Max the Mighty

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. In the book, an 11-year-old girl runs away from an abusive stepfather. It’s hard for her to talk about what happened. To whom might young people turn when they face serious problems? What kinds of groups, programs, or individuals are known for helping in these situations?

Teaching Suggestion: The book’s plot is launched by an act of domestic violence, and the protagonists must explore their own feelings and come to terms with the damage inflicted on them by their caretakers. Because some students may already have experienced such trauma, the topic is a delicate one; responses might be made in private reading journals.

• “Homelessness and Runaway” is a Youth.gov site that explores causes of these issues and connected concerns.
• “Support Systems at School” is a resource from Love Is Respect in partnership with the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the US Department of Health and Human Services. The page and the rest of the website contain links to numerous resources.

2. The book’s narrator, Max Kane, is falsely accused of assault and kidnapping and must make difficult decisions as he tries to stay out of prison. What options do adults who are accused unfairly of a crime have? How might the situation differ for a teen, or a child?

Teaching Suggestion: False accusations can do serious damage, and the challenge of dealing with so stressful a situation tests the resolve even of the toughest adults. It might be useful to ask students to keep these questions in mind and compare their own ideas to the solutions that the book’s protagonists choose.

• “What to Do if Someone Is Making False Accusations Against You?” from fairpunishment.org contains information on what to do when falsely accused. The information is general rather than state-specific, and the staff isn’t a law firm. This page may be useful in a discussion about resources students can seek out if they find themselves falsely accused of a misdeed.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Max, the narrator of the novel, often must overcome his fears by acting courageously. Describe a time in your own life when you wanted to avoid a scary responsibility but did not. How did you feel about yourself afterward?

Teaching Suggestion: Max faces multiple situations that require him to stick with Rachel and protect her when he’s tempted to abandon her. His choices illustrate the theme of Doing the Right Thing Instead of the Safe Thing. Each time he stands up to his fears, he finds that he has passed a test of courage and behaved nobly. Students might write a short essay that answers the above question or join a class discussion of the topic to better connect with the main character’s personal growth in overcoming this challenge.

• "Defining Courage” explores the psychology behind the trait, provides additional talking points or ideas for discussion, and might offer some language to aid in discussion.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who would benefit from an opportunity in drama, kinesthetic learning, or presentations skills might put together a short scene in which they play students in the cafeteria, where a bully makes fun of a quiet student and other students laugh, but one student, a friend of the quiet student, stands up to the bully. Discussion can follow, centering on what the class thinks would happen afterward.