Book Banter: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan. Considering it's popularity, (there is a movie and such) I figured many of my students would have read it already...but very few had! I may have started a small following in my classroom, and now our book fair is sold out of any of Rick Riordan's books...it was just our luck that a traveling company was also putting on a stage performance of Percy...so we were able to add that to the range of multimedia presentations that went with it. (We are a fourth grade team, so we did not think the movie(s) would be appropriate for our kiddos - some may feel too scary. Others still figuring out their beliefs. Although some students chose to watch it on their own during the study, we didn't show as a whole class, to compare another medium.)To help with the background information, our group used a lot of Nicole Shelby's unit that can be purchased here on TPT. Something we loved is that she has worded the myths in "kid friendly" lingo. Students understood the original myth, and were able to make connections and deepen comprehension, when we were reading our whole class text. With the variety of stories that are included, students can easily differentiate based on interest or a teacher could guide students to certain myths and still be able to break down the story elements and explain allusions that are mentioned. (I'm in no way being paid by Nicole Shelby to advertise, but I like a lot of her stuff, have purchased and used in my classroom, so I will happily send praise her way!)
I may or may not read an adult novel soon - I find that I like reading kid books. They make me laugh and cry just the same...ALTHOUGH...I am quite excited about one of my Christmas presents. Gregory Maguire is at it again with After Alice. My obsession with the Wizard of Oz and all things Wicked may meld into a love for Alice in Wonderland, too!