Category: CORE

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SEVEN Tips for Unpacking Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia is a quintessential middle school read. It is tied to one of our CORE, Level 3 Integrated Literature and Writing units. By the time students reach this level, they are confidently journaling and writing their ideas inspired by great stories.  As the teacher, you have the profound opportunity to guide your students into the work of unpacking the story. During middle school, introducing the concept of themes and symbols and motifs conversationally adds richness to the discussion and depth to what is gleaned from the story. Following are seven tips for going deeper into this wonderful story.

ONE. Be WOWed!

As you, the teacher are WOWed, your students will follow.

First things first:                                       

                  Often, we are asked, “Do I have to read the book?” 

                  Our reply?  A resounding, “No, you GET to read the book!”

                                 (You won’t be WOWed if you don’t read the book!)

Our CORE Integrated Literature and Writing Journals are designed to free up the teacher to read closely alongside the student, unlocking the story’s treasure. This enables the student to journal observations and compose ideas inspired by the journey.

     No skipping pages!

Recently when Cathi and I began to prepare to deliver a close reading lesson of this wonderful novel, I broke the cardinal rule and skipped what I assumed was a “promo” blurb.  But no, I realized, upon reading that this significant passage reminds us that someone long ago hung a rope!

“A Place for Us” is actually an invitation to enter into the story’s world, the story’s wonder—”It was a glorious autumn day, and if you looked up while you swung, it gave you the feeling of floating. Jess leaned back and drank the clear rich color of the sky.” Then Leslie called to Jess, “We need a place just for us.” And so the world of the story is opened to us readers.

Thankfully, Cathi reminded me to NOT skip this introduction!

             Ask yourself, “What are the powerful points that bring shape to the big picture?”

What are the points YOU discover? What are the points your student discovers? Remember there is no right answer here. There are parameters—think about the characters, the setting, the plot, and all the words and phrases that help these fold together into a story—but within those parameters, there is room to explore.

              Jump to the FORWARD written by Kate DiCamillo

“In afternoons the floor would fill up with great slabs of light, and it was very much like being in a dusty, book-filled cathedral. I read Bridge to Terabithia in one of those great squares of light; and the story, for me is forever associated with light.” Reading this brought to mind Emily Dickinson’s poem “A Certain Slant of Light” and the HEFT/weight that the poet describes is akin to Kate DiCamillo’s description here. Robert Frost’s poem, which is also alluded to in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is brought to mind too, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”  Kate DiCamillo here makes an astonishing simile: “Bridge to Terabithia is like that room—brimful of light.” She goes on to remind us that something terrible happens. Something terrible. And then she reminds us that we CAN bear this terrible thing. This is the power of literature, it reminds us we are, “…loved and seen, too” (x).

TWO. Seek Out Rich Words

From the Forward…

Rent – to split, to be torn 

Brimful – full to the very top edge 

“We are devastated, emotionally rent. But still: we feel held, loved, seen. Someone trusted us enough to tell us the truth and because of that the room is golden, brimful of light” (xi).

To the middle of the book and beyond…

Wheedling – To flatter, to coax 

“‘Why can’t we charge some things,’ Ellie said in her wheedling voice'” (101).

THREE. Introduce & Explore Themes and Symbols and Motifs

Themes emerge as characters move through the world of the story. Themes connect readers to deeper conflicts that arise on the journey—shared humanity. Themes are NOT “morals” (recommendations on how to live / “moral of the story”) but rather, point to real ways we humans experience the world, archetypical ways. Themes demonstrate topics common to us all—love, conformity, justice, beauty, friendship, courage, power, family and so on.

In other words, it’s NOT a writer’s job to answer the world’s difficult questions, only to SHOW those questions clearly with their stories and allow the characters and the readers to journey through to the other side.

  • Cathedral —REVERENCE is a recurring theme that is pointed out by Kate DiCamillo in the Forward. Watch for this throughout the story.
  • LIGHT as a symbol is so often repeated in the story that it transforms into a motif, like wallpaper illuminating along the way.
  • GOLD  When Leslie and Jess help renovate, they want to use blue paint but end up using gold. Ultimately, Leslie compares the room to a magical castle.
  • How does FRIENDSHIP unfold?
  • How is EMPATHY strengthened?

