Wonder part 2

                Wouldn’t it be great to know what other people thought about you? I know I would love that sometimes. What do people really think about when they meet me or after they spend time with me. In Wonder, R.J. Palacio, allows the reader to hear from different characters, not just the main character. The reader reads about that character’s life and how they interact with the main character. In the second part of Wonder you hear from Jack Will and how he is trying to repair his relationship with August. Because Jack still wants to be friends with August and he punched Julian in the face, people started a war between the boys. This is fifth grade, should there really be any kind of war or bad blood between students? If this is what it is going to be like every year for August and his friends, well school is going to feel really long.

              The next character we get to hear from is Olivia’s boyfriend, Justin. I thought this was a very minor character to put into the story. I think that it is a very interesting chose to put this character into the book because he gets to not only interact with Olivia, but August as well. I don’t think Olivia really prepared Justin very well for meeting her brother, he seemed very surprised by seeing him. One of the lines that I think stuck out the most in Justin’s chapters was when he was remembering what Miranda told him she said, “the universe was not kind to auggie Pullman.” She is right, the universe was not very kind to Auggie.

             After we hear from Justin we hear from August again. Auggie ends up getting hearing aids because he is starting to lose his hearing. He does not like them at first because it would be another thing to make him standout, but it turns out that he really likes them. Then Auggie’s dog Daisy dies. Daisy was always there for Auggie, and there to comfort him. Losing Daisy was really hard for Auggie and the rest of the family. Another big part in the book was when Auggie and Olivia’s mom finds out that Olivia is going to be in a play. The problem is that Olivia did not want anyone from her family to go. She knew if her family went then Auggie would be there and she is trying to keep her home and school life separate. She never came out and said the reason she did not want her family there because of August, but it was very much implied. They did end up going to the play, and Olivia did great. One of the most touching scenes in the book was at the end. At the end of the book, Auggie goes on a weekend trip with his class and there are other schools there too. Some seventh-grade students from another school start making fun of Auggie. Auggie stands up for himself and Jack, but that does not stop the seventh graders. Some other fifth grade students that are not really friends with Auggie come by and help him. They end up running away. The most significant part was that when they came back to finish watching the movie everything had changed between the other fifth grade students and Auggie. They saw Auggie as one of them. At the end of fifth grade they have a graduation and at the graduation Auggie receives an award called the Henry Ward Beecher medal which is about recognizing greatness. When he gets this award, people start clapping and giving him a standing ovation. Then at the very end his mom says something so touching. She says “Thank you, Auggie,” …”For everything you’ve given us. For coming into out lives. For being you. You really are a wonder, Auggie. You are a wonder.” Sometimes having a parent say something to you that is heartfelt is worth much more than an award.

           As I was reading this book, I was trying to come up with an ideas for assignments, but I got so into the book I sort of forgot. I think that sometimes just reading the book and having a discussion is all you need, especially for a great book like Wonder.  I think that different parts of the book, split up into characters, could be a great assignment. What I was thinking is for students to write themselves into the book as a character. How did they meet August? What is their relationship with him? How did they see him when they first meet? How do they see him now? As a friend? As weird? What is something that they learned by being friends with August? Does their perception of people with disabilities change after meeting someone with a disability or deformation? I think this activity would get students thinking and get them to be creative. I also like the assignment the teacher had the students do in the book. The teacher had students write their own precepts. I think having students do this activity gets them thinking about what they find important in life and something they feel can be inspirational.

          I loved this book. I could go for hours talking about all the parts I loved, that made me sad or made me laugh. I think that this is a book all students should read because it is so great and very inspirational.

wonder part 1

        

               Growing up being teased and made fun of is never something you want to go through. I was teased all the time growing up for either being really tall or being white in an all Hispanic school or just for being shy. I never had any abnormalities like Auggie does in Wonder, but the author writes this story with so much feeling that the reader feels like they are like Auggie. Reading this book, I felt like I knew what Auggie was going through. There were points that I cried, points where I was sad, and others times where I was smiling and laughing.

           Auggie has been sheltered all his life by his parents because of his health problems and also because they know the weird looks Auggie gets. Now it is time for Auggie to start 5^th grade and his mom thinks that he needs to go to a school. Auggie is not to thrilled with this idea (and I would not be either). He ends up going to school, and everywhere he walks people look at him like he has the plague. He gets some friends because he has a great personality, but there are some kids that still make fun of him. On Halloween, Auggie was so excited to wear his custom because he could feel normal, the mask made him feel that way. He walked into class thinking that this was the day he was not going to be made fun of, but he overheard someone he thought was his friend making fun of him and saying he did not know why Auggie was following him around. Auggie eventually forgave Jack for what he said. (I don’t think I could forgive Jack).

          This book has so many emotions going through it. I like that the story starts off with Auggie and his story then leads into other people. The other people’s stories get told, but then they talk about how they interact with Auggie and what they thought about him when they first saw him. Auggie’s sister is a sad story because she feels like she does not get as much attention as Auggie. She also wants to start high school with no one knowing how Auggie is because well she says she is not ashamed of him, but she is at times.  She talks about going to her Grandmas’ house for two week because Auggie had a surgery. When she comes home she talks about seeing Auggie the same way everyone else sees him like, a monster.

         As I was reading this book, I was wondering how I can make this book into different lessons. I think that it would be very insightful to have students write about a time where they felt like an outsider or different because of something about them. I also think that it would be interesting for students to write about how they would feel if someone like Auggie was in their class. How would you interact with them? Would you try to be their friend or ignore them? Would you be scared of them like everyone else? I also would like to do a craft project by drawing a self-portrait making sure they got all their features, and show everyone how different everyone is. I would also talk with the students about respect and bullying. These are very important topics and sometimes not talked about a lot. I would like students to write about what bullying means to them, then as a class create a document of things they will do to stop bullying and how they will hold themselves responsible if they are caught bullying someone. Then have the students sign it. There are so many great lessons in this book, especially on how to treat others.

         I think that this is a great book and all students should read this. It is not hard to read and the chapters are very simple. I think that the book captures different emotions and gets you think about how you treat others. Such a great book and I cannot wait to read more.