Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Abandoning Abandonment”

In this activity, students will rewrite a key moment of the story and analyze its impact on the characters and plot.

A key moment in the plot occurs when Peter throws a toy soldier for Pax and then leaves him. Peter doesn’t want to do this, but he is forced to do so. Imagine that Peter has the ability to take a different course of action at this moment and that instead of leaving Pax, Peter insists to his father that they wait for Pax to return. With a partner or small group, rewrite this key moment and the actions that follow.

• How does this new action change the events of the story?
• What happens when Pax comes back? How do Peter’s father and grandfather react?
• How does Pax adjust his perception of Peter’s growing up?

After completing your rewritten action and the events that follow, share your story with another group in the class. Take turns reading your stories aloud and offer feedback. After each group takes their turn, compose an independent reflection in your reading journal or notes that addresses how one small action shift can change the entire course of the plot.