Lesson 7: The Lightning Thief, Chapter 2, Part 2

Think-Pair-Share

Have students take out their Chapter 2 annotations.

• Lesson 6 Homework: Read and annotate The Lightning Thief, Chapter 2, pp. 23–28. As you read, mark at least three places where danger, secrecy, or family pressure pushes Percy further from an ordinary world.

Say these Directions: Using your annotations, discuss with your partner your response to the following question.

• Ask: What feels more unsettling for Percy in this section of Chapter 2: the strange event itself or the fact that adults deny it happened? Why?

  • The denial feels more unsettling because Percy already knows the event was scary, but when Grover and Mr. Brunner act like Mrs. Dodds never existed, he starts doubting his own memory. That makes him feel isolated, not just frightened.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: In the previous lesson, we tracked how the museum scene pushes Percy toward danger and away from his ordinary world. Today, we are looking at what happens after that strange event, when the adults around Percy act like it never happened. This matters for our performance task because strong explanations need both an accurate summary and a clear central idea.

Context Clues Routine

Target Words: chattering, mournfully

Display the Key Sentences:

• “His [Grover’s] teeth were chattering.”

• “He [Grover] looked at me mournfully.”

• Say: These sentences include words we may not fully understand yet. Instead of looking them up right away, we’re going to use context clues—the words around them—to figure out what they most likely mean. Our focus words today are chattering and mournfully.

Teach: Using Context Clues to Clarify Feeling:

• Say: When I read “His teeth were chattering,” I connect that phrase to what Grover and Percy have just experienced. Teeth usually chatter when a person is cold, scared, or shaken, so the context tells me Grover’s body is reacting to fear and stress. Then I read “He looked at me mournfully” and compared it to a weaker word, like glumly. Glumly means “unhappily,” but mournfully sounds heavier, almost like sadness mixed with worry or loss. Those shades of meaning help me summarize the mood of the scene more accurately.

• Ask: What cause-and-effect clue helps you infer the meaning of chattering in this scene?

  • Grover has just seen something that made him react with fear, even though Percy doesn’t know why he’s afraid, so he is shaken and upset. That effect helps me infer that chattering means his teeth are shaking together because he is scared or stressed.

• Ask: Why is mournfully a stronger and sadder word than glumly?

  • Glumly sounds like someone is just down or unhappy, but mournfully sounds deeper, like Grover is carrying sadness about a loss. . That stronger shade of meaning fits because he seems to know more than he is saying.

Verify Meaning: Prompt students to use a dictionary or other reference material to confirm the inferred meanings.

Say these Directions: Check your definitions using a dictionary or other reference material. Does the definition match what we figured out from the scene? Revise your Personal Dictionary if needed.

Hide the displayed words.

• Say: Write chattering and mournfully from memory in your Personal Dictionary, then check and correct your spelling.

• Ask: Which sound chunk helped you remember how to spell one of the words?

  • The chunk mourn helped me remember mournfully because it sounds like the word mourn, which already means deep sadness.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Now that we have more precise language for Grover’s fear and sadness, we are ready to trace the pattern of disbelief across the section.

Part A: Track Patterns (RL.6.2) (15 minutes)

Think-Pair-Share

Students reread key moments from the section to track how others repeatedly deny or reshape Percy’s reality and analyze the impact on his self-perception.

Say these Directions: Reread the section, beginning with Percy questioning Grover on the bus and continuing through Percy’s conversation with his mother about his father. As you reread, track repeated responses by others to Percy’s questions. Use your 3-Column Chart graphic organizer to notice the pattern, the evidence, and the effect on Percy.

Display the following completed sample table if needed for support and guidance:

Teach: Tracking a Repeated Response:

• Say: A pattern is something that happens again and again, not just once. In this section, I am not only looking for weird moments; I am tracking repeated denial from adults. When Grover denies knowing Mrs. Dodds and Mr. Brunner also rejects Percy’s memory, I can group those moments together. Then, when Percy learns he “assumed” something untrue about his father, the pattern grows beyond school and into family identity. That helps me see a central idea developing across the section.

