The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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

ACTIVITY 1: “One Winter”

Charlie creates a mixtape for Patrick called “One Winter” that he talks about on pages 53 and 54. On it, he includes the following songs:

• “Asleep” by The Smiths
• “Vapour Trail” by Simon & Garfunkel
• “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harun
• “Time of No Reply” by Nick Drake
• “Dear Prudence” by the Beatles
• “Gypsy” by Suzanne Vega
• “Nights in White Satin” by the Moody Blues
• “Daydream” by Smashing Pumpkins
• “Dusk” by Genesis
• “MLK” by U2
• “Blackbird” by the Beatles
• “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac
• “Asleep” by The Smiths

Ask students if they’ve ever made a mixtape for anyone, particularly a cassette mixtape. Then show this video explaining the process of putting one together.

Break students into groups of two or three and assign them a song from Charlie’s mixtape. Hand out printed copies of the song’s lyrics. Ask them to look up the song and listen to it (preferably using headphones). Then, ask them to answer the following questions:

• What is this song about?
• Why might Charlie have included it on the mixtape for Patrick?
• Does it fit with any of the novel’s themes? Why or why not?