Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

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

What kinds of discrimination existed during World War II? How was some discrimination during that time related to religion and culture? What kinds of attacks did England suffer from during the war?

Teaching Suggestion: Jacob, the protagonist of the story, learns that his grandfather Abraham was moved to a children’s home in Britain during World War II to escape Nazi Germany. Consider discussing populations targeted by Nazi Germany during World War II and life on the British home front. These and similar resources might aid in preparation for class or small group discussions.

• This article describes the Nazi ideology of race, includes propaganda circulated in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, and explains the origins of the concept of the Aryan race.
• This 14-minute video describes life on the British home front during World War II.

Short Activity

Use guiding questions to discuss extended family and the role extended family members might play in development and relationships. This activity introduces the theme of Family that is developed in the novel.

Teaching Suggestion: Jacob is close to his grandfather and as a child listens to his unbelievable tales of monsters and children with magical abilities. Jacob begins to question his grandfather’s sanity when other students criticize Jacob for believing in fairy tales. Eventually, Jacob’s grandfather becomes the driving force in Jacob’s decision to visit Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children. You may want to consider using the guiding questions to discuss why extended family might be important as children grow. One way to achieve this is by using an “inside-outside circle.” Half the students are on the outside of the circle facing in, while the other half form the inside circle facing out. Student pairs can each be given 30 seconds to discuss a question before rotating one of the circles to talk to a new partner. These are examples of guiding questions you might use in this activity:

• What do you think “extended family” means? Who might be included in that description?
• Why might extended family members play an important role in a child’s life?
• What might be the benefit of having older relatives in connection to understanding history?
• What kinds of relationships do you have with your own extended family members?
• Do you think some of your family members might be considered unusual?

Differentiation Suggestion: Students or groups who might benefit from a private response for sensitivity reasons could use journaling, brainstorming, or sketching to convey answers to the guiding questions. The questions might also be used to analyze fictional families from novels the class has read together for a more neutral discussion.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Have you ever felt like you had ideas or interests that were unusual? How did others treat you when they learned about your unique interests? Do you think people feel isolated if others do not share their beliefs or interests? What might someone do to embrace their individuality?

Teaching Suggestion: Jacob is ostracized at school for believing in odd tales. When he realizes his differences, and that his grandfather might have lied to him, he begins to reject his grandfather’s stories about monsters and children with special gifts. After Jacob visits Miss Peregrine’s home, he realizes that the stories are true, and that he is gifted with the ability to see monsters. To make an empathetic connection with Jacob in the pre-reading stage, consider discussing unusual ideas and interests, isolation that may arise from one’s interests, and individuality.