Peter Pan

PETER PAN 

Overview: “Peter Pan” is a well known children’s classic about a boy who refuses to grow up. He lives with the Lost Boys in Neverland and has several adventures there.

Number of classes: 3 Reading + Any 3 Activities

Resource material: “Peter Pan” by J.M. Barrie (Rupa Classics)

Activity 3: Chalk/ coloured tape.

Activity 7: A large globe/map, stickers.

Story summary: “All children, except one, grow up.” Peter Pan runs away to Neverland on the day he is born when he hears his parents discuss what he is going to be when he goes on.

The Darling children, Wendy, Michael and John Darling, live with their parents and Nana, their governess (who happens to be a dog). One day, Peter Pan visits, and, frightened away by the dog, leaves his shadow behind. When he returns for his shadow, he teaches the Darling children to fly and whisks them away to Neverland, so that Wendy can be their mother. In Neverland, they have several adventures with Indians and Pirates. When the horrible Captain Hook, captures Wendy and the Lost Boys, it is up to Peter to save the day.

Preparation for the class: Read “Peter Pan”. Be sure to read chapters 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9. Choose the incidents you would like to share with the class, and pick out the words the children might find difficult.

This book was first published in 1911. Read a little bit about Sir J.M. Barrie’s life to know the context in which this book was set. You could also watch the movie “Finding Neverland” to gain some new insights about the book.

Class Description: Peter Pan is a famous character. Ask the students what they know about him. Do they know who Wendy is? Do the names Tiger Lily, Tinker Bell and Captain Hook ring a bell?

Alternately, you can ask children about fairies and magic lands and whether or not they believe in them. The language in “Peter Pan” might be a little difficult to follow, so you might have to read the book and tell them the story. Be sure to read chapters 2,3 and 4 and 8 and 9.

Note: The children might not be familiar with terms like “Indians” and “governess”. Explain what they mean before starting the story.

Related activities: 

(Recommended - *)

Activity 1: Collage (After Reading) (Class Discussion followed by Individual Activity)

Discuss the things that are important to each of these characters. For the Lost Boys, its mothers, for Wendy, it is Home, for Peter, it is Adventure and for Hook, it is friends.  

Ask your studenst to think about the things that are important to them. Students can cut pictures from magazines and newspapers to depict what is important to them as a collage. Once they have made their collages, they can take turns explaining them to the class.

Activity 2: Descriptions (After Reading) (Individual Activity)

The Darling family has been described in Chapter 2. Read the chapter and ask the children to write down the characteristic features of the characters against the name given in the activity sheet. The idea of this exercise is for the students to infer the characteristics of the characters from what they say and do. For instance, Nana growling and pouncing on the boy shows that she is protective of the children.

Activity 3: Walk the Plank (After Reading) (Class/Group Activity) *

Discuss the difficult words in the book.

Draw a plank on the floor with a chalk, or mark out its perimeter with tape. Tell the students that they are on Captain Hook’s ship, and that some of them will have to walk the plank. Call on the students one by one and ask them to introduce themselves with a pirate’s name. Tell them that they need to spell/define a word correctly to be allowed to stay on board.

Give each student three words to spell/define. Every time a student gives the wrong answer, he/she needs to move one step towards the edge of the plank. Once he or she has made 3 mistakes, he walks completely off the plank and the next person takes his/her place. Give students not more than five words each. Here are some words and phrases you can use:

Cocky Conceited Dinghy

Swooping Daggers Wigwam

Marooned Brandish Motely

Tom tom Tactic Cutlass

Engrossed Spinster Subtle

Activity 4: Cartography (After Reading) (Individual Activity)*

Discuss maps with the class. Give them basic cartography trivia and ask the class for the basic uses of maps. Next, ask the class to draw the map of a place they are familiar with – it can be their home, their school or the area in which they live. Making maps will help children get more involved in a pirate story.

'''Activity 5: What would you like to be? (After Reading) (Class Activity)'''

What would the children like to be – a pirate, an Indian or a lost boy? What would their names be, and what would they be good at? This exercise helps children understand the characters in the story better.

Activity 6: If Peter Pan can fly, why can’t I? (After Reading) (Individual Activity)*

Read chapters 3-4 to the class. Ask the students how Wendy, John and Michael were able to fly. Then, ask them what their happy thought would be and write it down.

Variation: (After Reading)

Divide the class into groups of four. Ask each group to research birds/animals that can fly. Ask them to design things that can be added to human beings to make them fly. For instance, birds have feathers. Could feathers be attached to human beings to make them fly? (Activity source: www.lessonplanet.com)

Activity 7: Treasure Hunt (After Reading) (Class Activity)

This activity will be especially useful if you pair it with the children’s geography lesson. Name a city or country and ask the students to locate it on the globe/map. This exercise sharpens their ability to read maps.

Activity 8: Design a House (After Reading) (Individual Activity)*

Wendy lives in a small house in Neverland, the Lost Boys live underground, the pirates live on a ship and the Indians live in Wigwams. If the children could choose where they could live, where would it be? What would their house look like? Ask them to draw their dream home and describe it in a few sentences.

Recommended reading: If you enjoyed this book, you will also like:

“Mary Poppins” by P.L. Travers

“The Wizard of Oz” by Frank L Baum

“Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll

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