Descriptive Writing Unit – Lesson 7: Creating a Wise Mentor

Inspire your students to develop meaningful and memorable mentor characters with Lesson 7: Creating a Wise Mentor, part of the 14-lesson Descriptive Writing Unit. This lesson dives into the role of the “wise” character in heroic tales, guiding students to analyze traditional mentor archetypes and create innovative versions for their own stories.

Learning Objectives:

• Low: Understand the meaning of “wise” and what it entails in creating a wise character.
• Medium: Create a wise character by incorporating the key elements of a mentor from a traditional heroic tale.
• High: Innovate on the traditional wise character archetype, adding originality while maintaining essential mentor traits.

Lesson Highlights:

• What Does It Mean to Be Wise? Students explore the concept of wisdom through a “Think, Pair, Share” activity, discussing real-life and fictional examples of wise individuals.
• Analyzing Mentor Archetypes: Through examples from Beowulf and popular Disney movies, students examine the traditional characteristics of wise characters (e.g., older, knowledgeable, often magical).
• Creative Writing Task: Students design their own mentor character, considering traditional traits while adding a fresh and innovative twist to fit into their hero’s journey narrative.
• Exit Task: Differentiated activities to consolidate understanding:
  • Low: Define “wise” and provide an example from a story.
  • Medium: Outline the traditional elements of a wise character.
  • High: Reflect on whether a wise character must be an old man, providing examples to support their perspective.

This lesson encourages Key Stage 3 learners to think critically about character development while fostering creativity and originality. By understanding and reshaping archetypes, students craft mentors that bring depth and intrigue to their storytelling.

Download now as part of the Descriptive Writing Unit and guide your students to create wise characters that enrich their heroic tales!