Lesson 31: The Lightning Thief, Chapter 20

Turn and Talk

Say these directions: Turn and talk with a partner to discuss your response to the question.

• Ask: After Percy’s confrontation with Hades, what does Percy still need to prove about himself?

  • Percy still needs to prove he is not just the kid other people blame when things go wrong. He knows he was used, but he has not yet shown that he can act like a hero under pressure.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: We will now move from Percy’s argument with Hades to the climactic fight where Percy’s actions finally change how he sees himself.

Context Clues Routine

Use this routine to show students how readers first infer meaning from the scene and then confirm it with word parts and a reference source.

Target Sentence Block:

• “I turned away as the god Ares revealed his true immortal form. I somehow knew that if I looked, I would disintegrate into ashes.”

When we get to a word like disintegrated in a fast-paced action scene, we slow down and use nearby clues to infer meaning first. Then we confirm our thinking using word parts and context. In this scene, that skill helps us understand the danger Percy is facing when confronting a god.

Teach: Using Context to Determine Meaning

• Say: I notice Percy turns away because Ares reveals his true immortal form. That tells me something extremely powerful and dangerous is happening. The clue “I would disintegrate into ashes” shows the result of even looking at him. From this context, I can infer that disintegrate means more than just “break.” It must mean something far more extreme—like being completely destroyed. So my first meaning for disintegrate is “to break apart completely into nothing or to turn into ashes.”When I think about the prefix dis-, it reinforces this idea because it often signals separation, reversal, or coming apart.

Say these directions: In your Personal Dictionary, write disintegrate. Next to it, jot the clue phrases “revealed his true immortal form” and “turn into ashes.”

• Ask: Which context clue in the sentence helps most, and what meaning fits the scene?

  • The strongest clue is “I would disintegrate into ashes” because it shows the result of looking at Ares. That means disintegrate must mean being completely destroyed or turned into ashes, not just breaking apart.

Verify Meaning: Prompt students to use a dictionary, glossary, or other reference material to confirm the meaning of the word they inferred.

Check your definition using a dictionary or other reference material. Does the definition match what we figured out? Revise as needed.

• Ask: How does the prefix dis- support the meaning you inferred from context?

  • The prefix dis- supports the meaning because it can show separation. That matches the context, where the objects come apart instead of staying whole.

• Ask: How does the word disintegrate help you understand Percy’s advantage in the fight?

  • It shows that anything hitting the water breaks apart completely, which helps Percy because the ocean gives him power and protection.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that we have practiced examining a key word from the battle scene, we are ready to analyze Percy’s choices and see how those choices change the fight.

Part A: Analyzing Percy’s Battle Strategy for Growth (RL.6.3) (15 minutes)

Begin by setting a clear purpose: students are not retelling the fight—they are tracking how Percy’s decisions lead to actions and reveal identity. Remind students to pause as they reread to capture thinking, not just read continuously. Emphasize that they should track two to three key decisions, not every moment. Preview that strong responses will use causal language such as because, which causes, and which shows.

Think-Pair-Share

Students reread the beach battle from the moment Percy faces Ares through the moment Percy lands his strike. Emphasize that strong readers of action scenes track decisions made before the actions and the effects of those actions, not just the actions themselves.

Teach: Analyze Decisions, Actions, and Effects

• Say: Fast-paced scenes can trick us into summarizing every hit and every dodge. Instead, you want to track Percy’s decisions: when he backs into the water, when he waits, and when he chooses his moment to strike. Those moves matter because they show Percy thinking like a hero, not just reacting in panic. If I connect decisions to actions and then actions to effect, I can explain character growth instead of just listing events.

Students will pair up to fill out the graphic organizer and discuss their findings.

Say these directions: Reread the section where Percy faces Ares on the beach and the scene shifts from panic to strategy. As you read, track Percy’s decisions, what the decision causes, and what it reveals about him.

In pairs, label the three columns: Percy’s decision, Percy’s action, and What it causes and reveals. As you work and discuss, use at least one of these words: deflected, hesitated, or confrontation.

Choose two or three students to share their thoughts with the class.

• Ask: Which two moves show Percy acting strategically instead of impulsively, and what do those moves reveal?

  • One strategic move is when Percy backs into the surf instead of rushing straight at Ares. That reveals he understands the ocean can help him. Another move is when he waits for the right moment and strikes Ares’s heel, which shows self-control and planning instead of panic.

• Ask: How do the mortal onlookers change the confrontation?

  • The onlookers make the fight more dangerous because Percy is not just fighting Ares. He also has to think about police officers and beachgoers who could get hurt or misunderstand what they see, which raises the pressure on him.

• Ask: How does this decision show Percy is no longer acting like the “problem kid”?

