Courses Search Donate 651153026

Reading & language arts · 5th grade reading & vocabulary · Imagina!ve Worlds
· Close reading: informa!onal text

Imagina!ve Worlds: reading informa!onal text; Peter Pan through

the Ages 5
Google Classroom Facebook Twi!er Email

Read the passage.

Peter Pan Through the Ages

1. What do you think of when you hear the name Peter Pan?

2. Does your mind conjure up a vivid image of a young, happy boy dressed in shades of green—from
feather-"pped cap to pointed shoes? Do you imagine him flying jubilantly alongside Tinker Bell or
flir"ng with mermaids in the Enchanted Lagoon? Or maybe you picture Peter courageously ba!ling
with Captain Hook.

3. When people today think of Peter Pan, they mostly think of the cartoon Disney version. But the Disney
version of Peter is very different from the original one created by Sco$sh writer J.M. Barrie back in
1902. Barrie first introduced Peter as the main character in his novel The Li!le White Bird; in that story,
Peter had a dark, haun"ng side to him. Then, in 1904, Barrie wrote a play based on his novel—and
there were a couple of things that might surprise you about how Peter looked on the stage in the early
20th century. First, Peter’s clothes were brown, tan, or rust-colored, not green. Second, the character
of Peter Pan was always played by a woman. Even today, many theatrical produc"ons s"ll cast women
to play Peter.

4. Barrie didn’t have just one version of the Peter Pan story—he made changes along the way. For
example, he learned that children were copying Peter Pan, and trying to jump out of their beds to fly.
Some of them were ge$ng badly injured! So Barrie added the rule that in order to fly, you had to have
fairy (or pixie) dust blown on you first. By adding this rule, J.M. Barrie was trying to help children
understand that flying is magical, so that they wouldn’t try to do it themselves and get hurt.

5. While J.M. Barrie was the original creator of Peter Pan, another man named Walt Disney had a big
influence on how we think of the character of Peter. As a child, Walt was fascinated with Peter Pan
and his story. When his school put on the play, the young Disney played the lead role of Peter Pan
himself. Walt’s brother, Roy, helped him fly by using a rope to li% Walt up and move him through the
air—along with the pixie dust, of course!

6. When Disney grew up, he started an anima"on studio and made movies like Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Dumbo. Disney s"ll loved the story of Peter Pan, and he knew he wanted to
make a movie of that too. But he also felt that he needed to make some changes to the story and
characters. So he altered Peter Pan’s character a li!le bit to be!er fit the tastes of American audiences.
He kept Peter as the same young boy, but made him a li!le more charming, a li!le more mischievous,
and a li!le more playful. In 1953, Disney’s Peter Pan was released.

7. The extraordinary thing about fantasy is that anything can be imagined. Things that are impossible can
become possible. Things that are unlikely can become likely. Things that are created by one person can
be shared or changed by another person. J.M. Barrie strode into the literary world with the character
of Peter Pan. Walt Disney took that same character and made him his own. The two versions have
some things in common, and some things that are different: but they’re both Peter Pan.

[Readability and a!ribu"on]

Based on the informa!on in the passage, in what two ways are Barrie’s and Disney’s Peter Pan similar?

Choose 2 answers:

A They both only appear in plays.

B They are both minor characters.

C They both wear green.

D They both have dark sides.

E They can both fly.

F They are both young boys.

Report a problem

2 of 4 Check

Close reading: informa!onal text

Making inferences in informa"onal texts | Reading

What is a main idea? | Reading

How do writers use examples to get their points across? | Reading

Analyzing an author's purpose | Reading

Reading mul"ple accounts of the same topic | Reading

Prac"ce: Imagina"ve Worlds: reading informa"onal text; Peter

Pan through the Ages 5

Next lesson
Applying vocabulary knowledge

About Contact Courses

Our mission is to provide a
News Help center Math: Pre-K - 8th grade
free, world-class educa"on
to anyone, anywhere. Impact Support community Math: Get ready courses

Our team Share your story Math: high school &

college
Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) Our interns Press Test prep

nonprofit organiza"on. Our content specialists Science

Donate or volunteer today! Our leadership Download our apps Compu"ng

Our supporters iOS app Arts & humani"es

Our contributors Android app Economics

Our finances Reading & language arts

Careers Life skills

Internships

Change language
Courses

© 2022 Khan Academy Terms of use Privacy Policy Cookie No"ce