At the beginning of this school year, one of my former students, Sophie, emailed me for book recommendations. She said she was stumped for books to read and was raving about a book that she had recently finished: R.J. Palacio's Wonder. As much as Sophie looks to me for book suggestions, I seek out my students, as well, to find out about new literature. As soon as I received Sophie's email, I immediately looked up Wonder and read reviews. I responded to Sophie's email with suggestions, as well as a request to borrow her own copy of Wonder. Needless to say, like my student Sophie, I've fallen in love with this book.
I won't write a summary about Wonder, but I suggest you pick it up at your local library or bookstore. It is a fabulous read and throughout my foray into the world of children's literature, it is by far one of the best books I have read.
Wonder ties in directly with our 4th grade year-long service learning project. Our 4th graders are paired with students from specialized education programs in Denver Public Schools. Each 4th grader has the opportunity to develop a friendship and a relationship with a student with either a physical or mental disability. Our students experience the wonders of developing a lifelong connection with their Unified Neighborhood buddies- buddies, who my students consistently remark and wonder, "are just like us."
I have requested copies of Wonder for all of 4th grade and we are excited to introduce the book to our students this week. I am setting up this blog as a "work-in-progress" site in which I will add in teacher resources, comprehension questions, suggestions for group discussions, etc... My hope is that this blog will develop organically from what my students and I experience as we begin to discuss and analyze this book. I hope that this blog will be a useful resource for any teachers/parents/librarians who would like to teach Wonder and share it with the children and adults in their lives. Please feel free to comment with any suggestions or questions you may have and in the meantime.... pick up a copy of Wonder!
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