Story Synopsis
Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia won the
Newbery Award in 1978. The book is the heartfelt
story of eleven-year-old Jess Aarons who lives in
a small community in rural Virginia. He dreams
of being the fastest boy in his fifth grade class
when school opens—and he’s willing to spend
every morning of the summer vacation practicing
his running with the hope of winning the respect
of his classmates, his father’s approval, and some
positive attention from his mother often focuses
on the demands of his four sisters. The first day of
school arrives and much to his dismay, the bold
new girl, Leslie Burke, out races him and all the
other boys.
Jess tries to ignore Leslie, who recently moved
into the old Perkins place, down the road from
the Aarons’ family. She is from the city and is a
misfit in the Appalachian community. However,
Jess and Leslie soon discover they are kindred
spirits and become fast friends. They feed off of
each other’s creativity and imagination, creating
the magical Kingdom of Terabithia in the woods
near their homes.
The friendship continues outside of Terabithia
as the constant companions endure schoolyard
teasing, hateful bullies, and an inquisitive younger
sibling. Everything comes to a tragic end when
Leslie drowns in an attempt to cross a creek while
swinging on a rope. As Jess struggles with his grief,
he realizes the need to keep Leslie’s memory alive
and knows he will continue the fantasy world with
his adoring little sister, May Bell. Note: Students
do not need to have read Bridge to Terabithia to
successfully participate in these lessons.
Lesson 1: Foreshadowing and
Flashback
Katherine Paterson’s beautiful but tragic Bridge to
Terabithia is a book of timeless themes: the strug-
gle for acceptance, the power of imagination,
the importance of family, and the uncertainty
of life to name a few. While the death of Leslie
Burke is a shock, the author somewhat prepared
the reader by foreshadowing the main character
drowning throughout the story.
Time Required: 30–40 minutes
Objectives:
• The students will be introduced to the liter-
ary terms of foreshadowing and flashback.
Bridge to Terabithia
by | Lynne Farrell Stover
• Library Lessons •
January 2007 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • 1
Picture??
Grades
4–7
