Peter Pan

Peter Pan

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade fantasy
• Originally Published: 1911
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 980L; grades 4-7
• Structure/Length: 17 chapters; approx. 134 pages (depending on edition); approx. 5 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: A flying boy, Peter, arrives at the Darling household one night and leaves his shadow behind. When he returns for it, he convinces young Wendy Darling and her two brothers to accompany him to Neverland, where Wendy becomes a mother figure to Peter’s band of lost boys and they have adventures fighting pirates led by Captain Hook.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Sexist stereotypes; racist language and stereotypes; violence and murder

J. M. Barrie, Author

• Bio: 1860-1937; born in Scotland; attended the University of Edinburgh; became a freelance writer in London in 1885; told his first stories about Peter Pan to the children of a friend; reflected in his work a longing to relive happy childhood days before the death of a brother when Barrie was 6 years old; wrote many plays as well as prose stories; adapted his 1904 play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up into the novel Wendy and Peter, now known as Peter Pan; became a baronet (1913) and was awarded the Order of Merit (1922)
• Other Works: A Window in Thurms (1889); Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906); Dear Brutus (play; 1917)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• A Mother’s Role
• Growing Up
• Knowledge and Ignorance

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the social and cultural contexts surrounding J.M. Barrie’s inspiration behind Peter’s conflicts.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the themes of A Mother’s Role, Growing Up, and Knowledge and Ignorance.
• Plan and design their own visual media to create an original version of Neverland based on text details.
• Analyze and evaluate plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding Peter’s innocence, motherhood, and other topics.