Example:
Overview | Content Knowledge | Essential Questions | Connection To Standards | Initiating Activity | Learning Experiences | Culminating Performance | Pre-Requisite Skills | Modifications | Schedule/Time Plan | Technology Use
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LU Title: "Friendship and Death" Bridge to Terabithia Creating Learner-Focused Schools |
Author(s): Marilyn McCredy |
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Grade Level: 4th Grade |
School :Madison Central School |
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Topic/Subject Area: English Language Arts |
Address: PO Box 155 Madison, NY 13402 |
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Email: mmcredy@madison-csd.moric.org |
Phone/Fax:(315)893-1878/(315)893-7111 |
This literature-based unit is based on the Newberry Award book, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. It would be done most successfully with students who are above average readers (at the 4th grade level) if reading will be done independently. It can also be used if the book is read aloud by the teacher, and students have copies of the book to follow along and/or read together. There are sections of the book dealing with religion, and what happens after death, so teachers are urged to read the book first to insure that they, their students, and the school district are comfortable discussing these issues. In this unit students will explore their thoughts and feelings about friendship and death and connect them with those of the characters in the book.
Note: Page numbers referenced throughout this unit refer to the Scholastic, 1996 printing of the book.
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Declarative |
Procedural |
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sGENERAL DECLARATIVE KNOWLEDGE What declarative knowledge should students be in the process of acquiring and integrating? How will students get the information, what strategies will be used to help students construct meaning, organize, and/or store knowledge? What will this look like? As a result of this unit the student will know or understand…
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GENERAL PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE What procedural knowledge will students be in the process of acquiring and integrating? What Strategies will be used to help students construct models, shape the skill and internalize it? What will it look like? How will the learning experience be assessed? As a result of this unit students will be able to:
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CONNECTIONS TO NYS LEARNING STANDARDS
List Standard # and Key
Idea #: Write out related Performance Indicator(s) or Benchmark(s)
Content Area: ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
Level: Elementary
Standard 1
Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.
Listening and Reading
1. Listening and reading to acquire information and understanding involves collecting data, facts, and ideas; discovering relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and using knowledge from oral, written, and electronic sources.
Speaking and Writing
2. Speaking and writing to acquire and transmit information requires asking probing and clarifying questions, interpreting information in one's own words, applying information from one context to another, and presenting the information and interpretation clearly, concisely and comprehensibly.
Content Area: ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
Level: Elementary
Standard 2
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
Listening and Reading
1. Listening and reading for literary response involves comprehending, interpreting, and critiquing imaginative texts in every medium, drawing on personal experiences and knowledge to understand the text, and recognizing the social, historical and cultural features of the text.
Speaking and Writing
2. Speaking and writing for literary response involves presenting interpretations, analyses, and reaction to the content and language of a text. Speaking and writing for literary expression involves producing imaginative texts that use language and text structures that are inventive and often
multilayered.
Content Area: ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
Level: Elementary
Standard 4
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
Listening and Speaking
1.Oral communication in formal and informal settings requires the ability to talk with people of different ages, genders, and cultures, to adapt presentations to different audiences, and to reflect on how talk varies in different situations.
Reading and Writing
2. Written communication for social interaction requires using written messages to establish, maintain, and enhance personal relationships with others.
Content Area: MATH / SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY
Level: Elementary
Standard 2
Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.
