Joel: The Last of Us

Writing Workshop

Workshop Title: Ellie

Step 1

Say, “Watch the following video about Joel and Ellie’s relationship with one another from HBO’s The Last of Us.” Then watch the video.

Step 2

Read the poem “Joel” by Claire C. Holland. Then ask your students, “How does the poem reflect Joel’s complex response to seeing Ellie on the table? What conflicting emotions are on display in the piece?” Briefly discuss.

Step 3

Say, “Think of Ellie’s perspective during this journey (not necessarily when she is unconscious lying on the hospital bed). Think of the emotions she holds for Joel and how that has been built over the course of the show. Jot down as much as you know from the show or what you’ve gleaned from the brief recap.” Then give your students a few minutes to brainstorm.

Step 4

Ask your students to compose a poem similar in sentiment to “Joel” in which they write from the perspective of Ellie. This can be about Joel, or it can be about anything else from the show.

Step 5

When the students are done, have them share their responses with one another.

The full presentation may be found HERE.

Analytical Lesson

Lesson Focus: Various

Step 1

This lesson allows students to analyze various concepts and skills, so it is recommended that you have covered several of the “standalone” lessons before assigning this one.

Step 2

Before you start, arrange your class in groups of 3 or 4. 

Step 3

Start by showing your students the following video, a recap of Season 1 of The Last of Us and a brief overview of the two protagonists’ relationship with one another.

Step 4

Now read “Joel” by Claire C. Holland with your students. As you are reading, ask your students to pay particular attention to Joel’s emotions in the piece and how they’re reflected in the text. When you’re done reading, briefly discuss. 

Step 5

Before you go over the lesson, show your students the following video of the game “Imposter.” Tell your students that they will be conducting a “literary” iteration of the game with the poem after they complete the first part of the assignment. 

Step 6

Ask your students to open the following document and go over the directions with them. For this part of the assignment, your students are going to have to answer a series of questions about the text. In their responses, they will only need to pull from specific words or phrases from the text. Give your students roughly 20-30 minutes to complete this portion of the assignment. 

Step 7

When your students are done with this part, tell them you are going to play “Imposter” with their responses. Here are the directions you can give them: 

• Choose Players – Three students (from three different groups) are chosen by the teacher come to the front.
  
• Get Roles – The teacher whispers one of the 10 questions to two students. The third student only hears the word “Imposter.” 

• • Students may bring their computers up with them. Or, to make it more challenging, you can create a separate document with only the poem and the questions for them to hold..that way they’ll have to “memorize” their responses before playing. 
    
• Give Responses – Each student, in turn, says words or phrases from the poem that best answer the question. The imposter tries to blend in by guessing the question based on their knowledge of the poem.

• • The point of the game/exercise for the imposter is to discern or identify the commonalities between the words provided by the 2 other players; the point of the game/exercise for the other two players is to provide common words or phrases that accurately demonstrate an understanding of the poem/question.

• Play Rounds – This continues for 3 rounds, with each student offering a new word or phrase each time.
  
• Vote – After the 3 rounds, the rest of the class discusses and votes on who they believe the imposter is. The teacher will ask the students for their reasoning behind their choices. The imposter will reveal themselves after discussion has concluded.
• Reset – When that bout is over, the teacher will choose 3 new students to play another round of the game. The game will conclude after 4-5 rounds total.

*If you would like an “answer key” to these questions, you may consult the following handout.  

Step 8

After 4-5 rounds of playing, have your students return to the document. Ask your students to complete the second part of the assignment, the analytical portion. In this part of the assignment, your students will complete a more thorough analysis of two of their responses by crafting a 100 word response that explains the connections between their chosen