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Number of Words: 1,315

L E S S O N 1 8 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Tales of Herculesby Liz Smithe

Fountas-Pinnell Level UMythSelection SummaryThis retelling of the Greek myth explains how Hercules became a god after using both his wits and his strength to complete twelve seemingly impossible tasks set forth by a cruel king under the direction of Hercules’s wicked stepmother, Hera.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Myth

Text Structure • Third-person narrative in six chaptersContent • Hercules and his 12 impossible tasks

• Atlas and Hera• A mortal becoming immortal

Themes and Ideas • Tasks that may seem impossible can be completed.• It is possible to outsmart one’s enemies.• The human spirit can triumph over death.

Language and Literary Features

• Descriptive, informal language; details help reader understand heroic character • Distant time and setting• Multiple intertwined episodes create suspense

Sentence Complexity • Many simple sentences• Some complex sentences with introductory phrases

Vocabulary • Some key vocabulary can be inferred from context: bitterly, embrace, furyWords • Some unfamiliar Greek names: Atlas, Cerberus, Hercules, Hydra

• Words with suffi xes: poisonous, nervous, powerfulIllustrations • Large, realistic, colorful illustrations on most pages

• Captions explain illustrations and clarify contentBook and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text

• Lots of white space on most illustrated pages© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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Target Vocabulary

abandon – leave behindbitterly – intense resentment and

dislike, p. 2embrace – hold, p. 2fury – wild fi t of anger or

violence, p. 4

labyrinth – a winding arrangement of passages intended to confuse those who try to get through

massive – very large, heavy, and bulky

rash – quickly and carelessly, without thinking things through

somber – gloomy, p. 6steadfast – focused on a goal

and can always be counted onunravels – comes apart, p. 13

Tales of Hercules by Liz Smithe

Build BackgroundHelp students use their knowledge of problem solving to visualize the story. Build interest by asking questions such as the following: What are some tasks you’ve had to do that you at fi rst thought would be impossible to complete? What did you do? Did your approach to the task work? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Tell students this is story is a myth that tells what a group of people believes about the world.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Page 2: Explain that this story is about Hercules, a man who did such heroic deeds that the Greeks turned him into a god after he died. Suggested language: Look at page 2. The chapter heading tells us Hercules is a hero. Look at the illustration and read the caption. Why do you think Hercules is so close to the lion? Now read the last sentence. What is a deadly embrace?

Page 4–5: Point out the illustration and have students read the caption. The caption tells us it’s a Hydra. What kind of animal does it look like? Read the last line on page 4. What does fury mean?

Page 6: Read the third line in the second paragraph: Hera was in a somber mood when she heard the news. Ask: What might cause someone to be in a somber, or gloomy, mood?

Page 12: Point out the illustration and read the caption. What things do you notice about Hercules?

Now turn back and read from the beginning to learn the amazing tale of Hercules and the incredible things he accomplished.

2 Lesson 18: Tales of HerculesGrade 6© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their understanding of the text as needed.

Remind students to notice the Infer/Predict Strategy and to use text clues to fi gure out what the author means or what might happen.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the text.Suggested language: Which of Hercules’ tasks most impressed you?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Hercules’ stepmother causes him to kill his family and, as punishment, he must work 12 years for a cruel king.

• The king gives Hercules a total of 12 diffi cult challenges, which he accomplishes.

• Afterwards, Hera rubs poison that burns like fi re on his cloak; to escape it, Hercules kills himself, the gods make him immortal, and he joins them on Mount Olympus.

• Diffi cult obstacles can be overcome with strength and courage.

• Creative thinking can help you solve problems and challenges.

• Bold red chapter headings set in capital letters introduce the episodes that follow.

• Captions above pictures provide important information.

• Story structure is linear, making content easy to follow.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite pairs of students to choose a passage from the text and demonstrate

phrased fl uent reading. Remind them to pay attention to details about Hercules and to act out his actions, using any clues provided by question marks or exclamations to make their reading livelier and to convey the author’s meaning.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work English words come from many different word origins. The word Hercules comes from the Greek name Heraklees, which is made up of the roots hera and kleos. Hera means “hero” and kleos, means “glory.” Since Hercules was a glorious hero, his name suits him perfectly.



