8th Grade: What's Your Origin Story?
This is a project created as a part of the Teaching with Text Sets pilot program. An ELA teacher and I created a project centered around the concept of an origin story.
The ELA teacher used Maus by Art Spiegleman in his classroom to teach students the importance of their family histories in relation to their own identities. We used that project as a bridge into origin stories in general, specifically superhero stories: What makes them so compelling? What are the conventions of the genre? How can students harness these conventions to create their own unique stories?
The teacher and I created a website to showcase examples of origin stories in comics and film. Students are using the materials on the site to develop a familiarity with the genre and to analyze a large set of stories.
The project is currently being taught. The website (linked below) includes a list of all materials taught, as well as copies of all graphic organizers/worksheets used for analysis. Student work will also be posted on the site when the project is finished.