Gods and Gifts Has Arrived

 

Gods and Gifts: Three Greek Myths Retold has arrived just in time for the start of the school year! It is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats. It is also available at Barnes and Noble, or you may order it through your local bookstore and Ingrams. Watch this blog for details about the audio book. Information about the Gods and Gifts Activity Book may be found HERE. 

When Zeus asks Prometheus and his brother, Epimetheus, to fill the world with living creatures, Epimetheus gives all the gifts to the animals. Unfortunately, there is no gift left for man. Prometheus wants something special for the humans, so he sneaks up to Mount Olympus to steal fire from the gods! Zeus gets his revenge on Prometheus by chaining him to a rock. Then he sets out to punish humans for accepting the forbidden gift. 

This humorous version of the Greek creation myth is told in three parts and features the first three stories of Level 1 of the HOT ROD series of decodable books: No Gift for Man, The Bandit, and The Box. For younger children, check out these full-color illustrated picture books on the website.

Gods and Gifts incorporates these three picture books as chapters of a larger story for older children with black and white illustrations. Because it is designed for grades 4-9, the book also includes background information about early humans and their use of fire as well as a comparison to the creation stories of the Classical Maya and other indigenous people. The background information may be read independently by students in sixth grade and up. It may be read aloud to younger students and struggling readers to provide context and background knowledge. Using the strategy of Pair and Share reading, young and struggling students have more access to rich vocabulary, complex sentence structure, and higher-level concepts.

Each chapter of Gods and Gifts is written at Level 1 of the HOT ROD Scope and Sequence. What makes these chapters decodable is the strict focus on phonics concepts, syllable patterns, and vowel sounds that the student has already learned. Although HOT ROD books may be used with any reading program, they are designed to align with Orton-Gillingham instruction based on the Science of Reading.

Level 1 addresses closed syllables (short vowel sounds). Initial (frog, spin, drop) and final (past, last) consonant blends are also used. Long words following this pattern are also incorporated, but have been broken down into syllables (fan-tas-tic). Read more about the Scope and Sequence of the series on my website for https://www.wordtravelpress.com/. Go to the TAB for resources and scroll down to Scope and Sequence. While on the website, check out my Level 2 book - Hank the Tank. The Hank Activity Book was recently named a Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist.  

Be sure to explore the numerous FREE activities on my COR Instruction page. It's a preview for some of the many engaging activities you will find in my Gods and Gifts Activity Book coming later this month.  If you enjoy Gods and Gifts, please leave a review on Amazon.

Sign up for my newsletter HERE and receive a free PDF copy of my first decodable book, No Gift for Man, in full color. It is also the first chapter of my black and white decodable book for older kids - Gods and Gifts: Three Greek Myths Retold. Don't miss any of the fun-filled activities coming up for A Year of AWE: Authentic Writing Experiences.