How I Use Wonder (by R.J. Palacio) to Cultivate my Classroom Community

A post shared by Lauren Salsinger (@diaryofa21stcenturyteacher) on Aug 14, 2017 at 5:44pm PDT

Wonder by R.J. Palacio is my absolute favorite children's book. Whenever I introduce the book to the class, I tell them about the first time I read it.

It was summer vacation, and I was on a plane on the way to Europe, and I heard great things about this book, so I decided to jump in and read it (not knowing much about it) since I had about 10 hours to kill, and I thought at least I might get a good start on the book. Now I'm the kind of person who, even when seated in the middle row, falls asleep on a plane before flight attendants even go over the safety procedures. I then wake up, drooling, as we prepare for landing (I know, #blessed). I started the book as I was waiting to board, giggling, as I imagined how my students would react to the fart story in the book. Fast forward what seemed like just a couple minutes, and I was in my seat hiding my Kindle as the flight attendants walked past (I know, guilty, don't tell). I just couldn't put the book down. Auggie's character just drew me in, and I needed the know his story. THEN I got to the Via chapter and realized that this book was in multiple perspectives. Game changer. I was so invested in this book, and so thankful that I had hours left of my flight to read it. It was an emotional roller coaster. At a few points I had to put on my sunglasses because I was sobbing. My brother was so embarrassed.

Now this is where my students interject, "WHY WOULD WE WANT TO READ A BOOK THAT MAKES US CRY?!"

Well, some of the time I was crying because I was so happy. Some of the time I was crying because I was sad. At some points, I felt angry, or guilty, or just extremely connected to one of the characters. I always tell them that if a book can make you have a kind of reaction like that, it's worth reading. I finished reading Wonder that flight. Didn't get a blink of sleep, and was totally jet lagged for the first day or so.

As an adult, this book helped me empathize with students in a way that I really hadn't before. From the variety of themes found throughout the book, to the different perspectives children get to see, I feel that this book is a must read for children in elementary school. Wonder is just one of those books that makes you think...which is why I used this book to help cultivate my classroom community.

I started with designing a positive learning environment. 

I made some paintings for the classroom of memorable lines from the book. 

I posted these around the classroom to spark discussion and get students thinking. Whenever we get to the part in the book when one of these quotes is stated, I see about 10 hands shoot up, "HEY!! THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS ON THE PAINTING!!" Cue the in-depth discussion. 

For those who are not artistically inclined (or just less obsessive), these printables get the job done, too. 

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As a pre-reading discussion, I did the crumpled paper activity.

After doing the crumpled paper activity, I ask students to listen for times in Wonder where a character may feel like this piece of paper. 

I created a positive reinforcement plan inspired by Wonder. 

Together we brainstorm ways to be kinder than necessary or ways to be Wonderful students. I mention that a lot of times it's easy to focus on or draw attention to the negative, so I challenge students to be on the lookout for positive things their classmates do. When they catch a positive act, they fill out a Wonderful student card and put it in a box. At the end of the week we empty the box. The Kindness Ambassadors (student job in the classroom) will read the anonymous Wonderful student cards. Students will then be given a sticker that says, "Ask me why I'm Wonderful." When they wear that sticker, other teachers and staff, family members and other classmates are brought into the picture. Students get to share what good deeds they did! I really feel that this has made the biggest impact on my class. It's such a special time of the week, and the smile on these students' faces when they are told that they are wonderful is so rewarding.

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Be on the lookout for a post that describes this positive reinforcement plan more thoroughly:

• How to ensure EVERY student feels Wonderful
• How to avoid students just writing Wonderful student cards for their friends
• How to encourage bigger acts of kindness
• SUCCESS STORIES: How "attention-seeking" students flourish! 

As I get to powerful parts of the story, I do a close reading activity. 

With our reading curriculum, we unfortunately do not have the time to do an entire novel study on this book. I found that doing these quick close reading activities helped students understand these crucial parts more deeply, it was a nice way to switch up the reading workshop routine a little bit, AND they meet the fourth grade standards!

