow’ character is the “bad guy” of the story.

2F. Teacher Says or Asks: The Shadow character is the ‘bad guy’ of the story. Given that definition, who is or what is being the Shadow character of this story?

Students Respond: Tom and the guys who took the cigarettes are being the shadow characters of the story, as they are urging Jack to do wrong things.

2G. Teacher Says or Asks: The last character type we will discuss is the Trickster? What do you think a Trickster character would be?

Students Respond: The American Heritage Dictionary defines a ‘trickster’ as “one who plays clever or deceptive tricks.” In the Hero’s Journey, the ‘trickster’ is the character who tries to trick the character into doing something. The ‘trickster’ is also the character who uses humor to defuse a tense situation.

2H. Teacher Says or Asks: The trickster is the character who tries to trick another character into doing something. For example, Brer Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, the Roadrunner, and the Coyote are great examples of Trickster characters.

2I. Teacher Says or Asks: Another example of a trickster character is somebody who tries to joke his or her way out of a tight spot. How many of you have ever had a teacher, parent, or friend be mad at you? How many of you found that if you managed to make that person laugh, you got a lighter consequence or no consequence at all?

Students Respond: (Look for the show of hands. Allow reasonable comments.)

2J. Teacher Says or Asks: So given those examples and definitions, who or what is being a trickster character in this story about Little Jack?

Students Respond:
1. Tom is being a trickster character as he is trying to trick Jack into taking a cigarette.

2. Will is being a trickster character as he uses his sense of humor to get out of smoking. He talks about having asthmatic attacks which gets Tom to back off.

3. The Ancient One is a trickster character as he is sometimes there and sometimes not.

4. Little Jack became a trickster character when he tried to challenge Tom about the cigarettes. He also used the catch-phrase of “There is all the more for you!”

Level 3 - Ask the Application Questions.

Note to teacher: Post the 3 Responses to Conflict posters. For your convenience, click on the following link to print a copy of these posters.

Click link for poster: Passive, Aggressive, & Assertive Responses to Conflict

3A. Teacher Says or Asks: Look at the three posters for Passive, Aggressive, and Assertive Responses to Conflict. SELECT when one of those responses happened in the story and IDENTIFY how or with whom it was done.

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

Note to teacher: Post the 2 Basic Needs posters. For your convenience, click on the following links to print a copy of these posters.

William Glasser’s Five Basic Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

3B. Teacher Says or Asks: Look at the two Basic Needs posters. EXPLAIN what Basic Needs Jack and his friends who offered peer pressure were trying to get met.

1. Belonging
2. Self-Respect
3. Respect
4. Power
5. Safety & Security
6. Freedom
7. Fun

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

Level 4 - Ask the Analysis Questions.

Note to teacher: Post the poster called “3 Outcomes to Conflict.” For your convenience, click on the following link to print this poster.

Click link for poster: Three Outcomes to Conflict

4A. Teacher Says or Asks: ANALYZE which outcome was demonstrated between Jack and Tom in the smoking incident and the basketball incident. LOSE-LOSE, WIN-LOSE, OR WIN-WIN?

Students Respond:

1. It was a WIN-LOSE with Jack feeling like the WINNER as he didn’t have to take a cigarette and Tom feeling like a LOSER. However, during the aftermath, it all turned around.

2. Tom felt like the WINNER as he played basketball so roughly, he got Jack to leave. Jack felt like the LOSER, since he felt forced to leave.

4B. Teacher Says or Asks: ANALYZE whether Little Jack was being a martyr or a master of his life when he turned down Tom’s cigarette. Please explain.

Students Respond: It was a mixture. He was being a master of his life in that he managed to say no. He was being a martyr in that he felt bad that he was forced to leave. He felt like he made a sacrifice.

4C. Teacher Says or Asks: ANALYZE if Jack told an adult about Tom and the other guys smoking, would it have been Responsible Reporting or Tattling?

Students Respond: ANALYZE if Jack told an adult about Tom and the other guys smoking, would it have been Responsible Reporting or Tattling?

Note to teacher: Post the poster called “Don’t be part of the Problem. Be part of the Solution.” For your convenience, click on the following link to print a copy of this poster.

Click link for poster: 'Don’t be part of the problem. Be part of the Solution.'

4D. Teacher Says or Asks: Look at the following poster on the white board. Let’s get a volunteer to read it aloud. ANALYZE in what ways Jack was being part of the problem with Tom and the other guys smoking. CONTRAST how Jack could have been part of the solution instead.

Students Respond: Jack could have tried positive peer pressure instead so that he could be part of the solution. He was part of the problem in that he felt pushed out of the basketball game since he made Tom mad.

4E. Teacher Says or Asks: DEBATE why kids are afraid to say no to peer pressure. Also DEBATE how you get strong enough to say no.

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

Level 5 - Ask the Synthesis Questions.

Note to teacher: Post the poster called “’I Message’ Sentence Starters.” For your convenience, click on the following link to print a copy of this poster.

Click link for poster: ‘I Message’ Sentence Starters

Teacher Says or Asks: Look at the I Message Sentence Starters poster on the white board. Pretend you are a character in the story. CHOOSE one of the Sentence Starters and CREATE an ‘I Message’ to say to another character within the story, making a request of him or her.

I ____________________ because ___________________.

Students Respond: (Accept reasonable answers.)
A. I __________________________ because ___________________________.

B. I __________________________ because ___________________________.
C. I __________________________ because ___________________________.

Level 6 - Ask the Evaluation Questions.

Note to teacher: Post the poster called “Good Character Traits.” For your convenience, click on the following link to print a copy of this poster.

Click link for poster: Good Character Traits

6A. Teacher Says or Asks: Look at the Good Character Traits poster on the white board.

DETERMINE in what ways did the characters in this story demonstrate Responsibility and Self Control?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

6B. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE in what ways did the characters in this story demonstrate Valuing and Respecting Self?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

6C. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE in what ways did the characters in this story Valuing and Respecting Others?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

6D. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE in what ways did the characters in this story Tolerance and Allowing?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

6E. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE in what ways did the characters in this story Justice and Fairness?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

6F. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE in what ways did the characters in this story Valuing and Respecting Authority?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

6G. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE in what ways did the characters in this story Leadership?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

6H. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE in what ways did the characters in this story demonstrate any other Good Character Traits?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

6I. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE what any of the characters could have done differently to better demonstrate any of these Good Character Traits qualities?

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers)

====================
Return to Middle School lesson plan: Little Jack receives his ‘call to adventure’
====================