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Teaching Freak the Mighty

Brought to you by Shmoop the Freaky.

  • Activities: 14
  • Quiz Questions: 75

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By the end of the classic Freak the Mighty, your students will hopefully have a Freak—uh, Kevin-esque thirst for knowledge. After all, this book has it all: allusions, deep characterization, and the ultimate tear-jerking conclusion. It's wonderful to teach...as long as you've got some Kleenex and medieval swords on hand.

In our teaching guide, you'll find

  • research and 3D model-making about anything—and everything—alluded to in the novel, from robotics to the Ice Age.
  • summary limericks, a la "Freak's Dictionary."
  • vocab acquisition like whoa. This book's got some seriously awesome vocab.

For a mighty good time, check out this teaching guide.

(Oof—but you knew we were gonna go there, right?)

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13-18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text.
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching Freak the Mighty?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Freak says some interesting things about memories, like, "You can remember anything, whether it really happened or not" (1.5), and "Remembering is just an invention of the mind" (22.5). Is he right?

After a great debate on the subject with your class, they'll settle down to dig through their memories (real or imagined) and write their own narratives. It'll probably take one class period.

Materials Needed: Pens and paper

Step 1: Start up a scintillating discussion on memories and let the class run with it. Here are some questions and references to help you out:

  • What does it mean to remember?
  • What are memories?
  • Are they always accurate? 
  • What kinds of things influence memories? (For instance, the age of the person when the thing happened, feelings then, feelings now, perception of reality, what's going on around the person on the day the memory comes to her or him.) 
  • Do you agree or disagree with the things Freak says? 
    • "You can remember anything, whether it really happened or not." (1.5)
    • "Remembering is just an invention of the mind […]. If you want to, you can remember anything, whether it happened or not. Like I can remember what it was like in the Ice Age. I kept trying to invent stuff." (22.5, 22.7)

Step 2: Transition into the writing activity by briefly discussing what students think about Freak giving Max an empty book when he's in the hospital and telling him to "fill it up with our adventures […]. Just write it all down like you're talking […] It's all in your head, Max, everything you can remember. Just tell the story of Freak the Mighty, no big deal" (Chapter 23).

Step 3: Ask students to sift through their brains until they find a memory, adventure, or story they feel is worth telling. Then they'll tell their adventure by writing it down. If they can't think up a real one, they can "remember" one like Kevin does about living in the Ice Age and inventing stuff. That said, their stories should:

Instructions for Your Students

Objective: Freak says some interesting things about memories, like, "You can remember anything, whether it really happened or not" (1.5), and "Remembering is just an invention of the mind" (22.5). But is he right? After a great debate with your class, you'll dig through your memories (real or imagined) and write down the story.

Step 1: Get a scintillating discussion on memories going. Here are some questions and references to help you out:

  • What does it mean to remember?
  • What are memories?
  • Are they always accurate? 
  • What kinds of things influence memories? 
  • Do you agree or disagree with the things Freak says? 
    • "You can remember anything, whether it really happened or not." (1.5)
    • "Remembering is just an invention of the mind […]. If you want to, you can remember anything, whether it happened or not. Like I can remember what it was like in the Ice Age. I kept trying to invent stuff." (22.5, 22.7)

Step 2: Think on this: When Freak is in the hospital, he gives Max an empty book and tells him to "fill it up with our adventures […]. Just write it all down like you're talking […] It's all in your head, Max, everything you can remember. Just tell the story of Freak the Mighty, no big deal" (Chapter 23).

Step 3: Sift through your brain until you find a memory, adventure, or story you feel is worth telling. Then tell it (a.k.a. write it down). If you can't think up a real adventure, you can "remember" one like Kevin does about living in the Ice Age and inventing stuff. No matter what you write about, though, your story should: