LESSON 18 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Tales of Hercules
by Liz Smithe
Fountas-Pinnell Level U
Myth
Selection Summary
This 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.
Number of Words: 1,315
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Myth
• Third-person narrative in six chapters
• Hercules and his 12 impossible tasks
• Atlas and Hera
• A mortal becoming immortal
• Tasks that may seem impossible can be completed.
• It is possible to outsmart one’s enemies.
• The human spirit can triumph over death.
• Descriptive, informal language; details help reader understand heroic character
• Distant time and setting
• Multiple intertwined episodes create suspense
• Many simple sentences
• Some complex sentences with introductory phrases
• Some key vocabulary can be inferred from context: bitterly, embrace, fury
• Some unfamiliar Greek names: Atlas, Cerberus, Hercules, Hydra
• Words with suffixes: poisonous, nervous, powerful
• Large, realistic, colorful illustrations on most pages
• Captions explain illustrations and clarify content
• 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.
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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Tales of Hercules
by Liz Smithe
Build Background
Help 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 first 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 Text
Guide 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.
Target Vocabulary
abandon – leave behind
bitterly – intense resentment and
dislike, p. 2
embrace – hold, p. 2
fury – wild fit of anger or
violence, p. 4
labyrinth – a winding
arrangement of passages
intended to confuse those who
try to get through
rash – quickly and carelessly,
without thinking things
through
massive – very large, heavy, and
bulky
steadfast – focused on a goal
and can always be counted on
somber – gloomy, p. 6
unravels – comes apart, p. 13
Grade 6
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Read
Have 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
clues to figure out what the author means or what might happen.
and to use text
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the text.
Suggested language: Which of Hercules’ tasks most impressed you?
Ways of Thinking
As 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.
• Difficult obstacles can be
overcome with strength and
courage.
• Bold red chapter headings set
in capital letters introduce the
episodes that follow.
• Creative thinking can help you
solve problems and challenges.
• Captions above pictures provide
important information.
• The king gives Hercules a total of
12 difficult challenges, which he
accomplishes.
• Story structure is linear, making
content easy to follow.
• Afterwards, Hera rubs poison
that burns like fire on his cloak;
to escape it, Hercules kills
himself, the gods make him
immortal, and he joins them on
Mount Olympus.
© 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 fluent 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.
Grade 6
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 18.7.
Responding
Have 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 Skill
Story Structure
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 conflict is between Hera and Hercules. Hera hates Hercules and
repeatedly tries to kill him or have him killed. These details of character,
setting, and conflict provide structure to the story.
Practice the Skill
Have 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 Text
Have 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 first 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?
Grade 6
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English Language Development
Reading 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 Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency 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 1: Why does Hercules have to
work for a cruel king?
Speaker 1: How does Hercules kill
the terrible lion?
Speaker 2: Hera caused him to kill his
family and this was punishment.
Speaker 2: He strangles it.
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 did Hercules’ cloak burn
like fire?
Speaker 2: Hera had rubbed a deadly
poison on 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.
Lesson 18
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 18.7
Date
Critical Thinking
Tales of Hercules
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text What did Hercules do with the Hydra’s
immortal head?
He cut it off and buried it under a rock.
2. Think within the text Who was Atlas?
The god who held up the sky.
3. Think beyond the text Was Hercules’s punishment fair? Explain your
answer.
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.
4. Think about the text Why would the Greeks consider Hercules a
hero? Do you think he was a hero?
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.
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.
Critical Thinking
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Grade 6, Unit 4: Treasures of the Ancient World
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First Pass
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Name
Date
Tales of Hercules
Thinking 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?
Grade 6
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Lesson 18
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
BLACKLINE MASTER 18.7
Tales of Hercules
Critical Thinking
Read 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.
Grade 6
7
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Student
Lesson 18
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 18.11
Tales of Hercules • LEVEL U
page
7
Tales of Hercules
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
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.
8
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:
(# words read
correctly/92 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 6
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414458
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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