Significantly, in Chapter 2, entitled Leslie Burke,  the character does not introduce herself until the very end: “My name is Leslie Burke” (22). Up until this point, Jess does not know what to make of this person, “The person had jaggedy brown hair cut close to its face and wore one of those blue-undershirtlike tops with faded jeans cut off above the knees. He couldn’t honestly tell whether it was a girl or a boy” (22). After a small dialogue he decides definatively that this is a girl, but is not sure why he makes this decision. So begins a beautiful unfolding of gender as theme, of childhood, of innocence that leads to friendship.

 

FOUR. Character Development

Characters weave readers into themes.

Look for passages of immediacy where deeper character traits and desires are revealed. In this story, Jess longs to be seen, to be known. He is trying to move beyond the reputation of being the “crazy little kid who draws all the time,” (4) he is trying to win a race, to make his father proud. What was his father like? We know right away he drove a pick-up. But what do we learn about his father that is implied by lines like: ” even his dad would be proud” (5) and “Old Dad would be surprised at how strong he’d gotten in the last couple of years” (6).  Later on when the familiar “baripity” can be heard coming up the road, Maybelle screams with delight. When her father opens the truck door, she climbs onto his lap, just then, Jess’s internal voice shares with us readers: “Durn luckey kid” (19). Jess longed for his father’s affection. And teaches us much about his father.

FIVE. Enlist the Built-in Teacher

What is the author doing with words?

Stylistic techniques of the author?

What do YOU discover…?

            Comments on Writing Technique

Following are some notes and tabs from Chapter 1 (and beyond).  Read these passages aloud and encourage your students to find similar moments in the writing that they find exceptional.

Examine the 4-sentence opening paragraph  that begins with onomatopoea. The length of the sentences are short short short and then long. And it is the long, last complex sentence that launches the reader into the complexities of this marvelous story. Read this paragraph aloud!

Check out the simile describing Mama “Mad as Flies” on page 1.

Find this sentence on page 2: “When you were the only boy smashed between four sisters.”

And find this one further on down the same page: “Even if it got unhandy at times.”

This marvelous sentence on page 2 is filled with exceptional words and repetition that lends a certain tiptoe rhythm: “The place was so rattly that it screeched whenever you put your foot down, but Jess had found that if you tiptoed, that it gave only a low moan, and he could usually get outdoors without waking  Momma or Ellie or Brenda or Joyce Ann.”

More onomatopoeia on page 5: “…red mud slooching…”

And, in the end, Katherine Patterson profoundly uses onomatopoeia as motif to bookend the story: “Behind him came the baripity of the pick-up but he couldnt turn around” (132).

Watch for the em dash—that wonderful mark that can replace the comma, parenthesis, or colon. This mark is always more emphatic, more intrusive. And Katherine Patterson employs it throughout the story.

SIX.  Unpacking the Heart of Story

Pay attention to setting—where and when is the story taking place. This particular story takes place in a small town, Lark Creek, in rural Virginia post Vietnam in the 1970s.  Follow the path of the plot, follow the sequence of events  driven by the characters. This journey will lead you to the heart of the story.

And as stories go, this one is special—a bildungsroman. Don’t let anyone tell you its a simple “coming of age” story because Bridge to Terabithia is so much more. Bildungsroman is literary term. Here, bildung means “education” and roman means “formation”—loss leads to growth. Here maturity comes at a high cost.

SEVEN. Now Riff to the End

Reading a book is more like listening to music than it is comprehending with right and wrong answers. Reading a book is entering into an art form. And while it is true there are structure and scaffold we can become accustomed to, great stories are unique and lovely and full of wonder.

Eucharisteo is a Greek word that means to give thanks, to be thankful. Reverence.  This is the theme that holds this great story together. This reverence begins with the creation of Terabithia. When Leslie names this secret land, “Like God in the Bible, they looked at what they had made and found it was very good” (51). And with that delicious allusion, Katherine Patterson, sets the eucharisteo into motion.

Pay close attention to Miss Edmunds and Maybelle and, ultimately Mrs. Myers who have suprisingly significant, albeit supporting roles to play on the journey through this story.

Remember that the Bridge to Terabithia is a mighty symbol. Keep in mind the idiom “building bridges” is a phrase  overflowing with hope.