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 18.7.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of their book, using their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillStory Structure

Target Comprehension Skill Remind students to look at story structure to examine

details about character, setting, and plot. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:

Think Aloud

Page 2 describes the three major characters in the story: Hercules, Hera and the cruel king. Page 8 describes the golden apples and Atlas. The main confl ict is between Hera and Hercules. Hera hates Hercules and repeatedly tries to kill him or have him killed. These details of character, setting, and confl ict provide structure to the story.

Practice the SkillHave students share examples of the story structure in another book in which a larger-than-life character like Hercules accomplishes amazing and heroic feats of courage.

Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

Assessment Prompts• The fi rst paragraph on page 2 is about

________________________________________________________________.

• What does the word rash on page 16 mean?

• Why is the paragraph on page 5 important to the book?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What did Hercules do with the Hydra’s

immortal head?

2. Think within the text Who was Atlas?

3. Think beyond the text Was Hercules’s punishment fair? Explain your

answer.

4. Think about the text Why would the Greeks consider Hercules a

hero? Do you think he was a hero?

Making Connections Hercules is considered a hero. Compare or contrast him to other heroes you have read about. How is he similar? How is he different?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Lesson 18B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 8 . 7

Tales of HerculesCritical Thinking

9 Grade 6, Unit 4: Treasures of the Ancient World

He cut it off and buried it under a rock.

The god who held up the sky.

Hercules’s punishment was not fair. He performed incredible tasks

and he was not told that he had to complete them without any

help. He used his resources to complete each task.

They called him a hero because he was brave, strong, and

cunning. He never backed down from a task. Because of those

reasons, I agree that he was a hero.

Possible responses shown.

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First Pass

English Language DevelopmentReading Support Pair advanced and intermediate readers to read aloud a few paragraphs of the story. Remind them that as punishment for killing his family, Hercules must work twelve years for a cruel king.

Vocabulary The story contains some vocabulary that might be unfamiliar. Explain the meanings of ancient and strangled (page 2), immortal (page 3), torch (page 5), maze (page 7), and kidnap (page 11).

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: What is the story about?

Speaker 2: a man named Hercules who did amazing things

Speaker 1: Who are the main characters?

Speaker 2: Hercules and Hera

Speaker 1: What happens at the end?

Speaker 2: Hercules kills himself and becomes a god.

Speaker 1: Why does Hercules have to work for a cruel king?

Speaker 2: Hera caused him to kill his family and this was punishment.

Speaker 1: Why did Hercules’ cloak burn like fi re?

Speaker 2: Hera had rubbed a deadly poison on it.

Speaker 1: How does Hercules kill the terrible lion?

Speaker 2: He strangles it.

Speaker 1: Who was Cerberus and what did he look like?

Speaker 2: Cerberus was the guardian of the underworld. He was a dog with three heads and the tail of a dragon.



Name Date

Tales of HerculesThinking Beyond the Text

Think about the question below. Then write your answer in one or two paragraphs.

Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

On page 14, we learn that after the body of Hercules was destroyed by fire, the gods made him immortal so he could live with them on Mount Olympus. Imagine you could talk with the gods and find out why they chose to make Hercules a god. What reasons might they give for their decision?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What did Hercules do with the Hydra’s

immortal head?

2. Think within the text Who was Atlas?

3. Think beyond the text Was Hercules’s punishment fair? Explain your

answer.

4. Think about the text Why would the Greeks consider Hercules a

hero? Do you think he was a hero?

Making Connections Hercules is considered a hero. Compare or contrast him to other heroes you have read about. How is he similar? How is he different?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.


Name Date Lesson 18

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 8 . 7

Tales of HerculesCritical Thinking


1414

458

Student Date Lesson 18

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 8 . 1 1

Tales of HerculesRunning Record Form

Tales of Hercules • LEVEL U

Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

7

8

Hercules traveled to the island of Crete to capture a wild bull.

Then he drove away some man-eating horses. When Hercules

visited the queen of the Amazons, she gave him the belt that

he needed to bring back. For his tenth task, Hercules rounded

up a herd of cattle that belonged to a giant.

After all this work, Hercules thought he had reached the end of

his punishment. However, the king said that two of his tasks

did not count. Hercules had gotten help from his nephew in

killing the Hydra.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read

correctly/92 × 100)

%

Total Self- Corrections



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LESSON 18 TEACHER’S GUIDE Tales of Hercules - …forms.hmhco.com/assets/pdf/journeys/grade/L18_tales_of_hercules_U.… · LESSON 18 TEACHER’S GUIDE Tales of Hercules ... Page