• Ask: In the school bus conversation, after Percy asks about Mrs. Dodds, what repeated response begins the pattern of denial?

  • The pattern begins when Grover acts like he has no idea who Mrs. Dodds is, even though Percy knows she was with them. That denial starts making Percy feel like his version of events is being erased.

• Ask: How does the later conversation about Percy’s father deepen the section’s focus on identity?

  • The mystery deepens because Percy learns he only assumed his father was dead, so even his family story is incomplete. That connects identity to family because Percy cannot fully understand himself if basic facts about his father are uncertain.

• Say: Now, review your 3-Column Chart as you turn and talk with a partner to discuss the connections between this pattern of events and a central idea in the text.

• Ask: What is a central idea that the author is developing through this pattern of events?

  • A central idea is that being doubted can isolate a person. As others deny Percy’s memory and leave questions about his father unresolved, he feels more alone and unsure of who he is.

Part B: Writing an Objective Summary (RL.6.2) (15 minutes)

Quick Write

Teach: Summarizing Without Slipping into Opinion:

• Say: An objective summary tells the important events in order without adding personal judgments or opinions. If I write, “The adults are obviously lying and Percy is treated unfairly,” I’m giving my opinion. If I write, “Percy asks about Mrs. Dodds, but Grover and Mr. Brunner deny she existed; later, Percy learns that the story of his father is also incomplete,” I’m summarizing. After writing an objective summary, I can add analysis that explains why those events matter, but I still need to avoid personal opinions. Everything I say must be grounded in evidence from the story.

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

Throughout this section, Percy tries to confirm what happened at the museum, but others around him repeatedly deny his claims. Initially, Grover acts as if he does not know who Mrs. Dodds is, and later, Mr. Brunner also rejects Percy’s memory. After that, Percy learns from his mother that his father may still be alive, so another important part of his life remains uncertain. This section develops the central idea that facing repeated denial and skepticism can isolate a person and make questions of identity feel even more urgent.

Say these Directions: In your journal, write a four- to five-sentence response. First, write an objective summary of this section of the story using at least one temporal connector and one causal connector. Then add one final sentence explaining what central idea is being developed about Percy’s isolation or identity.

• Ask: Which details belong in an objective summary, and which details belong in the analysis sentence?

  • The objective summary should include that Percy asks about Mrs. Dodds, adults deny she existed, and Percy learns new information about his father. The analysis sentence should explain that these events develop a central idea about isolation and identity.

• Ask: How does the mystery of Percy’s father reflect a central idea connected to family and identity?

  • When Percy realizes he doesn’t fully know the truth about his father, the story reveals a central idea: understanding your family can be an important part of understanding yourself.

• Say: Write your four- to five-sentence objective summary including a brief statement of the central idea.

  • Throughout this section, Percy looks for answers after the museum trip, but others around him repeatedly deny what he remembers. Initially, Grover acts like Mrs. Dodds never existed, and later, Mr. Brunner also rejects Percy’s story. Percy then learns that he only assumed his father was dead, so important parts of his family history are still unclear. Because the adults keep reshaping what is true, Percy feels more isolated and uncertain. This develops the central idea that when people you care about don’t believe you, it can create loneliness and a weakened sense of identity.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Respond to the following Quick Write prompt with three to five sentences.

• Ask: What is a central idea that Riordan develops in this section? Include two details that help develop this central idea.

  • A central idea in this section is that being doubted can make a person feel alone and unsure of who they are. Riordan develops it during the conversation Percy overhears between Grover and Mr. Brunner and the bus conversation with Grover at the end of term, in which Grover and Mr. Brunner both deny that Mrs. Dodds ever existed, which makes Percy feel isolated because no adult supports his memory. Later, Percy learns that he only assumed his father was dead, so even his family story is uncertain. As a result of these moments, Percy feels isolated and uncertain.

Optional Sentence Starter:

• A central idea in this section is ___, and Riordan develops it when ___ and later when ___.

Have students access their copies of The Lightning Thief. Instruct students to do the following:

• Read and annotate The Lightning Thief, Chapter 3, pp. 29–37. Mark places where Percy’s feelings about home, safety, or belonging begin to shift.