106 pages 3 hours read

Rick Riordan

The Sword of Summer

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Before Reading

Reading Context

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Which Norse gods can you name? What media have you read, watched, or played that involves stories about the Norse gods?

Teaching Suggestion: Students’ prior knowledge about Norse mythology is likely to vary widely. After students respond to this prompt, they might use these or similar resources to gain background knowledge to read The Sword of Summer effectively. Following this, students may enjoy discussing aloud the works, reading materials, and games they have encountered that involve Norse gods and Norse mythology and analyzing their shared characteristics.

  • This article offers a succinct introduction to Norse mythology, gods, and goddesses.
  • This 4-minute video provides a brief overview of a wide variety of Norse gods and goddesses. To connect with the content of the video, students might note 3 gods or goddesses with whom they are familiar and 3 that are unfamiliar but intriguing.

2. What is Ragnarok? What does this concept tell us about the worldview of the Norse peoples who believed in it?

Teaching Suggestion: Many students’ ideas about Ragnarok will be based on pop culture and thus may include some accurate and some inaccurate information.

Related Titles

By Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

Daughter of the Deep

Rick Riordan

Daughter of the Deep

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Blood of Olympus

Rick Riordan

The Blood of Olympus

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Burning Maze

Rick Riordan

The Burning Maze

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Chalice of the Gods

Rick Riordan

The Chalice of the Gods

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Dark Prophecy

Rick Riordan

The Dark Prophecy

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Hammer of Thor

Rick Riordan

The Hammer of Thor

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The House of Hades

Rick Riordan

The House of Hades

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Lightning Thief

Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Mark Of Athena

Rick Riordan

The Mark Of Athena

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Maze of Bones

Rick Riordan

The Maze of Bones

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Son of Neptune

Rick Riordan

The Son of Neptune

Rick Riordan

Study Guide

logo

The Sun and the Star

Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro

The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure

Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro

Study Guide

logo

The Throne of Fire

Rick Riordan

The Throne of Fire

Rick Riordan