Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

ACTIVITY 1: “A Story is a Trojan Horse”

You just read a story about a wooden horse that was used to secretly deliver soldiers into the enemy’s city. Did you ever think about how stories can be like Trojan Horses, though? Stories contain hidden ideas--themes--that they deliver to you while you read. Whether you consciously realize what a story’s themes are or not, you’re still absorbing them while you read.

For this project, you will create a representation of a Trojan Horse--and then you will fill it with themes from Black Ships Before Troy.

Part A: Think about the themes of Black Ships Before Troy.

• Read Esther Lombardi’s article “How to Identify the Theme in a Literary Work.”
• Make a list of five messages about life that this story seems to contain.
• Write each theme on a separate slip of paper.
• On the back side of each slip of paper, explain how the theme you wrote on the front side is “hidden” inside Sutcliff’s story.

Part B: Create a Trojan Horse to carry your messages about theme.

• Use construction paper to create a Trojan Horse that has a hollow space in the middle for carrying your messages: Cut two identical horse shapes out of the paper, then glue them together along the edges--remember to leave an opening along the horse’s belly where your messages can be tucked inside the horse!
• Decorate the outside of your horse with words and pictures from the story.