Then and only then will you be ready for Chapter 10, The Perfect Day, where tension builds and climax swells. Then and only then will you be able to hear Mrs. Myers: “‘Excuse me, she said, ‘this morning when I came in someone had already taken out her desk'” (159).  And then this: It—it—we—I never had such a student. In all my years of teaching. I shall always be grateful—” (159).

In that moment Mrs. Myers makes herself vulnerable, sharing her devastation at the loss of her husband. Jess is suddenly in the light, able to empathize, able to replace bitterness toward Mrs. Myers for gratitude. In that moment of tragic illumination, myth-busting occurs. Revelation. Jess is able to understand Mrs. Myers and Mrs. Myers is able to understand Jess.

 

~Kimberly and Cathi

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The Section 5 Project is a CORE Literacy

Aesthetics is a set of principles that inform the outcome of a work of art. It taps into that part of our being that connects with beauty. At the heart of this concept is imagination, and imagination is where ideas are born.

There is a trend in all sectors of education to not only discount the reading of pure fiction, but to undervalue the  power of the arts to speak in a way where words fail. This is not wise. Arts education is inextricably linked to English Language Arts.

Section 5 provides an opportunity for students to practice communicating an idea in a visual language. Because great stories offer fodder for the imagination, each and every Literature + Writing Discovery Guide (the CORE of our language arts offering) sets aside a full week to create and celebrate.

Don’t wait until week 5 to begin thinking about your Section 5 idea!

Make a plan.

During Section 2, begin brainstorming. Download our free planning worksheet to begin. Write down your ideas and, since your Section 5 will include a visual component, create small sketches demonstrating different ways you imagine your idea might take shape and what materials you might utilize.

During Section 3, choose the idea you like best and make a full-page sketch with labels that will help you prepare.

During Section 4, gather all the materials you will need to complete your project build.

After all this, when Section 5 rolls around, your student will be prepared to focus on creating a meaningful project. A project that your student will surely be proud of for years to come. Check out our Student Project Gallery to be inspired. Send us photos of your completed project so we can add it to the gallery to inspire others.

This past fall, during our Professional Development offering, I walked teachers through the following little project connected to one of my favorite childhood reads—The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. With a cardboard box, some printed images, paint, pencil, markers, a tiny linoleum sample, and a bit of glue… voilà!

This story that has stood the test of time (published in 1967) and is, in my opinion, powerful proof why we all need to read across many genres, read all kinds of stories. Every time I’ve led students through this purely fictional story set in a very real setting—The Metropolitan Museum of Art—they engage at once in the mystery, but also gain an appreciation for visual art as they wander the museum with Claudia and Jaime Kincaid.

This past fall, during our Professional Development offering, I offered some tips and tricks to elevate the Section 5 Project Build. Click through to a recording of the session.

Happy Project Build!

~Kimberly Bredberg

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The Character of Characters

When readers open the cover of a book and enter the pages of a story, they begin a journey.

Each of our Literature and Writing Discovery Guides, Earlybird through Level 4, is a personal journal of that journey. Each section of the journal begins with the observations the reader makes about the characters. Over time, students will encounter diverse characters who introduce them to themes common to real people. At first, at the Earlybird level, the way students describe the characters they encounter will be very simple, single words—kind, happy, silly. As they progress , readers will discover that the character of the characters is complex and will want words at their disposal to accurately communicate what they observe.

How does this happen?

Beginning in the 2nd grade, we inspire our students to begin collecting words. What better way than to follow characters in beautifully illustrated books as they collect words? Operation Lexicon provides 10 years of word collecting for students in grades two through twelve!

In the 3rd grade, with Operation Lexicon: Character Traits, word collecting is specifically related to the characters we read about and the people we encounter in the real world!

Additionally, we have created FREE downloadable character trait flashcards tied to our Levels 1, 2, and 3 for students to have a collection nearby as they construct observations.

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As students progress in their journalling skills, they will learn to defend their observations with examples from the story. Overtime, it is important to teach students to discover a wide variety of traits—both permanent and transient. Sometimes situations that characters encounter determine character in the moment, other times we observe characters growing and changing.