Information Systems
1. Information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information and as a tool to enhance learning.
The teacher should begin the class with a discussion of friendship, leading the group in brainstorming attributes of a good friend. The "Friends and Friendship" sheet in the appendix could be used as a starting point for this discussion. Depending on the make-up of the group, students could be paired and directed to formulate their own list of attributes of friendship, and after a 5-10 minute period regroup to compile a class list. This list will be used later in the unit in the learning experience "A Friend is Someone Who…" Following this activity, the teacher should initiate a discussion on losing a friend, or loved one, to death. Allow students the opportunity to share their personal stories of loss, and its aftermath – funerals, memorial services etc. After students have had ample time to share their personal stories the teacher should read a eulogy (prepared beforehand obviously) – the person eulogized could be a fictional character the class has "met", or the teacher if he/she is comfortable with that. After listening to the eulogy, and a group discussion, students should be assigned to write a first draft of a eulogy honoring someone they admire. Before the class breaks to work on the assignment teacher should pass out copies of Bridge to Terabithia (if students will be reading the book independently). If the book will be read aloud by the teacher he/she should share the cover illustration and back cover summary with the class, highlighting the themes of friendship and death that they will be dealing with as they read the book. Later in the unit the eulogies should be edited, rewritten in final copy form, and shared with the class.
LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
In
chronological order including acquisition experiences and extending/refining
experiences for all stated declarative and procedural knowledge.
Title: A Friend is someone who…
Learning Context: This activity will be completed throughout the reading of the book as the students use the specific acts of the friendship between the main characters in Bridge to Terabithia as a base for their own concepts of friendship. They will pull this together through the completion of a picture book on friendship.
Procedure: As the class reads the book, and comes across acts of kindness displayed by characters, they will add to the list they began in the Initiating Activity. At the conclusion of the book students will select five acts of kindness to use in a picture book titled A Friend is someone who…". Students could choose to draw illustrations and label them, or use pictures from magazines and/or computer-generated graphics.
Example:
A friend is someone who…
will go for a walk with you.
Instructional/EnvironmentalModifications: The design of the book could be adapted depending on the resources and special talents of the class and the teacher. Books could then be shared with younger students as part of a cross-age activity.
Supplies and Materials: Various art supplies such as scissors, and glue, magazines, clip art, blank paper for the background pages
Time Required:
Assessment Tools and Techniques: Visual – Did the student successfully construct a picture book?
Student Work: No sample available online
Reflection: All students were successful at completing this lesson, and had a "hardcopy" of attributes of friendship.
Title: Growing and Changing
Learning Context: This experience will allow students the opportunity to track growth and change in characters throughout the study of the novel.
Procedure: Teacher will divide the book into three sections: beginning (Chapters 1-4), middle (Chapters 5-8), and end (Chapters 9-13). After reading each block of chapters, brainstorm as a class on chart paper (while students record on their own personal charts) the characteristics of each of the main characters (Jesse, Leslie, Miss Edmunds, May Belle). After brainstorming and recording the characteristics of each of the characters. Students should select one character to write about. Students will use the descriptions generated to write a paragraph describing one character at that stage of the book. The paragraph should begin, "In the beginning of the book, Jess…," or "In the middle of the book, Jess…," or "In the end of the book, Jess…," depending on which particular part the student happens to be writing about. Each time this activity is completed the student should use the same character. At the end of the book, all three paragraphs should be compiled into a narrative, adding an introductory paragraph and concluding one, thereby demonstrating character growth and change over the course of the book. Final copies should be word-processed.
Material and Supplies: no special supplies
Assessment tools and techniques: For assessment of writing pieces I use the rubrics included in the scoring packet for the 4th grade New York State English Language Arts test. Familiarizing students, throughout the year, with what is quality work on the ELA test gives them the practice all year with seeing their work evaluated as it will be evaluated by scorers of the state test.
Time Required:
Student Work: no samples available
Reflection: Ability ranges of individual students varied enormously on this task. However, with the use of the generic writing rubric for assessment all students were able to meet with success. Class discussions were lively and students were very involved in discovering how characters changed throughout the book.
Title: Go With The Flow – Sequencing of Events
Learning Context: This activity gives the students an opportunity to sequence events after reading the novel. Successful completion of this activity will largely depend on long term memory skills. Students will also write captions for the illustrations giving them the opportunity to share information, showing the students understand what they have read.
