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Lesson 3: Old Myths, New Readers
50 min
California CCSS: Focus Standards
California CCSS: Supporting Standards
ELD Standards
Student Lesson
Lesson 3: Old Myths, New Readers
Student Learning Objectives
1
Content
Students will compare classic mythological ideas with Rick Riordan’s modern adaptations to understand how ancient stories are reshaped for today’s audiences.
2
Language
Students will use comparative language, including while, unlike, and both . . . but, to explain similarities and differences between traditional myths and modern adaptations.
3
Foundations
Students will use the prefix trans- to determine the meanings of transform and transport and connect those meanings to adaptation.
Essential Question
How does The Lightning Thief build on—and transform—traditional mythic ideas?
Connections to
Knowledge-Building:
Students build on Lesson 1’s study on myths and Lesson 2’s study of ancient Greek beliefs, rituals, and daily life.
Enduring Understanding:
People reuse old stories to explain the world, express values, and reimagine human questions for new times and audiences.
Future Lessons:
Students will begin reading Chapter 1 of The Lightning Thief and look for ways Riordan places mythic ideas inside a modern, ordinary world.
Unit Performance Task:
Students will later compare The Lightning Thief with traditional myths and explain what those stories reveal about human fears, values, and identity.
Lesson Pacing
| Lesson Flow | Purpose of Learning Experience |
|---|---|
Launch15 Minutes | Students will activate prior knowledge from Lessons 1 and 2 and introduce the idea that authors carry stories across time by changing some features and keeping others. |
Learning in Action30 Minutes | Students will read and discuss an informational article about Rick Riordan and Percy Jackson to explore how myth is adapted for modern readers. |
Look Back5 Minutes | Students will reflect on how Riordan adapts myth and prepare to notice those moves in Chapter 1 of The Lightning Thief. |
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Addressed in Lesson
- adapt
- to change something to fit a new situation
- transform
- to change something into a new form
Vocabulary for Additional Support
- perspective
- a way of seeing or thinking about something
- archetype
- a common character pattern that appears again and again in stories
- relevant
- closely connected to what matters now
Material List
- Unit 4 Lesson 3 Student Edition
- Jigsaw Worksheet
Routines
- Think-Pair-Share
- Jigsaw Reading
- Quick Write
Lesson Sequence
Lesson Texts
Short-Form Text
Percy Jackson and Mythology
Library of Congress, adapted by Newsela
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