Multiple Text Assignment Donna Lowe FRMS 7331 Summer 2009

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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'.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. Code of Chivalry • 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?

7. 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/mightyplay.html

8. 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?

9. 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.

10. 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/visit/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.

11. 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/

12. Neurological DisabilitiesFostering 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

13. 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 Alex Link to LD Link to Jacob Link to Tourettes Link to Color Blind

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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=UTF-8&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS333US333&q=youtube+aspergers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbgUjmeC-4o http://www.magicinterludes.net/differentkids.html