The Hero's Journey - A closer look at Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief

Welcome to 6th grade ELA at Cien Aguas International School!!!  I am thrilled to see so many familiar faces and happy to meet our new-to-CAIS students. With your school supply list, you received a list of the books we'll be reading this year. I'm sure you noticed that our first book is one that you might've already read - Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief. 

Though you may have already read the book and maybe even seen the movie, it is always a GREAT idea to re-read a book for anything you might have missed. In our case, we will be reading the book to analyze it under a slightly different lens. During this unit, we'll be learning about the Greek heroes, gods and monsters that book refers to by reading some of the mythology Rick Riordan references. We will also analyze Percy's Hero's Journey; the pattern or archetype of a narrative that was first identified by Joseph Campbell. We will collaborate to decide if Percy Jackson fits the Hero archetype as presented by Joseph Campbell. The unit culminates with an evaluation of the students understanding of the Hero's Journey where they take some time to write their own narrative. 

English Language Arts is not only about reading. The expectation is that we read, discuss and collaborate in a productive, collegial environment to enhance our understanding of the literature and to be able to produce our own pieces. Be prepared for an exciting year!  I look forward to working closely with each and every one of you.