Wonder
Written by R.J. Palacio
Digital Salon by Caroline Stevens, Delaney Ellicott and Sam Hutchinson
Digital Salon by Caroline Stevens, Delaney Ellicott and Sam Hutchinson
Written Response
Prompt: In the book Wonder, August had to make a lot of decisions about school. When he hears his best friend Jack Will talking negatively about him to others, he leaves school early and debates going back at all. If you were August, would you have gone back to school after this incident with Jack Will occurred on Halloween? Write a short essay response (4-6 sentences) discussing how you would have reacted in August’s position. Be sure to write and respond as if you were in August’s shoes.
Standards: 5.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Author’s Craft: Organization, Spelling, Point of View
Standards: 5.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Author’s Craft: Organization, Spelling, Point of View
Mentor Text
While I was quite devastated when I overheard my good buddy Jack Will talking behind my back, I had to remind myself that if I never went back to school then the bullies won. I wanted to stay inside my room and never come out, but thanks to talking with my mom and others I do think I will go back to school. There are lots of nice kids there that make me feel welcome, and that overshadows those kids that choose to be mean to me. I do not want to be a quitter and showing back up at Beecher Prep will show those kids that their words will not get to me, and hopefully this will make them stop being unkind to me as well as others.
Podcasting
Prompt: In the book Wonder, a lot of people have a lot of opinions about August attending Beecher Prep School, especially the moms. After reading, create a 4-8 minute podcast as if you were interviewing the moms of other students at the school. Create a list of questions to ask in the podcast regarding topics such as:
Standards: 5.SL.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Author’s Craft: Dialogue, Expression
- Their thoughts on August
- Opinions on having mentor students for August
- School photo debacle
Standards: 5.SL.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Author’s Craft: Dialogue, Expression
Click to hear the mentor text!
Digital Storytelling
Prompt: After reading Wonder, pick a scene from the book that is memorable or meaningful to the overall story and construct a live action version. You can record yourselves acting it out and assume different character roles or you can choose to do a stop motion version with drawings. In your video, make sure to include at least two excerpts of dialogue directly from the text. One option for recording is the app FlipGrid, where you can record yourselves and post it to the classroom group for sharing.
Standard: 5.SL.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Author’s Craft: Dialogue, Expression
Standard: 5.SL.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Author’s Craft: Dialogue, Expression
Infographic
Prompt: After reading Wonder, use the website Canva and choose to either use an infographic template or create your own. August had many trials and tribulations that led him to go back and forth on going to school. Create an infographic with the different things that brought August back to school or choose to make an infographic of the things that made him think about leaving when things got hard. Include at least 4 trials or tribulations that contributed to your topic (wanting/ or not wanting to go to school). For each example, be sure to describe the event AND how it impacted August. When making your infographic, use a layout that is easy to follow including clear headings, subheadings, and text boxes.
Standard: 5.W.2.A Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
Author’s Craft: Organization, Word Choice, Spelling, Point of View
Standard: 5.W.2.A Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
Author’s Craft: Organization, Word Choice, Spelling, Point of View