The Last Olympian

The final battle between the Olympians and Titans explores the concepts of good and evil, as well as redemption. Think about how good and evil are represented throughout the novel. In what ways are these ideas ambiguous or unclear? What role does redemption play in the story?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider challenging students to define good and evil as complex concepts explored in the novel. If a particular character is evil, have students specify why. Notably, the conflict between the Olympians and Titans ends when Luke kills himself, thus vanquishing Kronos and simultaneously redeeming himself. You might ask students what they think of Luke’s self-sacrifice and whether it affects their view of the harm he has previously caused.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who may benefit from a more structured or visual approach, such as English language learners and students with executive function differences, consider providing a T-chart with good/evil as the headers to help students organize their research. Students might collaborate in small groups to either ideate (brainstorm) or complete specific parts of the task. For example, one person in each two-person group could research “evil,” while the other person could research “good.” Students might then pool their findings, or they may wish to accomplish the task together from start to finish.