During the first two sections of The Westing Game, this student was attending to momentary reactions which is not wrong, but narrow:

When encouraged to step back and observe Turtle Wexler’s overarching traits, the task was easy because of a treasure trove of specifically descriptive words:

It’s difficult to describe the power of integrating reading + writing through journalling, but it is easy to SEE, and wonderful to be a teacher whose sole purpose is to stand beside and truly mentor students in the important work of becoming literate.

 

~Kimberly

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Tracing Character Development

The Iron Giant.  Naima.  Hollis Woods.  Juan de Pareja.

We readers know they are people who don’t exist but we get involved anyway.

Why?

It’s complicated.
And yet it’s simple.
Characters inspire.
They inspire is to try.
They inspire us persevere.
They inspire us to be kind.
They inspire us to take heart.
They inspire us to hope.

Great characters remind us that we may be flawed but we are incredibly able. They remind us that we are not alone. Great characters offer truths that shape and spur us on.

Think Prospero.  Jane Eyre.  Sherlock Holmes.  Elizabeth Bennett.  Atticus Finch.  Jay Gatsby.  Gandalf.  Even Winnie-the-Pooh.

These characters, like us humans, are not one-dimensional. They are the tragically flawed heroes that inspire us to action—even if that action is simply a smile and a sigh and a moment of introspection at the end of the read.

We are here to help!

We are so happy to announce our new downloadable FREE Character Trait Decks to empower our students journalling in our Level 1, 2, 3 or 4 Literature + Writing Discovery Guides.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.”

~Winnie-the-Pooh

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

~Gandalf

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

~Atticus Finch

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

~Prospero

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Generally Speaking, when it comes to understanding literary characters, actions speak louder than words.

Will they, like Frodo, carry the ring into Mordor? Or, like Edmund, eat the Turkish delight?

The main thing to keep in mind when considering the “character” of a literary character is this: Does the character act/think/feel this way all the time, or is this only a momentary response?

Just like real life, a character’s actions speak louder than words. Take Goldilocks. We’re all familiar with her adventure in the home of the three bears and her conundrum deciding which porridge to eat. On the surface, at first superficial glance, Goldilocks seem cute, an innocent little girl. It might be easy to describe Goldilocks as simply curious. Is Goldilocks always curious? Sure.

But might we infer that she is hungry or confused? If so is she always hungry? Always confused? And do these traits often lead her into all sorts of mischief? Maybe in the moment.

Let’s think again. What do the actions of Goldilocks within the context of the story really tell us about who she is?

Goldilocks seems greedy—eating food that does not belong to her without asking. She is for sure picky—dipping her spoon into every bowl before she finds the one she feels is “just right.” She seems selfish—freely taking for her own whatever goody presents itself. But is this who she is at her core?

These are aspects of character we gather about Goldilocks as we read her story. As we trace these traits throughout the story. We stumble upon more evidence later on when Goldilocks undergoes a similar situation involving the beds of the bears. In the end, these traits seem to be ingrained in her personality and give us insight into who Goldilocks is as a whole character.

The traits of Goldilocks are not necessarily pervasive, but I think we’d all agree her actions at the home of the three bears are greedy and picky and selfish.

When it comes to character traits, literary characters truly are the sum of their actions.

 

~Kimberly

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FREE Character Trait Decks!

I recently sent out a text to a handful of my adult friends who are life-long readers asking them if they have a favorite fictional character, and if they do, why? I was blasted with immediate responses and, frankly amazed by the well of insight:

“Raskolnikov, from Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, who starts off bitter, self-centered, and unable to see his own flaws, blames his hardship on others, and becomes a forgiving and self-reflective person by the end.”

“I love Samwise Gamgee. He is unassuming but willing to go where he needs to be, to silently be the support someone else needs. By the end he becomes even more brave. He is confident to stand for what he believes in, to take risks, and be a voice of hope in a time of darkness.”

“Marlow from Heart of Darkness. He starts off ignorant to the evils of the people around him but learns what evils humans are capable of. He is able to see through the lies he is told instead of assuming they are truths.”

“Ferdinand the Bull for not fighting the instigator. For staying true to himself.”

“Sirius Black. He was misunderstood. And a misfit. He stood for what he believed in. Even though his family was considered “evil”.
And he sacrificed. He was flawed and reckless. But good. Kind.”

