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demigods and monsters + common core

Lexile® measure1120L

table of contents

Introduction – Rick RiordanMonster Recognition for Beginners –

Rosemary Clement-MooreWhy Do So Many Monsters Go Into Retail? –

Cameron DokeyStealing Fire From the Gods – Paul CollinsWould You Want to Be One of Artemis’ Hunters? –

Carolyn MacCulloughDionysus: Who Let Him Run a Summer Camp? –

Ellen SteiberThe Gods Among Us – Elizabeth M. Rees

Percy Jackson and the Lords of Death – J&P Voelkel

Eeny Meeny Miney Mo(m) – Jenny HanPercy, I Am Your Father – Sarah Beth DurstAs Bad as They Wanna Be – Hilary WagnerThe Greek Hero—New and Improved! – Hilari BellNot Even the Gods are Perfect – Elizabeth E. WeinFrozen Eyeballs – Kathi AppeltThe Language of the Heart – Sophie MassonA Glossary of Ancient Greek Myth – Nigel Rogers

Which  Greek God  makes the best  parent? Would you  want to be one of Artemis’ Hunters? Why do so many monsters go into retail?

Spend a little more time in Percy Jackson’s world—a place where the gods bike among us, monsters man snack bars, and each of us has the potential to become a hero.

Find out:

•  Why Dionysus might actually be the best director Camp Half-Blood could have

•  How to recognize a monster when you see one

•  Why  even  if  we  aren’t  facing  manticores  and  minotaurs, reading myth can still help us deal with the scary things in our own lives

Plus, consult our glossary of people, places, and things from Greek myth: how Medusa got her snake hair extensions, why Chiron isn’t into partying and paintball like the rest of his centaur family, and the whole story on Percy’s mythical namesake.

demigods and monsters – expanded edition

teach demigods and monsters

demigods and monsters modeLs the reading and writing skills that students need to excel in the classroom, college, and beyond. It not only demonstrates Common Core Anchor Standards, but also serves as an engaging informational text to help you meet the Common Core’s nonfiction requirements.

1 Use rick riordan’s introdUction to model and teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

•  In the anthology’s  introduction, Riordan discusses his experiences with and motivations for writing the Percy Jackson series, as well as the themes and ideas other people have found in his work. Clearly, the purpose of the introduction here is to lead into the rest of the anthology. However, Riordan’s point of view here, in writing the intro to an anthology of other writers discussing his work, is an especially unusual one. Ask students how they think his point of view shapes the content of the introduction: Why has he chosen to include certain things in this intro? And how would the intro be different, in terms of content, if someone else had written it?

•  Have students discuss how the content of the Percy Jackson series is related to Riordan’s reason for writing it: his son’s struggles at school. Ask students how this point of view and purpose may have shaped specific details within the series, and have them write a paragraph analyzing one detail that they think is directly related to Riordan’s point of view as a father (e.g,: making ADHD and dyslexia heroic qualities) and why. Have them discuss what, in their own writing, is shaped by their points of view.

•  The purpose of this introduction is very different from the purpose of the Percy Jackson novels, but Riordan wrote both. How do the different purposes of these works change the style with which Riordan writes? Ask students to compare the writing style of the Percy Jackson series to the style of this introduction. What is the same and what is different (e.g., he uses humor in both)?

2 Use PaUl collins’s essay “stealinG Fire From the Gods” to model and teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

•  In his essay, Collins mentions a variety of “rags to riches” stories, using many of them as examples to illustrate a particular “stage” in the storyline. Have students choose one of the stories Collins mentions, and outline what each “stage” looks like for that particular story. Then, have students think of another story that has the “rags to riches” theme and outline the stages for this story as well.

•  Collins chooses a wide variety of examples to illustrate the “rags to riches” theme, some of which are most likely very relevant to readers of Percy Jackson, and some of which may not be. Discuss with students which examples resonate the most with them, and why. Do they think that the stories they’re more familiar with are easier to understand in the context of Collins’ essay? Then, have students discuss whether the use of multiple examples helps build knowledge and understanding of the “rags to riches” theme. Is it helpful for them that Collins addresses so many examples, or confusing? Why?

•  In the piece, Collins touches a few times on the fact that different authors approach the same theme different ways, but doesn’t fully delve into this iea. Have students choose two of the stories Collins mentions (Percy Jackson included) and find the differences between the two in their portrayals of the “rags to riches” story. Ask students to make a Venn diagram showing the differences between the two and some of their similarities (e.g., Harry Potter goes through the stages multiple times; Aladdin only goes through them once).

3 Use J&P Voelkel’s essay “Percy Jackson and the lords oF death” to teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

•  This piece consists of an atypical, two-part narrative—first discussing different adventures for Percy, and then describing a hypothetical journey to battle the Lords of Death. Ask students their thoughts on this structure—is the beginning section necessary? What does it add to the piece? What about the hypothetical narrative. Would the story be more engaging if it were written as straightforward fiction? Why or why not?

