You Are a Wonder

  

BRILLIANT

POWERFUL

COMPELLING

RIVETING

INSPIRING

SHOCKING

EFFECTIVE

HEARTBREAKING

EXTRAORDINARY

The words above perfectly describe the book Wonder by RJ Palacio. I can go on and on talking about this book and how amazing it is. I have read it in each class I’ve taught so far in my career (two 5^th grade classes, one 3^rd grade class). I have written long posts on this book before, and I regretted it each time because if you haven’t read it, you really need to experience it yourself without someone telling you what it is about.

I was introduced to Wonder when I was working toward my Master’s. I needed to read it for a class, and I finished it in a day and I knew right away this book would be an automatic read aloud (if I am teaching 3^rd grade or higher). I do not think 2^nd graders or below will be mature enough yet to understand the true meaning of this book.

R.J. Palacio dug deep and highlighted the reality of bullying. It wasn’t sugar coated at all. The words used throughout the book were intense and heartbreaking. It grasps the students’ attention right away because I believe the students relate to what is happening in the story.

The book takes the students and us teachers on a journey. In the beginning, students believe it is a story about a boy with a facial deformity and how he manages through school for the first time. However, that’s not what the story is about….well, it is, but it's not the reason I believe R.J. Palacio wrote the book.

I believe this book was written in order to discover who you are. Every student reacts to what happens in the book differently, and the more times that happens, the more the students begin to understand their own identity.

Take Jack Will for example. For those of you unfamiliar with this story, he is one of the main characters in the book. I felt he went through the greatest change throughout the book. In the beginning, he was reluctant to help Auggie out. Shortly thereafter, he began to get to know Auggie a little more and started to genuinely like hanging out with him. Then, he felt like he was losing his friends so he made a bad choice, which greatly affected him and Auggie’s relationship. I’ll stop there, but hopefully you get my point. With all of those changes, by the end of the story, Jack Will discovered his identity.

Think about it – there are probably many Jack Will’s in your class. The children we teach every day go through the same type of problems the characters in Wonder go through. This story is remarkable because it helps students process the reality of bullying but also allows the kids to discover who they are and what they want to be remembered for.

“I AM” POEMS

My first class was HOOKED on this book right from the start. They not only enjoyed the story itself, but they learned a lot about themselves after reflecting on the story’s message. They realized the impact words or actions could have on a person. They understood the proverb: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” Most importantly, the students discovered what they wanted to be remembered for after reading this book. Beforehand, some students were perfectly content being the popular one and being “in control” of many social situations. However, they learned that eventually this would get old and that they would be considered a bully. It’s incredible how LIFE-CHANGING this book can be. That’s why I created the “I AM” poems. This is an activity that should be done AFTER you read Wonder. Something I might try next year is doing the “I AM” poem before I read Wonder and then doing it again after I read Wonder to observe how much the students not only learned from the story, but learned about themselves as well J

Please click the picture below to be led to my Teachers Pay Teachers page that will provide the directions for an “I AM” poem as well as a model of the final product.