Multiple Text Assignment
Donna Lowe
FRMS 7331
Summer 2009
Book: Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick is about a friendship
between 2 disabled boys. Themes to be explored include
friendship, loyalty and understanding others who are different.
Freak the Mighty
This novel by Rodman Philbrick is about an
endearing friendship between two boys. Max
is an unusually large 13 year old with a
learning disability. Max begins the book by
saying "I never had a brain until Freak came
along and let me borrow his for a while, and
that's the truth." Kevin, called Freak, is an
extremely intelligent boy crippled by a
disorder that prevents his body from
growing. When Kevin moves next door to
Max a remarkable bond is created. The boys
are mocked and bullied by their peers until
Max puts Freak on his shoulders and
together they become Freak the Mighty,
outwitting all that oppose them. Kevin’s love
for King Author inspires the two of them to
become knights and seek adventures to fight
for good causes. The plot thickens when
Max’s father who killed his mother years
earlier is released from prison . He kidnaps
Max, but Freak saves him. Toward the end
of the book Kevin’s illness progresses and
when he dies, Maxwell forever cherishes the
memories of their relationship.
Author:
Rodman Philbrick
For many years Rodman Philbrick wrote adult mysteries and detective novels.
Inspired by two boys in his neighborhood, he wrote “Freak the Mighty” a young
adult novel because the story just possessed him. "I used to see two kids walking
down the street near our apartment. One of them was a big guy and he sometimes
carried the small kid on his shoulders. Later my wife and I became friends with
the small boy's mother. We discovered that the small boy had Morquio Syndrome,
which meant he would never grow to be more than three feet tall. He was
extraordinarily bright, had a love for words and books, and an interest in sci-fi
and Arthurian legends.” The book was adapted to the screen in 1998 as 'The
Mighty', starring Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, James Gandolfini, Kieran Culkin,
and Elden Henson. Philbrick is the author of a number of novels for young
readers, including 'The Fire Pony', 'Max the Mighty', 'REM World', 'The Last
Book In The Universe', 'The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds', 'The Young Man
And The Sea', and 'The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg'.
Pre-reading
Ask students to take out a piece of paper to complete a survey. Prompt
students to talk about where they live, the people that live near them
and what they do after school. Then describe what Kevin looks like, less
than 3 feet tall, crippled, can hardly walk, etc. Ask the students to
imagine him in their minds. Instruct them to write down their thoughts
about Kevin without making any comments. What would it be like to live
next door to him? Would you want to get to know him? Do you think
you would have anything in common? Take up the comments and
summarize them in front of the class as you are reading. For example,
"Some of you would feel nervous or uncomfortable about going over to
the boy's house. Some of you would introduce themselves and see what
he's like. All of these reactions are very normal reactions." Plan to
give the students their papers back after teaching the novel.
Consider playing the theme song from the movie to
pique their interest in the story. Lyrics can be
found at:
http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/sting_lyrics_316/other_lyrics
_1627/freak_the_mighty_lyrics_19027.html
Literature
Kevin makes many references to literature
about King Arthur that can be further explored.
• Ask students how Kevin
explains “The Nights of the
Roundtable” to Max.
• Discuss Kevin and Max’s
courage and loyalty as it
compares to knights.
• Discuss the significance of
Kevin’s love for knights in
relation to his disability.
• Review the following Code of
Chivalry and have students
create a Code of Conduct for
themselves.
Code of Chivalry
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Thou shalt believe all the church teaches and observe all its directions.
Thou shalt defend thy church.
Thou shalt defend thy King and Queen unto death.
Thou shalt defend thy country against all whom oppose it without cessation and
without mercy.
Thou shalt defend that of any charge unto death.
Thou shalt respect all those whom are weak, the poor and the innocent, and
shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
Thou shalt never lie and remain faithful to thy pledged word.
Thou shalt never brandish thy weapon in anger nor for evil purposes.
Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the
laws of god.
Thou shalt be everywhere and always thy champion of the Right, the Good and
the True, and forever the foe of Injustice, Tyranny and Evil.