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And I mean, come ON. Look at the quality you get from these kids!! 

I've also had students log a Precept journal on year (they literally begged me to let them do this). I do, however, find this tricky to keep up with on a daily basis, so read to find out how I plan to modify this to make it work for my fourth graders. 

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I dressed up like the book.

Ok, unfortunately this was only one time. Our theme one year for staff Halloween costumes was superheroes, so I got a little punny and became WONDER WOMAN! The class LOVED it, and enjoyed brainstorming what super powers Wonder Woman would have! 

Fun Fact: I tweeted this at R.J. Palacio, and she favorited it. I was STARSTRUCK! :-P

I researched book signings in the area to include family in the wonder of Wonder. 

I was SOOOOO devastated that I had already booked a flight to visit my family the ONE time she came to the area! Luckily a family generously got me a signed copy, and told me all about what R.J. Palacio had to say! It was so great to hear how much fun the families had!

I have Wonder themed Literature Circles & library organization.

I haven't had a student yet who doesn't love this book...but even a great book like this doesn't flick that switch in some readers' minds that reading is AWESOME. I think we can all agree that a community that supports being lifelong readers is SO important. 

Often times I'll hear, "Well I like WONDER, but there aren't any other books that good." 

I have a whole book bin (or two) in my library labeled, "If You Liked Wonder..." Those books are usually checked out within 2 days of starting the read aloud. I also have literature circles with books with similar themes. I've listed some of my favorite titles below:

• Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
• Fish in a Tree by Lynda Hunt
• Rules by Cynthia Lord
• Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
• Ungifted by Gordon Korman 
• Rain Reign by Ann Martin 

I relate the story to anything and everything.

Literally. Content? Student disagreements? Writing styles? EVERYTHING relates!

I integrate Wonder into the curriculum. 

Second Step is a social-emotional program for students, and our writing program allows for some flexibility, so I merged the two together to make my FAVORITE writing project of all time. Here's the gist:

• Students pick a character to empathize with.
• Students pick a moment from the book that this character experienced. 
• Students write about that moment from that character's perspective, being sure to quote text from previous chapters to tie in the perspectives. 

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But wait, there's more!

With the excitement of the movie coming out, I see this school year as my LAST CHANCE to have that raw and authentic reaction with the book and my class. SAD...But I also see it as an opportunity to really take my Wonder obsession to a new level. Here's my Wonder bucket list for this year: 

• Wonder Certified Kind Classroom Challenge!!! - I am SO excited about the different activities provided. We're going to design the kindness shirts the first couple days, implement the kindness jar right away, and do the discussions throughout! 
• Precept Picker - This is my new classroom job. Each week one student will get to pick a precept out of the 365 Days of Wonder book.  They will write it up on the bulletin board, and students will have the week to put post-its up of their thoughts and reactions about this precept (so it's more of a collaborative bulletin board). During our weekly meeting we will reflect on what this precept means to our class. The Precept Picker will document this in a book for our class. 

A post shared by Lauren Salsinger (@diaryofa21stcenturyteacher) on Aug 16, 2017 at 8:45pm PDT

• Mystery Meet Ups (AKA Mystery Skype) - I'm calling it a meet up because I'm using Google Hangout instead. I plan to connect with multiple classes around the US (MAYBE internationally if we get lucky) to discuss different parts of the book. I have been so excited about it, I already created some forms to help me organize it. 

Click here to download, and comment below if you'd like to connect!! 

• Classroom Community Service - I'd love to do a community service project with the class. One that doesn't require raising a ton of money (I don't want to put the pressure on families). I plan to brainstorm ideas with the class to see what they come up with. Has anyone done a community service project with their class before? Suggestions? 
• Engineering Design Project - You've probably heard of Novel Engineering, but I want to tie in more of an empathy theme. I'd love for students to be able to design something for someone who is viewed as different. This is a work in progress -- YAY for having an Advanced Learning Facilitator who is just as excited about the book! 
• Incorporate Related Nonfiction Text - I found this website, Common Lit, that has Nonfiction text that relates to Wonder. What I love is that you can search by novel!! Only down side is that I think most of the text is going to be a little too tough for my fourth graders, but there's gotta be at least one article that will work! 
• Kindness Ambassador - This is another classroom job that I currently have. Their role will continue to be sharing the kind gestures from classmates, but I want to add another component to it -- almost like an upstander of the week who has a challenge to spot something good in an assigned individual as well as the other classmates. I also want them to come up with good deeds! I don't know exactly how it's going to work, but I'll post about it once I have a better idea. 
• Fabulous Bulletin Board Ideas - Sorry, no spoilers..you'll see soon! 

