The goal of the first workshop is for the students to understand what anxiety is, how it feels and how they would recognize it in themselves and others. The most important part of this workshop is that students understand anxiety. Feel free to focus on this point as long as it seems necessary. If the students are active participants and willing to talk about anxiety, try your best not to cut the conversation short. It is important that the students have the opportunity to discuss anxiety, even if it means that reading groups are not introduced in the first workshop. Remember, adaptability and individualized content is important in education.
The second part, and smaller portion, of the first workshop is to introduce the benefits of bibliotherapy and discuss book selection. The goal of this section is:
- That the students have a clear idea how bibliotherapy works
- That the students understand the benefits of bibliotherapy
- That they know what they are looking for when reading the book selected
Although it is important that the students understand the objectives, this portion is merely an introduction to literature therapy which will be discussed more in-depth in the third workshop. The main objective of this introduction to literature therapy is that the students get the most out of their experience reading the selected book between the first and second workshop. If they do not understand why they are reading the selected book, they will not benefit as much as they will if they understand how literature therapy works.
It is necessary that the workshop ends with the selection of a book so that the students can begin reading the book before the second workshop. This process can be very short or a more engaged process with the students depending on the group. The selection of a book can happen in many different ways. In all options, make sure that the book or books are approved by the school in advanced.
- A book can be pre-picked before the workshop begins. In this option, the book will be chosen by the Bridger of Worlds with advice from the teacher based on the age group of the class and any specific instructions given by the teacher. In this case, the books should be ordered in advance and distributed to the students on the day of the workshop. With large classes of students this is the most likely option.
- Several books can be brought to the workshop and a discussion can be had with the students about the different stories and topics in each book. Depending on the decision of the teacher and Bridger of Worlds, following the discussion, one book can be chosen for all the students, or each student can pick one of the options and be divided into small groups depending on their choice of book. In this case, the proper number of each book can be delivered to the school the week following the workshop. For most groups, this is the ideal option.
- In certain cases, following a more in-depth discussion about bibliotherapy and book selection, each student can pick their own book after the workshop. In this case, ensure that the teacher follows up with the students the following week to ensure that each student has an appropriate book. In this instant, each student would retrieve their book selection themselves from the library or home. This option has advantages for both large and small groups of students. In the case of large groups, depending on the discretion of the Bridger of Worlds and teacher, it may be beneficial for each student to pick their own book to allow for a more individualized approach, or if the group is too large for I Came from a Book to secure books for every student. The disadvantage of this is that discussion will be more difficult in a large group where every student has read a different book. Students will not be able to form the same connections with each other through the book and less time will be spent talking about each student’s book in the discussion during the second workshop. In small groups, even though each student has a different book, there will be more time for each student to share what they gained from their book and talk about their book selection. It will also be easier for the Bridger of Worlds to focus individualized attention on guiding each student through the topics in their book selection.
Anxiety Talk
Anxiety Talk will be the first part of the first workshop and will ideally take up the majority of the time. Please note that Anxiety Talk and How Books Help Us Talk can blend together and do not have to be two distinct and separate discussions.
A general outline of topics to be covered during Anxiety Talk is the following:
- What is anxiety?
- What does anxiety feel like?
- Encourage students to share what they believe anxiety feels like or situations where they believe they experience anxiety.
- Why do we feel anxiety?
- What is happening biologically when we feel anxious?
- How can I recognize anxiety?
How Books Help Us Talk
The purpose of the How Books Help Us Talk is to help the students get the most out of the experience of reading their selected book between the first and second workshop. It is essential that throughout the workshops the students have a positive experience reading and feel a connection with the characters, ideas or stories that they are reading. In order to provide a positive experience, the students must understand why they are being asked to read and how bibliotherapy works. That is the purpose of this second section of the first workshop. Depending on the group and book selection process this portion can vary greatly in length. Below are a few suggested topics to cover, but it is up to the Bridger of Worlds to determine what is needed for each group:
- Discuss the benefits of
bibliotherapy
- You may begin by allowing students to share any positive (or negative) experiences with reading.
- Explain the process of bibliotherapy
- Include that the ideal results are that the student will develop a better or new understanding about their own feelings of the feelings of others.
- Discuss the opportunity that reading gives us to escape from our current thoughts and the opportunity to connect with thoughts similar to or different from our own.
- Share your own experience with reading
- Depending on the book selection process, discuss the topics in the selected book