Introducing Wonder to the Class

Preview the book: have students analyze the front cover and share out their thoughts and predictions about what they think the book is about.

Open the book to Part One "August," and discuss Natalie Merchant's 'Wonder' lyrics, "Fate smiled and destiny/ laughed as she came to my cradle..." You can play the song for the class as well, while the class considers the lyrics and what they might mean in relation to the book.

I showed a video of Natalie Merchant singing her song 'Wonder' and sharing her inspiration behind the song.

Natalie Merchant Video

This year, I am going to try to post the lyrics on a the website Prism, and have the students get on the computers and look through the lyrics and highlight any key words or phrases.

You can also show your class the book trailer from Random House's 'Choose Kind' tumbler website: http://choosekind.tumblr.com/book. Discuss the quote "It's hard to blend in when you were born to stand out." Consider what this might mean to the character in the book- how can students relate to this quote as well?

For our first writing assignment, I gave my students this prompt:

Re-read the first page of Wonder ("Ordinary" page 3) and think about the definition of ordinary. Write your definition or thoughts about the word ordinary. Provide an example or a few examples of what ordinary means to you. 

Interesting insights from my class:

When discussing the front cover, one student suggested that because there is only one eye on the cover, that the story might be told from the boy's point of view. We then discussed point of view- I asked my students to keep this in the back of their mind as they read the book- consider how Palacio shows points of view and perspective.

Another student inquired about the fact that there were no illustrations- I told my students to keep this in mind, especially as we read the book and begin to understand the character of August and what he looks like. I asked my students to look for places where August describes himself and to consider what he chooses to describe and what he chooses to leave out.... and why.