“Aragorn is so overwhelmed and unsure of who he is despite the many prophecies declaring his life’s purpose. However, he pushes on because of those around him and his desire to serve them and truth.”

For me it’s hands-down Francie Nolan who, like the tree in Brooklyn, thrives under impoverished conditions—emotionally, intellectually, and physically. Francie demonstrates the tenacity that is seeded in us all. She works hard but doesn’t let work squelch her imagination. Francie is a hero in my eyes, ghost of the American Dream.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was my grandma’s favorite book. And this is saying something seeing that, as a young person, she read her way through the Santa Monica Public Library.

I never understood why this particular book tangled itself in her heart until I re-read it a few years ago and it dawned on me that my grandma saw herself in Francie.

Grandma’s father, for most of her childhood, like Francie’s, was an alcoholic (thankfully, he recovered, but much later in life). And she grew up in the tumultuous 30s, a product of Great Depression. fairly impoverished until later in life.

Pretty sure I know why, as an adult, just starting a family of her own, she fell in love with Betty Smith’s 1943 semi-autobiographical masterpiece. And, now, when I read this book (over and over for sure), I will see my Grandmother in Francie.

I am constantly struck by the unique insights readers bring to the characters they encounter. But I am also saddened that often times stories are simply read to get to the end and check off a box. None of the friends who texted back with lightning speed read to check off a box. They have spent a lifetime cultivating a friendship with books. And this is the heart we have built into our curriculum.

So where do we begin?

First, we encourage all readers to be the tortoise, not the hare. We believe that readers should never race through a story.

Second, never belabor a story to the point of derailment. You know what I’m talking about, those “literature” programs that slice and dice and teach and preach until the story is a sad, small reflection of its true self. We believe in balance. It is important to enable our students to read closely while challenging them to think creatively as they construct ideas. Along the way, when it comes to discovering the depth of a great character, we need to help our students acquire the skills necessary to articulate their observations.

Our program allows students to:
Keep a journal of character observations using rich character trait adjectives.
Develop a collection of words to describe the characters they encounter.

As we move deeper into fall, we’ve created a brand new tool to help students get started—our downloadable character lexicon. Simply print in color or black and white. Your student can cut cards to create a deck that can be used to describe the characters they explore.

Enjoy this little treat, and feel free to pass the link on to your friends.

~Kimberly Bredberg, MFA

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How to Read a Great Character and Become One

Jaberwoky
Characters do things. They feel things. They hear things.
They say things. They think things. They go places. They can walk, run, leap,
and jump. They may sit and rock in a rocking chair. They may just lie in bed,
sleep, and dream. But the important thing is that characters act. And it is
precisely these actions that show us just what kind of imaginary people characters
are—friendly, sad, nosey, happy, confused, angry, or inventive. And we need to
know because something always happens in great stories. Character determines
the outcome.

Earlier this month, my son Søren sat on the couch chuckling
to himself, turning the pages of an old favorite. It’s Lewis Carroll
re-imagined. Christopher Myers keeps the text the same but re-imagines the
beast as a basketball-playing-Jabberwocky. And the protagonist? Well, he
becomes a small boy with basketball-shaped-stars in his eyes.

What fascinated me about the scene was what happened when
the book was closed. My son smiled, got off the couch to rummage around the art
cabinet for paper, scissors, and tape. Silently he concentrated, cutting shapes
and connecting them until the characters emerged. Then he swept up the scraps,
set his characters to hold the gesture, and walked away from the table without
a word.

I know what he was up to. This was literary analysis at its
best. Carroll’s Jabberwocky is a larger than life, but there is no doubt that the
storm of neologism and nonsense qualifies it as a very difficult read. To most,
Søren’s hive of post reading activity might be deemed at best a responsive
craft. But Søren was actually deep in thought. This post-reading activity was
uniquely contemplative, was Søren’s way of unpacking Lewis Carroll’s poem and
the consequent reimagining of Christopher Myer.

And I know where Søren’s pondering will lead. It will lead
to an idea. Sometimes we begin with a study of someone else’s idea to incubate
an original idea of our own. So it might not be this week, maybe not even next,
but I’m sure Lewis Carroll and Christopher Meyer offered fodder that has been
sufficiently tucked away in the mind of my son.

–Kim