Project Ideas for the Percy Jackson series

If your school has done writing or art projects based on the Percy Jackson series, send me samples! I’d love to post them on the site.

Shadow puppet project. A great idea for teaching Greek mythology!

Origami-style Cabin Letters. A simple, fun idea from O Henry Middle School.

Percy Jackson word problems.

Dioramas. A great way to make a scene come to life, from Woodstone Elementary.

Percy Posters. A beautiful but easy art project from Northern Hills Elementary.

Olympian “Cribs.” Students at Janis Dismus Middle School in NJ created the cabins at Camp Half-Blood.

Projects from Gatesville. Gatesville Intermediate created WANTED posters for mythological characters, made their own Camp Half-Blood gear, and transformed their classrooms into camp cabins.

Bookmark Competition. Students at Valley Ranch Elementary held a Percy Jackson bookmark competition prior to my visit. The students were given a blank template and encouraged to make an original design with favorite scenes, characters or images from the series. The top three bookmarks were reproduced, laminated, signed by me, and distributed throughout the school.

Camp Half-Blood Dining Hall. Students at Drauden Point MS in Illinois turned their library into the camp dining hall.

School Myths. At North Country School in Lake Placid, NY, students wrote original 1-2 page myths to explain things at their campus. For instance, “How the Pavilion Came to Be” explained how the school’s commons area was created as a result of a quarrel between Apollo and Zeus. Another example: “Why The Headmaster’s Office Has No Mirror,” in which we discover the headmaster is the demigod son of Ares.

Create your own Demigod. This idea is from a student, Lauren. She used my character profile idea to create her own demigod. Her example is below. An easy and fun creative writing idea for the classroom!

Name: Jade
Mother: Aphrodite
Human Father: John
Hair: wavy blond
Eye color: pond-water-green
Special gift: small watch made of jade stone- turns into rock-hard shield

Jade is a rebel. Even though she is the daughter of Aphrodite, she could care less for looks. She came to Camp Half-blood one summer before Percy did, and was claimed by Aphrodite. Jade is often annoyed by her siblings, so she spends as much time as possible away from them, in the woods.

Character Letters: The students in Aldine ISD wrote letters from one character in the book to another. For instance, Clarisse wrote her dad Ares, telling him to stop being a bully. Percy wrote a letter to his mom, promising to save her. Grover wrote a letter to Chiron, explaining why he should get his seeker’s license to find Pan.

English-Social Studies Combined Unit. Students at Stilwell Junior High School in West Des Moines participated in an interdisciplinary project on Greek mythology. While studying Ancient Greece in social studies, the students did ‘create-a-character’ projects which they presented to their peers, taking their audience back to Ancient Greek times. At the same time, English classes extended the unit by reading The Lightning Thief.