Curricular Plan
Through the novel Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, and the children's books Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School by Robert Parish, Dream Big Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi, How Full is Your Bucket for Kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer, No Excuses! How What You Say Can Get In Your Way by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and Kristina Tracey, and I Can Read With My Eyes Shut by Dr. Seuss, I seek to provide a bibliotherapeutic avenue for my students to reflect safely upon their own traumatic experience(s), examine their emotional and behavior choices post-trauma, and alter their self-paradigm to one of belief in self as an intelligent being of worth.
I chose to utilize children's books as a 'way in' past the student's learned reluctance towards reading. Children's books are non-threatening. The students are comfortable with the size of the book and the amount of reading required. In addition, children's books provide a palatable forum through which to deliver a message. Students are familiar with children's books and feel the children's books are for children – meaning anyone younger than them. Lastly, the reading of the children's book and subsequent activity can all be accomplished within one class period.
Freak the Mighty was chosen as the bibliotherapeutic vehicle because of the relatability of the story and the primary character, Max. Before the book begins, Max witnesses his father killing his mother. While the murder itself is not directly relatable for the students, the domestic violence and incarceration of a parent is familiar. Also, Max lives with his grandparents. An alarming number of my students have grandparents as custodial guardians. After the traumatic violence, Max withdrew into himself. As he has gotten older he has found he does not fit in with his peers due to his physical size and his reserve – a reaction to the violent trauma. In addition, Max mentally and emotionally has shut down, basically sleepwalking through his life. When the book begins, it is ten years after the murder, ten years of not actively participating in his life. This non-participation has led to a reading deficit. Max has even begun referring to himself as a "butthead moron". By the time they reach middle school, a large percentage of my students have experienced several years of academic failure, like Max. As Max makes friends with Kevin (another boy who has difficulty fitting in due to a skeletal disease) and learns how to read better, he is guided through a whole new world of knights, quests, and damsels in distress . By the end of the book, Max has begun to find his voice. His voice becomes evident when the students realize Max has written the very book they have been reading. The goal is for the students to reflect upon Max's quest for identity and voice and use it as a model for their own.
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