Teacher notes
Freak the Mighty hooks students with friendship and quests, then hits hard. The unit balances both: students fact-check Kevin's science, build an ornithopter and research bionics in Toronto, while the hardest chapters are read together in class. The teacher guide covers how to handle the disability slurs, family violence and grief without repeating the slurs.
Quick answers
How long is it? Seven weeks, or three with the shorter option.
Is it good for reluctant readers? Yes. Short chapters and the science activities give students who think in facts a way in.
Priced in Canadian dollars, so it costs less here than the US-dollar price on TPT. Instant download after checkout.
Full details
Max is huge, lives in his grandparents' basement, and is sure he has no brain. Kevin is tiny, has a body that is failing him, and has a brain big enough for two. When Kevin rides on Max's shoulders, they become Freak the Mighty, nine feet tall, slaying dragons and fools for one unforgettable year. This Freak the Mighty novel study never asks students "what happened?" Every prompt asks what it means, why Max and Kevin do what they do, how Rodman Philbrick told it, and what students think. The unit follows the book in six parts, each named for an object from the boys' year: The Ornithopter, The Millpond, The Purse, The Pyramid Box, The Squirt Gun and The Empty Book. Each part has a menu of prompts, a hands-on activity, and trackers. The trackers log every quest (and where pretend turns into real danger), test Max's claim that he has "no brain" with a brain-o-meter, collect Kevin's big words, chart the book's dragons and what they stand for, and keep a memory bank for a story about what we remember and what we invent. Students fact-check the genius (Kevin's fireworks chemistry is backwards), research real bionics in Canada, build an ornithopter, and run a truth test on everything said in Part 5: lie, tale, bluff or truth? The teacher guide is made with care for a book that includes disability slurs, family violence and the death of a main character. WHAT'S INCLUDED (59 pages, letter size) Student booklet (45 pages) • 6 part menus with 36 prompts (6 per part). Students pick two per part from five lenses: Under the Armour, Walk High, Draw Your Sword, Voice on Paper and Go Yonder. • 6 hands-on activities everyone does: Name Tags (cage or crown?), Brain + Brawn (who really did the thinking at the millpond), Anatomy of a Quest (a knight's quest vs. the storm-drain quest), My Dictionary (Kevin-style definitions), The Truth Test (lie, tale, bluff or truth?) and Full Circle (how the ending echoes the beginning). • 5 trackers: Quest Log (pretend vs. real), Max's Mirror (self-image, with a brain-o-meter), Freak's Words (vocabulary), Dragon Watch (fears + symbols) and Memory Bank (memory + truth). • Pre-reading hook (Your Stand), Know Before You Go (the down under, LD class, King Arthur, parole), and an anticipation guide with a sealed prediction: who will save whom? • Organizers: Armour Up (claim, evidence, so what), Chain Reaction, Two Sides, Iceberg, and a relationship web. • Socratic seminar prep ("Big Questions") with 9 questions and a moves tracker. • 6 final project choices: The Missing Adventure, The Empty Book Part 2, Build an Ornithopter, Bionics Expo, Two Voices (a two-voice poem) and The Book Talk. • 6 profile pages (Max; Kevin; Gram + Grim; the Fair Gwen, Mrs. Addison + Mrs. Donelli; Loretta, Iggy + Killer Kane; Rodman Philbrick + Morquio syndrome), 5 toolkit templates (debate builder, craft spotter, two-voice poem, storyboard, build + research planners) and a 24-word vocabulary page (12 of Kevin's words, 12 story words). • 6 exit tickets, a project planner, a single-point rubric and two Level 1–4 rubrics. Teacher guide (14 pages) • Visual implementation map: the whole unit on one page, week by week, with the chapters, the shared activity, and the chapters to read with care • Start-here checklist, unit map, and a 7-week plan (3-week option included) • Teaching with care: content notes by part, how to handle the slurs, grief and family violence, do's and don'ts, and a 24/7 support line • Background notes: why Philbrick wrote it and the real Kevin, Morquio syndrome, why the film dropped "Freak," King Arthur in five lines, the real chemistry of fireworks, rubber-band ornithopters, and bionics research at Holland Bloorview in Toronto • Full story key, plus how the ending is planted • Look-fors for all 36 prompts and 6 activities, with extension prompts • Tracker and vocabulary keys, and a parent letter • Ontario Language (2023) curriculum links, assessment plan, and Science and Technology (Grade 6 Flight) and Health connections WHY TEACHERS LIKE IT • No recall questions, so students can't answer by skimming. • The same routine every part: read, activity, two prompts, trackers, exit ticket. • Built around the book's big questions: what makes someone "mighty," and can you judge a book by its cover? • Made with care: the hardest chapters are read together in class, no student is asked to share their family's story or health, and the slurs are handled, not repeated. • Real science built in: fireworks chemistry, flight and bionics, for students who think in facts. • A one-page implementation map shows the whole unit at a glance. Pin it up. • Every page number is a clickable link in the PDF, so it works on paper or on screen. • White pages, designed to photocopy in black and white. PLEASE NOTE Students need their own copy of Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick (Blue Sky Press/Scholastic, 1993). References use chapter numbers and short quotes, not page numbers, so any edition works. The book includes slurs aimed at people with disabilities, a teen gang with a knife, a father in prison for killing Max's mother, a kidnapping, violence, and the death of a main character; the teacher guide flags each one by part. All illustrations in this study are original. This is an independent teaching resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or the publisher.
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