Procedure: Throughout the reading of the book teacher should draw students’ attention to illustrations in the story. In class discussions students should be encouraged to brainstorm captions for each picture. At the conclusion of reading the book, the teacher will present each student with a folder of photocopies of the twelve illustrations from the book - more than one per sheet, in random order. Individual decisions can be made by the teacher concerning how many, and which of the illustrations to use. The students’ task will be to cut apart, and arrange in sequential order the illustrations, horizontally on a pre-cut piece of oak tag, approximately 3 feet long and 8" high. Students write captions for each picture and add the captions to the "flow chart" either by hand or word-processed and cut apart and glued on. Credit should be given to the illustrator, Donna Diamond for the reproduction of the illustrations.
Instructional/Environmental Modifications: A variation of this could be that students arrange the illustrations in order on blank pages in booklet form, although the flow chart idea was very visually appealing. Students could also take their sequencing strips to other classrooms and share the story with other students. Students could use the computer to construct a timeline and fill in events from the story in the correct order. Another option could be having dialogue from the story written by the teacher and the students draw the illustrations. This would work especially well with students who have limited writing skills. Katherine Paterson’s website www.terabithia.com should be accessed as it provides a great deal of background into the circumstances surrounding how this book came about. In the FAQ sections there are many questions and answers about what possibly happens after death. Teacher should again keep in mind the maturity level of the students before allowing them to visit this site.
Materials and Supplies: Photocopies of the illustrations from the book., scissors, glue, oak tag precut to the size decided upon by the teacher, markers for captions.
Assessment Tools and Techniques: Visual assessment. Are the illustrations in the correct order? Do the captions match what each illustration shows? Are mechanics of written work correct?
Time Required:
Student Work: none available online
Reflection: This was an excellent activity as it allowed for several learning styles. The hands-on nature of the activity was an excellent opportunity for students with limited "academic" skills to produce a high quality product. Students who enjoy writing and are more creative produced captions written at a higher level, with more details and descriptive words.
Title: Connections – A Letter from Leslie
Learning Context: The process of writing a letter from a character’s point of view is the focus of this lesson. Students will use the information they read, and conversations held in literature groups, to develop the letter. They will also refer to what they had written in their journals throughout the reading of the book.
Procedure: Throughout the book the teacher will identify certain experiences for students to reflect upon and relate to their personal lives and experiences. Students will be provided with a Dialectical Journal in which to record their reactions and reflections of experiences in their own lives that are similar to experiences of the characters in the book. Discussions of what happens when people die should be discussed carefully, using examples from the book - especially pages 84 and 85. After reading the book, conduct a literature circle to pull together story elements as well as personal reactions to the story. Using the information and personal reflections students have collected in their journals, students should write a letter from Leslie to Jesse. At this age level what has worked best in an activity such as this is to provide students with a form letter that they can modify. An example follows.
(sample student letter)
The Pearly Gates
Heaven
May 2, 1987
Dear Jesse,
I bet you are surprised to get a letter from me. I never got to say good-bye to you, or May Belle either, and I wanted to let you both know what happened to me after my accident at the tree that day. I remember what we talked about after church on Easter and how worried May Belle was about what would happen to me if I died. Well, here’s what happened.
Write a paragraph about the accident from Leslie’s point of view. Reread the section in the book (page 103) where Mr. Aarons tells Jesse how they think the accident happened.
Write a paragraph telling what you think might have happened to Leslie when she died. Reread pages 84 and 85 to remind yourself about the conversation she and May Belle had after church on Easter.
Write a paragraph saying a final good-bye to Jesse from Leslie. What would she want him to remember about her? Would she give him any advice? What?
Your Friend,
Leslie Burke
Queen of Terabithia
(These letters should be edited, rewritten, word processed and shared with classmates.)
Instructional/Environmental Modifications: Depending on depth of class discussions, and maturity of students’ letters could be written as other characters also. A letter from Jesse to Leslie asking why she went to the tree alone that day, and apologizing for not asking her to go to the museum would be appropriate.
