Title: Wonder
Author: R.J. Palacio
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf New York
Reading Level:
Fountas and Pinnell: Q
Lexile: 790 L
Accelerated Reader: 4.8
A beautiful, heartbreaking and courageous tale of friendship,
pain, and the hardships of middle school that will have you laughing, crying,
and yelling until the very last page.
Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud for third-fourth grade
2 electronic sources to support/extend text:
This is the author’s website. There are lots of interesting
information about the book Wonder and about the author herself that can get students familiar with the book before they
start reading. There are also discussion questions that teachers can ask but
also that students can look at to help guide them through the story and enhance
their comprehension.
This is an interview that the backseat book club did with
the author, R.J. Palacio, that explains
what inspired her to write the novel. This can really help students visualize
the story and understand the message that the author wants her audience to get from reading the novel. There are a few other
interviews with the author that discuss bullying that might also be of interest to the students, they are all on the NPR website just like this one.
1. Cleft Palate- An abnormality resulting in a split in the
roof of the mouth and other
facial abnormalities.
2. Precept- A rule that is intended to control behavior or
thoughts.
3. Meticulous- Paying very close attention to details.
4. Mutation- A change in a genetic sequence that makes
something look or feel
different
than normal.
5. Sympathetic- Feeling or showing concern for someone who
is in a bad situation.
6. Zydeco Music- A type of Creole music that blends blues,
rhythm and blues, and
historical
music of the Creoles and the Native people of Louisiana.
Before Reading Strategy:
Have the students listen to the song “Wonder” by Natalie
Merchant and watch the music video for it as well because the author uses quotes from this song to start off the novel. Then have students discuss what the song is talking about and why the author chose this song to not only be the title of her novel but also to start the book with.
The overall theme of discussions and activities with the
book should be about bullying since this is a major problem in schools and a read aloud followed by engaging discussion can help combat this problem in the classroom. A discussion where you create a class definition of bullying and discuss characteristics of a bully can be done before starting the novel to give students an overview of the themes and ideas that will be discussed throughout the story.
During Reading Strategy:
Create a class chart of all the characters as they come into
the story. On this chart, you should have a column for their name, a few character traits that the class comes up with, and a column to either put a "yes" they are a bully or a "no" they are not a bully. This will help students visualize and understand what some character traits and actions of a bully would look like.
The chart should be displayed around the classroom so that
students can look back on it throughout the year to remember what being a bully looks like so that they can check themselves to make sure they are not portraying any of the character traits or performing any actions listed under the category of bully.
This will also help students to know if they are being bullied. The chart
should include:
a) The name of the
character, chapter they were introduced
b) Behaviors that
the author describes the character doing
c) Character traits
the class would give to this person
d) At the end of
the story, reflect on everything that happened and decide if they
are a bully
or not. Note: this can change throughout the evolution of the novel.
After Reading Strategy:
After reading, discuss comments, questions, and connections
in regards to the novel. Also discuss the chart that the class has come up with
and discuss bullying and what it means to be a bully.
Have the students describe
what they would do if they were one of the kids at August’s school and how they would feel if they were in August's situation.
Facilitate the
discussion with higher level thinking questions but also allow the students to talk to
each other and have a more student led discussion about the messages they got
from the story and their feelings on bullying than a teacher led discussion.
Writing Activity to demonstrate inferential comprehension:
Mr. Browne presents several precepts throughout the year to
his students. At the end of the year, he encourages his students to use their
experiences and knowledge to create their own precept. Before you create your
own, reflect on what you have learned from the book Wonder by answering the following questions
a) What
does the word precept mean?
b) Why did
Mr. Browne think it was important to incorporate precepts into his
classroom every month?
c) Why did the author include them in the book?
d) Which
precept do you think is the most important and why?
Using your own experiences and knowledge gained after
reading the book Wonder, what is a
precept that you would send to Mr. Browne during the summer if you were one of his students? You
can use a famous quote or come up with your own phrase or motto. Here is what
needs to be included:
a) Your
precept with the speaker’s name (or your name if it is original)
b)
explanation of what the quote means
c)
Explanation of how it relates to the book Wonder
d) Your
opinion on what August or another character from the book would
think of your precept and why. Use evidence from the text or class chart.
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