How do you use R.J. Palacio's Wonder in your classroom? 

Meeting Local Education Celebs!

Enjoying the summer in Chicago is one of my biggest strengths. :) Beach Volleyball with a few friends, fellow teachers, and coworkers has been a blast so far this summer, and something I look forward to every Thursday! Here's our team!

This past Thursday has given me another reason to look forward to coming to Beach Volleyball! 

Chicagoland is a documentary that follows Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Principal Liz Dozier. Challenges in the Chicago's education and public safety are the focus, and the documentary explores how these individuals are generating change and innovation in Chicago. Chicagoland brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions per episode (I'm a bit of a cry baby...). My friend Kierstyn (also a teacher) and I regularly obsessed over what an amazing, dedicated principal Liz Dozier was in the show. I recommend watching the documentary to see what great things she's done! 

What does this have to do with Beach Volleyball? 

Last Thursday as we were checking in to our game I ran into Liz Dozier! Completely starstruck, I shook her hand, introduced myself, and completely wimped out on taking a selfie with her! I decided to tweet her afterward, just to let her know how excited I was to meet her....and she tweeted me back!! I like her even more now! ;)

It's the little things. 

Favorite Children's/Young Adult's Novels of 2013

Every year I try to read as many children's books as I can. Between grading papers, professional reading for school book studies, graduate school work...and wanting to have a life...I don't get to read as many books as I'd like. Here are a few of my favorites that I read this year, which I highly recommend.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I'm sure it's a huge surprise that this is one of my favorites. August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

I chose to read this book after Wonder because I heard it was similar. I loved reading Out of my Mind as well. Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.

This book goes along with our Social Studies curriculum, and I do it as a read aloud with the class. I didn't realize I was so into Historical Fiction until after reading this book. The class LOVED it! Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe. As he learns the language of the Algonquian Indians and observes Captain Smith’s wise diplomacy, Samuel begins to see that he can be whomever he wants to be in this new land.

I kept hearing great things about this book. When I finally had the chance to read it, I couldn't put it down. It's an adorable story. Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line. Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better. Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.

I was not excited to read this book. This goes with our writing curriculum, and the first chapter was rough to get through, but the rest of the story was adorable.  Shirley Temple Wong sails from China to America with a heart full of dreams.Her new home is Brooklyn, New York. America is indeed a land full of wonders, but Shirley doesn't know any English, so it's hard to make friends. Then a miracle-baseball-happens. It is 1947, and Jackie Robinson, star of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is everyone's hero. Jackie Robinson is proving that a black man, the grandson of a slave, can make a difference in America and for Shirley as well, on the ball field and off, America becomes the land of opportunity.

I was having Hunger Games withdrawals this year, and I heard Divergent was really similar. Since I'm from Chicago, I figured it would be really cool to read. Fun fact -- the author of this book went to my high school! Although it's a great book, I wouldn't recommend it to my fourth graders, even the ones who can read more challenging books. How could I not read it? In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

A student recommended this book to me. Another tear jerker. I read it in one night. Features seven narrators, each with a unique story, and each with a different perspective on what makes their teacher so special. It’s the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School. There’s . . . Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who’s having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Danielle, who never stands up for herself; shy Anna, whose home situation makes her an outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school. Only Mr. Terupt, their new and energetic teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all. He makes the classroom a fun place, even if he doesn’t let them get away with much . . . until the snowy winter day when an accident changes everything—and everyone.





New Year's Resolution To-Read List: 

Let me know if you have any recommendations!