Materials and Supplies: paper, pencils, books, computer if word-processed
Assessment Tools and Techniques: Letter writing rubric (can be found at the end of this experience)
Time Required:
Student Work: sample available in unit appendix
Reflection: Students were very interested in completing this assignment. The wide range of their responses showed that they had thought about this a great deal. In most cases students were able to complete this assignment successfully, and they themselves, were very surprised at the depth of their thinking.
Letter Writing Rubric
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Criteria |
3 points |
2 points |
1 point |
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Format |
Letter is set up correctly and includes all required parts |
Letter is not set up correctly and/or is missing required parts |
Your writing piece in no way resembles a letter |
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Content |
Your letter fulfilled all requirements set forth in the sample letter. You connected with information in the book. |
Your letter does not fulfill the requirements set forth in the sample letter. You made few connections to the book. |
You did not follow any of the guidelines set forth in the sample letter.
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Conventions |
There were few or no errors in mechanics. Any errors did not interfere with the meaning of your letter. |
There were several errors in mechanics. These errors made it difficult to understand the meaning of your letter. |
Your kiding write! You expeck kredit for what you writ? I don’t thinck sew. |
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Time Management |
Your letter was completed on time. |
You didn’t make the best use of your time but managed to get it in near the due date. |
What letter? It was due when? I’ll get on it right away. |
Extending and Refining Activities
Activities included in this lesson can be adapted to other books concerning death and friendship. Age appropriate books include:
Included in the unit appendix are several worksheet activities that can be used to extend the learning of the unit. Worksheets include comprehension activities, sequencing events, character descriptions, and vocabulary. These may be used at various times throughout the unit.
CULMINATING PERFORMANCE
Include rubric(s)
The culminating performance of this unit is a Bridge to Terabithia Day. Included in the appendix is a room plan for the set up of the room for the special day. The culminating performance is only limited by the imagination of the teacher and the class. My class worked for approximately three class periods (one hour each) getting ready for the day. They painted a cardboard box to resemble the castle stronghold (pictured on page 42). They built a log bridge, designed and constructed a funeral parlor and an art museum, and put together the Aarons’ kitchen and an area to represent the Burke’s living room (complete with a golden wall and comfortable reading chair). They decorated a large tree branch with paper ornaments on which they had written messages to Leslie. This was all done within the four walls of a normal sized classroom. On Bridge to Terabithia Day the students came dressed as a character from the book. They acted out various sections of the book in the order they happened. Some students and/or groups had written out what they were going to say and do, while others acted out the scenes impromptu. At Leslie’s funeral several students shared eulogies they had written memorializing Leslie, and the student who was dressed as Mr. Burke handed out several of Leslie’s possessions to characters attending the funeral, explaining why he had chosen that character to receive that possession. There was really a minimum of teacher organization to the day, as the students took over and made the room come alive. It was impressive!
Photos of the room set up and the students involved are available.
Assessment: The culminating activity is the performance-based task/product. It should be assessed informally by the teacher; perhaps using a checklist on which is indicated notes pertaining to individual student’s participation in the day’s activities and amount of preparation. If equipment is available, videotape could be made of the major portions of the day. Students also wrote about the book, learning experiences, and culminating performance in their personal journals as a form of self-assessment. This, in addition to the assessments used throughout the unit on the picture book, narrative writing piece, sequencing of events, and letter writing, should give the teacher, a clear picture of how well the student accomplished the goals set forth by the teacher at the outset of the unit.
Pre-requisite skills include cooperative learning, use of word processing skills using the computer, and reading levels appropriate to the text.
For this unit to be effective for all students, push-in and resource room staff must be used. As mentioned in the overview of the unit students may need to be paired with a partner to read, make use of an audio cassette, or have the book read aloud to them. Activities should also be adapted to meet individual ability levels so as not to cause undue frustration. With simple modifications, all learning experiences in this unit can be successfully completed by all students.
Depending on the level of the students the timeline for completion of this unit will vary. See individual learning experiences contained in this unit for approximate time required for completion.
See individual learning experiences contained in this unit for specific uses of technology. Experiences can easily be modified if necessary.