One of the best lessons for any English class is the mythos of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey.
Until now, this used to be my favorite resource. Then, I found this:
While the criticism of the journey or monomyth are equally important, I can think of no better starting place for understanding stories in print or film or the oral tradition than the monomyth.
See Kal Bashir’s excellent hero’s journey version at http://www.clickok.co.uk/index4.html