•  J&P Voelkel are clearly developing an imagined sequence of events in this essay. Have students assess their use of details and structuring of events by either 1) making a bulleted list of the events in their narrative and evaluating if this structure is the most effective way to communicate those events (e.g., does it make sense to mention Norse gods before discussing Mayans?), or 2) choosing three details from the essay and evaluating their relevance to the piece as a whole.

•  The Voelkels have a background in Maya mythology, and use that background to imagine a new, step-by-step adventure for Percy. Have students choose their own mythological creature(s) for Percy to encounter, and write a descriptive, imagined narrative modeled off of this essay. Then have them discuss what details they chose for their story, and why.

4 Use hilary WaGner’s essay “as Bad as they Wanna Be” to model and discuss CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2b: Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

•  Wagner develops her topic with examples from Greek mythology, events that occur in the Percy Jackson series, and other cultural references, such as Disney films, that may or may not be familiar to readers. Discuss who Wagner’s audience is. Then, have students choose a reference in Wagner’s piece that they don’t recognize or know a lot about, whether a Greek myth or another example, and do some follow-up research. Can Wagner expect her audience to know this example? How important is it that readers have knowledge of the example when reading her piece? Ask students to think of a parallel example that would serve the same purpose as Wagner’s, and explain why their example is more (or less) effective.

•  Have  students  look at  the way Wagner approaches her  topic—she explores multiple aspects of  a broad topic, rather than having a narrowly defined thesis. Ask them to compare her piece with another essay they’ve read that has a very specific thesis. Which type of piece is more effective, when it comes to fully exploring a topic as well as making an argument? Which is more interesting to read? Why?

•  Wagner uses specific, relevant examples, extended definitions, and quotations to support the argument she’s making in each of her essay’s subsections. This helps keep her topic, which doesn’t have one “main” argument, from being overwhelming. At the same time, though, many of the subsections could be developed into their own essays. Have students 1) pick the subsection (e.g., “Not his Brother’s Keeper”) they think best covers a topic in a brief but detailed way, 2) explain why, and 3) create an outline for a full essay based on the argument in this subsection.

5 Use ellen steiBer’s essay “dionysUs: Who let him rUn a sUmmer camP?” to model and teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

•  What makes Mr. D a “complex character,” according to the definition “[a character] with multiple or conflicting  motivations”?  What do students see as Mr. D’s different motivations? Are these motivations addressed, either directly or indirectly, in Steiber’s essay? Have students chart how each of Mr. D’s motivations affects his interactions with other characters and 1) advances the story’s plot or 2) develops a theme.

•  How does Steiber  illustrate Mr. D’s development (changes, growth, or new dimensions  in character) over the course of the text? Have students find examples of specific evidence she chooses, then discuss their own suggestions for other effective examples. Ask them to contrast Dionysus of Greek mythology with Mr. D at the beginning of the series, and at the end of the series. Why might Steiber want readers to have all the background information on Dionysus from mythology, and use it to inform their opinions of Mr. D? Ask students whether reading about Mr. D’s “past” changes how they feel about him as a complex character.

•  Steiber writes about Dionysus as a symbol in mythology and literature, as well as Mr. D as an individual. Have students discuss what Steiber says about Mr. D in relation to themes in the Percy Jackson series, and in relation to literature in general. Do his interactions with other characters, especially Percy, help forward themes and plot, according to Steiber? Why?

6 Use hilari Bell’s essay “the Greek hero: neW and imProVed!” to model and discuss CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.9: Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.

•  What mythological stories does Bell discuss as updated in the Percy Jackson series? Ask students to choose one of the myths that Bell mentions, cite its usage in a different work they’ve read, then compare their example to the original myth as well as to the version in the Percy Jackson series. Why do students think we still see variations on these well-known stories in literature today?

•  Most stories that incorporate mythology today update mythological themes to connect with modern readers. Have students discuss how the Percy Jackson trilogy is a modern interpretation of the Greek myths, according to Bell. What, in terms of theme rather than plot, has been updated from the mythological inspiration (e.g., some religious aspects of stories are eliminated)? Ask students what they think Rick Riordan’s reasoning is for some of the biggest changes. What ideas does Bell offer in her essay?

•  One of the things that Bell discusses at length in her essay is how the events in the Percy Jackson series closely mirror those in Greek myths, but with some plot details changed. Discuss with students what these changed details do to our reading of Percy Jackson, according to Bell. Then ask students to choose a few of the details Bell addresses and discuss alternate interpretations than those Bell suggests for these changes (e.g., a detail was changed to better fit the character’s personality, rather than to reflect a cultural theme).

demigods and monsters multimedia

Want more on Percy Jackson? Smart Pop Books offers the following multimedia tie-in to Demigods and Monsters.

Book Vs. Film

Read the thoughts of two Demigods and Monsters contributors about the movie version of The Lightning Thief,  and use  them as  a  jumping-off point  for  your own  comparison of  the book and film, or of Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

On the Smart Pop blog: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/demigods-and-monsters-contributors-thoughts-on-the-lightning-thief

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