The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordon Chapter 1

The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordon Chapter 1

Vocabulary for Chapter 1 • whatever • envy • recognize • stirring • boarding student • troubled kid • miserable • frieze • dyslexia • attention deficit disorder • pickpocket • philosophical • probation • kleptomaniac • sphinx • contaminated

Idioms

“A Crucial American Victory Here in the autumn of 1777 American forces met, defeated and forced a major British army to surrender. This crucial American victory renewed patriots' hopes for independence, secured essential foreign recognition and support, and forever changed the face of the world” (http://www.nps.gov/sara/). What is the Saratoga Battlefield? Can you take field trips? School Groups If you teach at a public, private, or home school and are interested in arranging a school visit, several programs are available. For more information, or to arrange a school visit, please call the Visitor Center at 518-664-9821 ext. 224. School programs should be booked at least one month in advance. "Gone for a Soldier"Structured for a 45-50 minute time period, this program uses copies of soldiers' uniforms to provide students with a basic understanding of soldiers' roles and army life during the American Revolution. This is an interactive presentation using multiple learning styles. Musket DrillPrimarily intended for elementary students (grade 4-5), this roughly 30-minute activity uses wooden muskets to teach students another aspect of life for Revolutionary War soldiers. Learning the steps soldiers learned in using their muskets combines physical activity with history, all while creating empathetic connections for students. Musket FiringAn approximately 15-minute demonstration of the basic function and operation of a soldier's musket during the American Revolution. Firing is done by a period-uniformed ranger using blank charges. Battlefield TourGroups visiting the battlefield can take their own bus onto the 10-mile driving tour. These tours are self-guiding, using tour materials provided by park staff. Drive time usually runs 60+ minutes.

Setting • Primarily the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City • Mentions – Saratoga, Yancy Academy, the bus, his apartment in Brooklyn

Characters • Percy Jackson • Grover • Mr. Brunner • Nancy Bobofit • Mrs. Dodds

Description of Percy • “I’m twelve years old” (Riordan, p. 1). • “Am I a troubled kid?” (Riordan, p. 1).

Find the paragraph that describes Mr. Brunner • “was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket which always smelled like coffee….he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn’t put me to sleep” (Riordan, p. 2).

Find the description of Grover • “Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must’ve been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin….he was cripples. ..ha had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don’t let that fool you. You should’ve seen him run when it was enchilada day” (Riordon, p. 3)

Find the description of Nancy Bobofit • “freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac” (Riordan, p. 3).

Find the description of Mrs. Dodds and then her transformation • “was the little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown” (Riordan, p. 4). • “I didn’t think Mrs. Dodds was human” …”Your’re absolutely right” (Riordon, p. 5) • “Confess and you will suffer less pain” (Riordan, p. 12).

Mrs. Dodd’s transformation • “Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals, Her fingers stretched turning into talons, Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn’t human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons” (Riordan, p. 12).

Mrs. Dodds (cont). • “Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us” (Riordan, p. 9).

Point of View • First person- Percy Jackson

Method of Narration • Flashback-chronological order

Conflicts • man vs man • man vs supernatural • man vs self

Important Quotes • “Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan” (Riordan, p. 19). • “Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy” (Riordan, p. 15).

Symbols • Water - “I don’t remember touching her but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, ‘Percy pushed me!” (Riordan, p. 9). • “Did you see---the water—like it grabbed her • “I looked back up and Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again” (Riordan, p. 11). • Pen -

Myths in this chapter The myth of Kronos (Titan)

Works Cited • Amazing Animations. (8 Nov. 2010) <http://www.amazing- animations.com/animated-lightning.php>. Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief. New York: Hyperion Books, 2005.

The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordon Chapter 1