Course: English/Language Arts

Grade: 6
Teachers Name: Davina Aziz
Essential Questions: What does it take to be a good friend? How do Jess and Leslie represent true
friendship in Bridge to Terabithia?
Standards:
1. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
2. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is
conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal
opinions or judgments.
3. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2.B Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and examples.
Instructional Objectives: Students will be able to access prior knowledge of character
development and analyze the relationship between the main characters and in turn decide what is
takes to be a friend.
Sequence of Learning Activities:
Beginning: Teacher will greet students at the door and instruct them to take out their
writers notebooks and to follow the prompt on the board. Students will begin class with a journal
entry in their writers notebook. The do-now question on the board is, What makes a good
friend? Describe one of your friends and think about what makes them so special to you.
Students will write down their ideas, the teacher will model this by writing in her writers
notebook as well. (10 minutes)

Middle: The teacher will share her response and then ask for volunteers to read, or, share
bits from their journal entries. The students will then be split up into small groups. Each group
must choose a word that best encompasses true friendship or what it means to be a true friend.
Each group will look back at the text and find examples to support the word that they have
chosen. They will write their word on the front of a piece of paper and their support with page
numbers on the back. The teacher will circulate the room and meet with each group individually
if necessary to make sure that they are on the right track. When the groups seem to be wrapping
up, the teacher will instruct each group to share their word and give their support. The objective
now is to as a class, decide on a word that encompasses a true friend. The teacher will prompt the
students with questions throughout to get them thinking about their choices. Teacher will
question why one word is more important than the other. The teacher will prompt groups share a
dictionary definition of their word aloud if students have a hard time deciding on a word to
narrow down the search. The groups will debate using direct quotes from the text to support their
arguments. (40 minutes)
End: When the class decides on a word, the teacher will explain the homework
assignment.
Appropriate Use of Technology: BYOT for dictionary look up.
Connections: Friendship and forming true friendships is an important aspect of adolescent life.
This assignment and novel shows students what friendship looks like and what it means to be a
good friend which can be applied to their lives forever.
Assessment/Evaluation: Homework will be evaluated for creativity. Group work and discussion
will be monitored by teacher. The teacher will have an evaluation sheet when listening to groups
to take notes and monitor discussions to see what kind of discussions students are having. Group

debates will also be monitored and evaluated by the teacher when deciding which group
supported their words with textual evidence.
Materials/Resources: Writers notebooks, pens, pencils, paper, copies of the novel, teacher
evaluation sheet.
Homework Assignment: Students will go home and draw/create/make some sort of image that
encompasses the word that they chose as a class. What makes this word special? The students
will bring in a computer size paper with their images to class and the teacher will turn their work
into a bulletin board about friendship.