Frazzled Friendships ~ Bridge to Terabithia, The Wind in the Willows, and Mostly Michael (Troll Classroom Themes ~ Learning through Literature)

The Story

A teacher's classroom guide introducing the theme of Frazzled Friendships utilizing 3 books -- The Wind in the Willows, Bridge to Terabithia, and Mostly Michael. Friends add an extra dimension to our lives -- a richness, a sharing, a new perspective. But, as in any important relationship, friendships have their ups and downs and the potential for conflicts always exist. By learning how to deal with problems in a friendship, we can strengthen them and turn them into positive experiences. The three books in this unit -- The Wind in the Willows, Bridge to Terabithia, and Mostly Michael -- depict a variety of friendships and provide many opportunities for thoughtful discussion and for meaningful follow-up activities. Structuring classroom learning around thematic units is an ideal way to integrate a variety of subject areas in ways that have meaning to children. Youngsters who are enthusiastic about a topic will energetically explore its many facets while at the same time acquiring skills in reading, language arts, social studies, science, math, music, art, and drama. In addition to providing an intgegrated focus, themes help to organize classroom time and materials. With materials gathered and a teaching plan in place, the class can spend large blocks of uninterrupted time on reading and exploring the topic through discussion and projects. Teachers strive to provide children with reading comprehension and literature response strategies that support youngsters' understanding of good books. Fortunately, strategies such as predicting, questioning, and summarizing can be learned naturally during the reading of theme books, and need not be presented in separate lessons. Presented in context, these approaches make sense to children as they learn and apply them in various reading situations. Ideas for teaching sound strategies during any reading session are offered in this guide.