Thou shalt always fight fair and in an honorable fashion.
Thou shalt be generous and give largesse to everyone.
Kevin is drawn to all things chivalrous. Why do you think a code
like this would mean so much to Kevin?
Theater
Rodman Philbrick has
created a play of Freak
the Mighty for students to
perform the story. On his
website he writes, “Here's
the deal: send me an email
address and I'll send you
the printable PDF file,
simple as that.” A link is
provided for the email.
http://www.rodmanphilbrick.com/might
yplay.html
Movie
•
Directed by Peter Chisolm and released
in 1998, the title was changed to simply
The Mighty. The cast includes Kierin
Culkin as Kevin, Elden Henson as Maxwell
Kane, and Sharon Stone as Kevin’s
mother. The movie was nominated for
two Golden Globes.
Discuss differences between the book and the
movie. Is it better to read the book first?
Make a book
Kevin made two books for Max. One was a dictionary with words
and his unique definitions. The other was blank so that Max could
record their adventures together and hold on to those memories
forever. Have students make a book themselves using boxes for
the cover. Students can record special memories they’ve had with
treasured friends that they would like to remember for a lifetime.
POETRY
Kids Who Are Different
by Digby Wolfe
Here’s to the kids who are different,
The kids who don’t always get “A’s”,
The kids who have ears twice the size of
their peers,
And noses that go on for days…
Here’s to the kids who are different,
The kids they call crazy or dumb,
The kids who don’t fit, with the guts and the
grit,
Who dance to a different drum…
Here’s to the kids who are different,
The kids with the mischievous streak,
For when they have grown, as history’s
shown,
It’s their difference that makes them
unique.
Here’s a link to another
poem:
http://www.authorsden.com/visi
t/viewPoetry.asp?id=32707
Ask students what
emotions Freak the
Mighty evokes, then
ask them to write a
poem from Kevin or
Max’s point of view.
Learn more about Disabilities
Some disabilities are visible like Kevin’s. Explore courage.
Discuss the determination and
courage of Bethany Hamilton who
lost her arm in a shark attack while
surfing. Her story can be found at:
http://www.bethanyhamilton.com/
Explore physical disabilities by
having students research the U.S.
Paralympics. Ask student to
research one of the competitors to
learn about their disability and their
successes. http://usparalympics.org/
Neurological Disabilities
Fostering understanding of classmates
Explore disabilities that are neurological. Many students are not
aware of successful people that have had problems like ADHD or
dyslexia.
Ty Pennington - ADHD
Magic Johnson
Learning
disability
Joss Stone and
Tom Cruise dyslexia
LD, Asperger’s and Tourettes
Most students don’t know about Asperger’s Syndrome or Tourettes
Syndrome, but they have classmates that struggle with these
disabilities everyday. View the following videos to learn about
experiences of other kids with disabilities.
Link to Jacob
Link to Alex
Link to Tourettes
Link to LD
Link to Color Blind
Make the Connection
Consider asking a student with a disability (that you know well) about
talking to the class. Some of these students want their classmates to
understand what life is like for them, but need a teacher to create a
forum to do so.
Ask students how knowing Kevin and
Max as well as watching the previous
videos has changed them. Will they
treat other people differently.?
Give students their survey papers
back and ask them to write about
how they would treat a neighbor like
Kevin now.
Watch this video
Additional Resources
There are many lesson plans on “Freak the Mighty online. These
are a few:
• http://www.cowden-herrick.k12.il.us/staff/burruscasey/eLearning/ftm/index.html
• http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=41
• http://www.moraga.k12.ca.us/JM/Teacher/pforster/Projects/Mighty/indexFreak.html
References
http://www.starpulse.com/
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewPoetry.asp?id=32707
http://www.rodmanphilbrick.com/
http://www.bethanyhamilton.com/
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF8&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS333US333&q=youtube+aspergers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbgUjmeC-4o
http://www.magicinterludes.net/differentkids.html