The novel Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick is a great story about an
unlikely friendship between two boys. The novel has a bit of everything – heroes,
villains, suspense and drama. To help you better understand Freak the Mighty, you will
complete the following web-quest.
For each section of the web-quest, answer the questions using the websites provided.
Section 1: About the Author
Rodman Philbrick has written several novels and is a successful author. Click here
http://biography.jrank.org/pages/1818/Philbrick-W-Rodman-1951.html to visit this
website about Rodman Philbrick and answer the following questions:
1. What inspired Mr. Philbrick to write Freak the Mighty?
2. What are the titles of three other books written by Mr. Philbrick?
Now, Google Rodman Philbrick and find out the following information:
1. What year was he born?
2. What city was he born in?
3. What award did he win for Freak the Mighty?
Section 2: Morquio Syndrome
In the story Freak the Mighty, one of the characters suffers from Morquio Syndrome.
Click on the websites below to learn more about the disease and answer the following
questions:
1. What is it?
2. How do you get it?
3. List 5 symptoms
4. What is the prognosis?
5. Are there any treatments? If so are they successful?
Read about Annabelle https://globalgenes.org/raredaily/annabelles-journey-withmorquio-syndrome and watch the Youtube video about Sultan Ali
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piUnCJLActg both of whom have Morquio
syndrome.
Section 3: Quests and Chivalry
Freak talks a lot about knights and their noble quests and acts of chivalry. He gets
these ideas from legends and stories about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table. In this quest, you will be reading about these legends to build your background
knowledge.
First, click here http://chivalrytoday.com/what-chivalry to visit Chivalry Today.com
1. Write your own definition of what the term “chivalry” means.
2. Give three examples of how someone might act in a “chivalrous” way.
Use the sites below to answer the following questions:
1. What was Camelot?
2. Who is King Arthur?
4. Who was Lady Guinevere?
5. What task did Arthur have to complete to become King?
6. What was the name of King Arthur’s castle?
http://www.caerleon.net/history/arthur/page2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur
The story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are well known. Many
knights were featured in the tale although most people remember the main characters -
Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad. King Arthur is the figure at the heart of the Arthurian
legends but the Knights of the Round Table play an important part in the story. The
legend revolves around the Code of Chivalry followed by the Knights of the Round
Table - Honor, Honesty, Valor and Loyalty. The Knights of the Round Table were '
Brothers in Arms'. The significance of the Round Table is that no one person, not even
the King, should sit at the head of such a table. A round table enforced the concept of
equality - completely at odds with the concept of the Feudal System.
(source: http://www.castles.me.uk/knights-round-table.htm)
1. What is the Code of Chivalry?
2. What is the significance of the round table?
Section 4: Learning Disabilities
Click here http://www.ldonline.org/ldbasics/articles-info.html to visit this website and
answer the following questions:
1. What are some of the things you learned about people with learning disabilities?
Famous people
http://www.dyslexiaonline.com/famous/famous.htm
2. List 3 famous people and the learning disability they have.
Section 5: Bionics
1. Write your own definition of what you think the term bionics means.
Check out the photos of people who have benefited from bionics
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/01/bionics/thiessen-photography
2. Now that you have looked at people who have benefited from bionics, would you
make any changes to your definition?