Bridge to Terabithia:
Fantasy, Historical Context,
and Bullies
Hillel Torah
6th Grade Language Arts
Why do Dorothy, Bastian, &
Helena travel to fantasy worlds?
• Going to a different world helps them
deal with their problems in the real
world.
• It also is an escape method to let them
get away.
• Any other ideas?
Why do these characters gain
important friends on the
journey?
• In order to succeed in a quest, the hero
must have help and help others.
• The friends complement each other;
they each have something missing that
the other must help fix.
• Any other ideas?
Why do Leslie and Jess create
Terabithia?
• To have a secret place that is only theirs, where
they can escape from everyone else, and be
themselves.
• “Between the two of them they owned the world
and no enemy, Gary Fulcher, Wanda Kay Moore,
Janice Avery, Jess’s own fears and
insufficiencies, nor any of the foes whom Leslie
imagined attacking Terabithia could ever really
defeat them” (52).
• Any other ideas?
What do you imagine when you
picture Terabithia?
Free to Be . . . You and Me
Music by Stephen Lawrence, Lyrics by Bruce Hart
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There's a land that I see where the
children are free
And I say it ain't far to this land from
where we are
Take my hand, come with me, where the
children are free
Come with me, take my hand, and we'll live
In a land where the river runs free
In a land through the green country
In a land to a shining sea
And you and me are free to be you and me
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•
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I see a land bright and clear, and the
time's comin' near
When we'll live in this land, you and me,
hand in hand
Take my hand, come along, lend your voice
to my song
Come along, take my hand, sing a song
For a land where the river runs free
For a land through the green country
For a land to a shining sea
For a land where the horses run free
And you and me are free to be you and me
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•
•
•
Every boy in this land grows to be his own
man
In this land, every girl grows to be her
own woman
Take my hand, come with me where the
children are free
Come with me, take my hand, and we'll run
To a land where the river runs free
To a land through the green country
To a land to a shining sea
To a land where the horses run free
To a land where the children are free
And you and me are free to be
And you and me are free to be
And you and me are free to be you and me
The 1960’s
• To understand the 1970’s, the decade that
Jess and Leslie are living in, we need to
examine the previous time period.
• The 1960’s were a time of transition.
Established values were being challenged,
and people were asserting their
individuality.
The Vietnam War
• In June of 1965, American troops were sent to
Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia, to combat
the Communist government, which threatened
the United States. This war lasted until 1973.
• Many young Americans felt that America did not
need to be in the war and protested.
• This created a “counterculture,” a group that
rebelled against accepted values.
A protester puts flowers in the barrels
of guns aimed at him in order to
encourage peace.
Hippies
• Hippies were part of the counterculture
who believed in peace, love, and freedom.
• They wanted to make the world better.
• They challenged accepted ideas about life.
Hippie Culture
• Music was very important to hippies, leading to
Woodstock, the famous peace concert, in the
summer of 1969.
• Fashion and style were unconventional. Long
messy hair, jeans, and peace symbols
everywhere were their trademarks.
• Miss Edmunds is described as a hippie, both for
her way of dressing and her attitude about
individuality when encouraging Jess to draw.
The 1970’s
• Due to the questioning in the 60’s, people
continued to withdraw from traditional life.
• Like the Burkes, many moved away from the
cities to live a simpler life.
• They did this to reassess their value
structure and figure out what was important
to them.
• This inspires Jess to rethink his own beliefs
and what he wants.
Reassess Your Value
Structure
• Take time to think about what you value.
• List 5 important things in the first column (1
is the most important).
• List 5 important people in the second column.
• Together as a class, let’s discuss our five
most important values, which may be
different according to each person.
Janice Avery: Class Bully
• Jess and Leslie’s values are threatened by
Janice, since she picks on Jess and May
Belle.
• Methodology of Janice
• She humiliates her victims
• Takes their important possessions
• Reaction of victims
• Frustration
• Anger
• Want revenge
The Plot Against Janice Avery
• Jess and Leslie want revenge and justice
• They create a fake “love” note from Willard Hughes and they
put it in Janice’s notebook.
• The note says that “Willard” wants to walk home Janice that
day
• As a consequence, Janice will be “made into a fool” (64).
• How do Jess and Leslie feel at the end of
Chapter 5?
• Jess feels empathy for Janice.
• Leslie feels they did the right thing and that Janice deserved
it.
How to Deal with Bullies Guide
• Create your own Guide to Dealing with Bullies,
using the template I’ll give you.
• Put your name on the cover.
• Complete at least 2 of the 3 sections inside.
• Think critically about how you would help
someone who is being bullied by Janice Avery.
• Be creative!