Teaching Bridge to Terabithia

Instructions for You

Objective: If there's one thing that your middle school students know something about, it's bullying. No matter how we try to stop it, there will always be that person who knows just how to make life a little bit harder for everyone. Does that always have to be the case, though? The following exercise is a chance for students to show what they know about stereotyping, bullying, and being a good friend—as well as find the words to show how committed they are to change.

Set aside one or two class periods for this one, depending on whether you wish to include a writing component.

Materials Needed: Just your students and a good place to chat

Step 1: Lead an informal discussion about the Janice Avery incidents in the book. Ask your students to think about these encounters from two points of view, Janice's and everyone else's. Break down the incidents:

• When and where do they take place?
• How is Janice able to get her way or manipulate people? How do others react?
• What happens to change things?
• How do we feel about Janice in the end?

Step 2: Change things up a bit here. Ask students to imagine themselves in the role of a bully. What kinds of things would they think about when they got to school everyday? Some points for discussion:

• What kinds of things might trigger you to exert power over another student?
• Do you think you would actually choose a certain type of person to pick on, or would you just go for the first person you saw? If you chose, how would you do it? (For instance, would you pick a confident person with a lot of friends? Would you pick a person you knew really well?)
• How much would you care about the consequences? Do you even know what they would be?
• Can you imagine what "good" might come out of the bullying experience for you? What would be your incentive for pushing someone around or making fun of them?

Obviously the goal here isn't to train a squadron of bullies. Ask your students why they think it's important to understand the mindset of a person who bullies. Why is empathy important, even for someone we don't like or admire or maybe even fear?

Step 3: Now it's time to turn the discussion to the other side of the coin: How do you deal with a bully? Here's an even bigger question: How do we change the culture of our school so that bullying is not an option? That's pretty heavy, but here are some questions to guide the convo:

• What stereotypes are alive in our school and how might we change or erase them?
• How can we be better friends to those who are new, different, or seem to be unwelcome, just like Leslie and Jess seem to be at their school?
• What makes it hard to be welcoming and warm to people who are outcast?
• What would happen if you walked into school tomorrow and found that someone (or a group of someones) made you their target? What would you do? (Possible answers include staying with friends and finding a trusted adult.)
• What ways of thinking about other people do we have that encourage negative behavior toward them?

Step 4: This next part is a little risky, but it also stands to have some major pay-out. Be prepared to walk around and check in with groups as they work to make sure they're staying on track. Divide your class into small groups to identify situations at your school that they would like to change—and then task them with generating suggestions for how to make these changes happen. Here are some guidelines to make sure the conversations stay in respectful and productive territory:

• Don't name names—a general description of attitudes or atmosphere should be enough.
• Try to state your ideas in a positive rather than negative way.
• Ideas for change are only useful if they are plausible, so try to keep solutions in the realm of reality.
• Be creative. There are lots of ways to amp up the positive energy of a community. Some of them are even fun.

Step 5: Have the groups share their ideas and then let everyone vote on the best ones. Make a list of these and put them in a visible place for everyone to see. You might even share the thoughts with your school administration and see what they think…

Instructions for Your Students

Objective: You may not feel like an expert on anything yet, but as a student, you probably know more than enough about bullying. No matter how we try to stop it, there always seems to be that person who knows just how to make life a little bit harder for someone else. Does this have to be the case? This exercise is a chance for a pretty deep talk between you, your classmates, and your teacher. You're going to show what you know about stereotyping, bullying, and being a good friend—and you'll also find the words to show how committed you are to change.

Step 1: Since you've just finished reading a pretty great book about not fitting in and bullying, start by taking a little time to talk with your class about the Janice Avery incidents in the book. Try to think about these encounters from two points of view, Janice Avery's and everyone else's. Break down the incidents:

• When and where did they take place?
• How is Janice able to get her way or manipulate people? How do others react?
• What happens to change things?
• How do we feel about Janice in the end?

Step 2: Now let's make things interesting: Imagine yourself in the role of a bully. What kinds of things would you think about when you got to school everyday? Here are some things to consider:

• What might trigger you to exert power over another student?
• Do you think you would actually choose a certain type of person to pick on, or would you just go for the first person you saw? If you chose, how would you do it? (For instance, would you pick a confident person with a lot of friends? Would you pick a person you knew really well?)
• How much would you care about the consequences? Do you even know what they would be?
• Can you imagine what "good" might come out of the bullying experience for you? What would be your incentive for pushing someone around or making fun of them?

Thinking about what you've said here, why it is important to understand the mindset of a person who bullies? Why is empathy important, even for someone we don't like or admire or may even fear?

Step 3: Let's hop on over to the other side of the coin now: How do you deal with a bully? In the bigger picture, how do we change the culture of our school so that bullying is not an option? That's pretty heavy, but here are some questions to guide the convo:

• What stereotypes are alive in our school and how might we change or erase them?
• How can we be better friends to those who are new, different, or seem to be unwelcome, just like Leslie and Jess seem to be at their school?
• What makes it hard to be welcoming and warm to people who are outcast?
• What would happen if you walked into school tomorrow and found that someone (or a group of someones) made you their target? What would you do? (Possible answers include staying with friends and finding a trusted adult.)
• What ways of thinking about other people do we have that encourage negative behavior toward them?

Step 4: Working in groups of three or four, identify situations at your school that you would like to change—and then make suggestions for how to change them. Since you'll be talking about real scenarios and your real community, here are some guidelines to make sure the conversation stays in respectful and productive territory:

• Don't name names—a general description of attitudes or atmosphere should be enough.
• Try to state your ideas in a positive rather than negative way.
• Ideas for change are only useful if they are plausible, so try to keep solutions in the realm of reality.
• Be creative. There are lots of ways to amp up the positive energy of a community. Some of them are even fun.

Step 5: Share your ideas with the class. In the end, everyone will get to vote on the best ones. Your teacher will make a list of these and put them in a visible place for everyone to see.  Hey, you never know how high up your ideas might go—if they're really good, your teacher might even share them with the principal.