  • When Percy waits for the right moment instead of rushing in, it shows he is thinking strategically and controlling his impulses. This proves he is no longer acting like the “problem kid,” but like someone who can stay calm and make smart choices under pressure.

Reinforce that strong readers focus on the thinking behind actions, not just the events themselves. Preview that, in the next part, students will zoom out from moments to analyze how the entire scene functions as both a climax and a resolution.

Check for Understanding

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Learning in Action Part B: Mapping the Climax and Resolution (RL.6.5) (15 minutes)

Clarify the shift from Part A: students are moving from tracking individual moments to analyzing overall structure. Emphasize that the flowchart captures what happens, but the Quick Write must explain what it means for Percy’s identity. As needed, model how to move from one box in the flowchart to a sentence using a causal frame such as: “This moment matters because ___, showing ___.” Remind students that a strong response explains not just the climax, but how the resolution changes Percy.

Quick Write

Students now move from tracking moments to analyzing structure. They will map the buildup, clash, and outcome and then explain how the episode resolves Percy’s internal conflict. Be sure that students understand: the flowchart gives the events. Their Quick Write will explain what those events mean about Percy’s identity.

Say these directions: Use the Flowchart graphic organizer to map three parts of the episode: buildup (rising actions), clash (climax), and outcome (resolution). You will use that structure in a Quick Write to explain how this battle resolves Percy’s conflict about being seen as a “problem kid.”

Give students a few minutes to fill in their flowchart.

Teach: Climax in Plot Structure

• Say: A climax is not just the biggest action moment. It is the point where the story forces a change, and the resolution shows what that change means. In this scene, the battle matters because Percy’s victory changes both the external conflict with Ares and Percy’s internal view of himself. When we map buildup (rising action), clash (climax), and outcome (resolution), we can explain why this episode is more important than a simple fight.

Display the following writing model if needed for support and guidance:

The battle with Ares is the climax of Percy’s conflict because it is the moment when he stops acting like the blamed kid from earlier in the novel and starts acting like a true hero. When Percy backs into the ocean, waits for the right moment, and uses the tide to help him, he shows strategy instead of panic. The fight also becomes more intense when mortal onlookers gather, which means Percy has to protect others while facing a god. As a result, the outcome feels like a resolution: Percy defeats Ares and reclaims a stronger sense of who he is.

Say these directions: Use your flowchart to help you write four to five sentences answering the question in your Journal.

• Ask: How does the structure of the scene—buildup, clash, and outcome—help resolve Percy’s internal conflict?

  • The buildup shows Percy entering the confrontation still under pressure and still being underestimated. The clash is the moment he stops reacting wildly and fights with strategy by using the sea and timing his strike. The outcome resolves his internal conflict because he proves, through action, that he is not just a “problem kid” but someone capable of courage and control.

Reinforce that the climax is the turning point, but the resolution shows the meaning of that change. Preview that this same structure will support their performance task writing.

Frame this as a synthesis moment: students are combining action, structure, and identity into one clear explanation. Remind them to use at least one causal connector (because, as a result, which shows) to link Percy’s actions to his identity change. Encourage students to return to their chart or flowchart to pull precise evidence rather than summarizing broadly.

Quick Write

Say these directions: Use at least two specific details from the battle to answer today’s question. Be sure to explain how Percy’s actions connect to his identity, not just what happened in the fight.

• Ask: How does the battle with Ares resolve Percy’s internal conflict regarding his “problem kid” identity?

  • The battle with Ares resolves Percy’s internal conflict because Percy stops acting like the blamed, impulsive kid other people expect and starts acting like a hero with control. When he backs into the ocean and uses the tide to strengthen himself, he shows strategy instead of panic. Then he times his strike carefully and wounds Ares, which proves he can think under pressure. As a result, Percy reclaims his identity: he is no longer just the “problem kid” from the beginning of the novel, but someone who can face a god and win through courage and smart choices.

Performance Task Bridge

• Say: Today we practiced one of the skills you will need for the performance task. Strong explanatory writing does not just identify important scenes, it explains how that scene changes the character or the story. When you compare myths and modern retellings, this same skill helps you show why conflict matters.

• Ask: Which text landmark or sentence frame helped you explain Percy’s growth most clearly today?

  • The text landmark where Percy backs into the surf helped me most because it showed the moment he starts thinking strategically. The frame “This battle resolves the conflict because ___” also helped me connect action to identity.

• Say: The work we did today makes later reading and writing easier because you now have a way to distinguish between actions, effects, climax, and resolution in a scene.

Have students access their copy of The Lightning Thief. Instruct students to:

• Read and annotate The Lightning Thief Chapter 21, pp. 334–343. As you read, mark places where Percy faces authority differently than he did earlier in the novel.