*This is listing is only for Part 1 of a three-part course. Each part requires separate enrollment. Courses may be taken independently. Students are not required to take them consecutively, nor are they required to take all three parts; however, be advised that this course is designed as a 12-week course in three parts.  Students enrolling in part 2 or part 3 are highly encouraged to read the books previously covered in the proceeding parts.
**To receive a full semester grade, students must complete all three courses.

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.


In this middle-school/early high school English course, students will dive into the Percy Jackson series, reading novels and studying Greek Mythology as well as The Hero's Journey and traditional character archetypes.

“Percy Jackson ELA” is designed as an alternative to traditional middle school English courses. This course is aligned with common core standards for grades 7-10.  The books read in this course are of high interest to students. This opens the door for us to incorporate a variety of skills and knowledge including reading comprehension, literary analysis, critical thinking, and creative thinking, while at the same time studying the classical mythology, in terms of history and literature, and modern pop-culture.  In addition to the readings, students will actively engage in group discussion and complete a variety of projects to further promote their learning and understanding of the texts and society.

Course Structure
Students will read independently and complete a guided-reading packet for each novel.  This packet will be used to develop further understanding of the texts and literary devices, and to assist in promoting insightful class discuss. In addition, students will work to complete three projects,   one project per part. Class time will primarily be spent discussing and analyzing the novels as well as presenting and evaluating student projects. We will identify, analyze, and teach a variety of literary devices as they arise within the novels.

In this course students will…
-determine theme;
-analyze plot and its various phases;
-examine how literary elements affect plot progression, assist in character development, and convey meaning, including: motif, symbol, foreshadowing, echoing, flashback, opposition, metaphor, irony, foil, choice of language; 
-understand the mono-myth (Hero’s Journey) and character archetypes;
-understand the qualities and characteristics of steampunk;
-develop an understanding of life in the Victorian Era;
-develop an understanding of modern pop-culture.


Project Overview 
Students will complete 2 ongoing course projects, 2 small projects and 2 major projects, the final of which will be a group project.

Ongoing Course Projects
-Throughout this course, students will work to create a “Heroes and Monsters Character Catalogue.” Each week students will be assigned two characters. These can be characters from the novels or mythology. For each character, students will complete a character description as an artistic representation.  
-Reading Postcards: each week, students will create a postcard, drawing a scene of their choice and then writing the key details from that week's reading on the other side (as if writing a postcard to a friend)

PART 1
Project 1 
Students will complete the "Cereal" box project, in which they will select a character from the first novel, imagine and create a cereal, then create a cereal box that represents the character on a higher level. This will also serve as an introductory project and establish the course expectations.

PART 2
Project 2
Students will retell books 1-4 using photographs and selected quotations. This assignment will be provided after the completion of the first project so that students may work on it throughout the course.  Students will select 5-7 scenes for each novel.  They will then take a photo for each scene. Students will include one quotation to represent each photograph. Specific instructions and details will be provided.

PART 3 (two projects)
Project 3 
Students will create an original character by combining 2 or more mythological gods or creatures. This is a highly detailed activity combining creative and critical thinking with characterization.  Specific guidelines will be provided.  Estimated time: 1-3 hours

Project 4
Final Group Project:
This will be a collaborative, group project.  The exact nature of this project will be determined by class size and total active sessions. Groups may be established as "small groups," or we may work on the project as a whole class.  In this project, students will work together to design and present a concept restaurant based on the Percy Jackson series and mythology. This will include everything from logos and colors to menu design, including food descriptions inspired by the books. No food knowledge is required, and no cooking is involved. Students may take a creative and unrealistic approach, or they may choose to make a restaurant that is actually possible.  For example, when students are creating the menu, they may wish to include "Dragon Wings" as an appetizer.  This could be their version of traditional hot wings using the hottest peppers they can find, or could also be literal dragon wings.  
Students will work together and make decisions together in finalizing their final presentation. It is the hope of this class that there will be two groups competing against each other, presenting their project as if they were presenting it to an investor; however, class size may not allow this to happen.  If class size dictates that only one group exists, then students will present their restaurant in "Shark Tank" fashion.  

Books in this course (all books by Rick Riordan)

-The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)
-The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)
-The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3)
-The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)
-The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5)

Lesson Plan Outline (Parts 1-3, separate enrollment required for each part)
*Parts usually begin on Thursday or Friday and end on Tuesday or Wednesday. Course will be scheduled consecutively; however, may include a one week break between courses at the discretion of the teacher. Weeks 1 & 12 contain only one meeting. 

PART 1
Week 1 (one meeting only)
TH/F. Class introduction.  Explanation of projects.  Creating Character 1. Pre-reading book 1. Begin reading 

Week 2
T/W: Discussion Book 1: Setting, characterization, and conflict
TH/F: Discussion Book 1: Hero's Journey, Archetypes, and Symbolism

Week 3
T/W: Discussion Book 1: Themes and conclusions
TH/F: Lecture/Discussion on Greek Mythology.  Begin Book 2

Week 4
T/W: Discussion Book 2: Setting, characterization, and conflict
TH/F: Discussion Book 2: Hero's Journey, Archetypes, and Symbolism

Week 5
T/W: Cereal Box Presentations and final discussion (book 2). 
(end of Part 1, possible one week break)


PART 2 (separate enrollment required)
TH/F: Discussion Books 1 & 2: Themes and conclusions. Intro Book 3

Week 6
T/W: Discussion Book 3: Setting, characterization, and conflict
TH/F: Discussion Book 3: Hero's Journey, Archetypes, and Symbolism

Week 7
T/W: Discussion Book 3: Themes and conclusions
TH/F:. Lecture/Discussion on Greek Mythology

Week 8
T/W: Discussion Book 4: Setting, characterization, and conflict
TH/F:. Discussion Book 4: Hero's Journey, Archetypes, and Symbolism

Week 9
T/W: Project presentations: Photo story Books 1-4, Begin Book 5
(end of Part 2, possible one week break)

Part 3 (separate enrollment required)
TH/F: 

Week 10
T/W: Discussion Book 5: Setting, characterization, and conflict
TH/F:. Discussion Book 5: Hero's Journey, Archetypes, and Symbolism

Week 11
T/W: Discussion Book 5: Themes and conclusions
TH/F: Series wrap up: Discussion of all 5 books
-Begin designing Character

Week 12
T/W: Character and styrofoam head presentation (Project 3)
-introduce final group project
TH/F: Work on group project

Week 13 (only one meeting)
T/W: Final project presentations and discussion.