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Riordan, R. (2005). The lightning thief. New York, NY: Hyperion Books. ISBN: 978-0-7868-3865-3
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grade Level: 5-8
Summary: This is the first book the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and it incorporates elements of Greek mythology throughout the book. The book opens as 12-year old Percy relives his strange encounter with his pre-algebra teacher. While on a field trip to the New York Museum of Metropolitan Art, his algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodds, transformed into a monster and Percy, with the help of his Latin teacher, manages to kill her. No one seems to realize this though, and Percy’s best friend, Grover, begins to act differently towards him. Grover’s weird behavior culminates when he appears at at the beach house that Percy and his mother are vacationing at and tells them to leave immediately. On the way back to their home in New York City, Percy’s mom is taken by a Minotaur, and Percy fights until he passes out. When he awakens, Percy realizes he is at Camp Half-Blood, which serves as a camp for children of the Greek gods. Percy soon learns he is the son of Poseidon, and decides to go looking for Zeus’s lightning bolt because Zeus believes Poseidon stole it. Along the journey, Percy and his friends find Hades, who has been holding Percy’s mother hostage. Hades believes that Percy stole his helm of darkness, and in order to get his mother back, Percy must find it. Escaping from Hades, Percy learns that Ares has taken both Zeus’ bolt and the helm of darkness. Percy defeats him and the items are restored to their rightful owners. Percy and his mother are reunited and Percy decides to return to Camp Half-Blood the next summer.
Activity: Throughout this work, the audience is introduced to a number of different Greek gods and goddesses. As a way to tie this book into teaching about mythology, have students do a presentation on someone from Greek mythology. The teacher can either randomly assign characters to students, or allow students to select for themselves. Then, have students create a Powerpoint slide for their character. Students should include at least six elements on their slide that describe their Greek mythological character. Elements can include pictures, text color, background color, a video or music clip. After completing their slide, have students present them to the class and explain why they chose each element. You can also choose to have them respond to the following questions: How does each element represent their character? Does the student like their character? Why or why not? What impact did their character have on Greek mythology? Is the character present in The Lightning Thief? If so, what is their role?
Possible characters to choose from: Calypso, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Atlas, Odysseus, Oedipus, Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hades, Perseus, Achilles, Clytemnestra, Narcissus, Nemesis, Eris, Artemis, Hermes, Agamemnon, Helen of Troy, Iris, Atlas
For example:
If I was assigned Calypso, I would include elements such as:
-a water-like background because she lived on an island
-a picture of a globe, because she was the daughter of Titan
-a clip of someone singing because she sings to Oedipus
-a picture of a wedding ring, because she wants to marry Oedipus
-a picture of a jail because she was imprisoned on Ogygia
-red text because she is in love with Oedipus
Idea inspired by: Heather Rice’s Honors English I Class at Western Harnett High School in Lillington, NC.
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grade Level: 5-8
Summary: This is the first book the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and it incorporates elements of Greek mythology throughout the book. The book opens as 12-year old Percy relives his strange encounter with his pre-algebra teacher. While on a field trip to the New York Museum of Metropolitan Art, his algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodds, transformed into a monster and Percy, with the help of his Latin teacher, manages to kill her. No one seems to realize this though, and Percy’s best friend, Grover, begins to act differently towards him. Grover’s weird behavior culminates when he appears at at the beach house that Percy and his mother are vacationing at and tells them to leave immediately. On the way back to their home in New York City, Percy’s mom is taken by a Minotaur, and Percy fights until he passes out. When he awakens, Percy realizes he is at Camp Half-Blood, which serves as a camp for children of the Greek gods. Percy soon learns he is the son of Poseidon, and decides to go looking for Zeus’s lightning bolt because Zeus believes Poseidon stole it. Along the journey, Percy and his friends find Hades, who has been holding Percy’s mother hostage. Hades believes that Percy stole his helm of darkness, and in order to get his mother back, Percy must find it. Escaping from Hades, Percy learns that Ares has taken both Zeus’ bolt and the helm of darkness. Percy defeats him and the items are restored to their rightful owners. Percy and his mother are reunited and Percy decides to return to Camp Half-Blood the next summer.
Activity: Throughout this work, the audience is introduced to a number of different Greek gods and goddesses. As a way to tie this book into teaching about mythology, have students do a presentation on someone from Greek mythology. The teacher can either randomly assign characters to students, or allow students to select for themselves. Then, have students create a Powerpoint slide for their character. Students should include at least six elements on their slide that describe their Greek mythological character. Elements can include pictures, text color, background color, a video or music clip. After completing their slide, have students present them to the class and explain why they chose each element. You can also choose to have them respond to the following questions: How does each element represent their character? Does the student like their character? Why or why not? What impact did their character have on Greek mythology? Is the character present in The Lightning Thief? If so, what is their role?
Possible characters to choose from: Calypso, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Atlas, Odysseus, Oedipus, Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hades, Perseus, Achilles, Clytemnestra, Narcissus, Nemesis, Eris, Artemis, Hermes, Agamemnon, Helen of Troy, Iris, Atlas
For example:
If I was assigned Calypso, I would include elements such as:
-a water-like background because she lived on an island
-a picture of a globe, because she was the daughter of Titan
-a clip of someone singing because she sings to Oedipus
-a picture of a wedding ring, because she wants to marry Oedipus
-a picture of a jail because she was imprisoned on Ogygia
-red text because she is in love with Oedipus
Idea inspired by: Heather Rice’s Honors English I Class at Western Harnett High School in Lillington, NC.