This article deals with the problem of educating moral and patriotic guidelines in the formation of an imaginary picture of the world of schoolchildren by means of fiction in modern conditions. The analysis of pedagogical and methodical literature was carried out and the material on the indicated problem was summarized. The authors determined the main moral and patriotic guidelines for the education of schoolchildren, substantiated their selection, considered the methodological possibilities of their use in classroom and extracurricular classes in literature. The program of the elective course for the 10th grade “The Image of the Small Motherland in Russian and World Literature” is presented; specific examples of its implementation are given.