Halloween

    R.J. Palacio

  MR. BROWNE'S OCTOBER PRECEPT:  YOUR DEEDS ARE YOUR MONUMENTS.

“...we should be remembered for the things we do. The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the Pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you. That's why your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of with stone.”

― R.J. Palacio in Wonder as written by Auggie

 

JFB is trying to catch up to the other two schools in where we are in Wonder!    You'll find out that this (above) is Mr. Browne's October precept.  I love the October precept, and I love that you all are writing your own precepts and talking about your family precepts.  Wonder gives us so much to think about!  We will be posting our precepts on our classroom door.

 

KME and SLE are getting ready to hear the next narrator, Via.  What will Via tell us that we don't know?  Will we find out more about Auggie and Auggie's family?  Why do you think R.J. Palacio chooses to tell this story in multiple first person points of view?

 

KME and SLE - don't forget to bring in your precepts!

 

Sorry, KME, for not reading today!  I know that made you MAD! ;-)  Don't worry, I will read tomorrow!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing who enters the Storyworks Character Contest.  Wouldn't it be exciting for Gordon Korman to use your character in a short story?!  Think about how real Auggie seems and the details Palacio used to create him (description, dialogue, actions, reactions of other characters, thoughts/feelings).  Can you create a character who everyone can connect to like that?

 

Parents, we're so glad you're reading along with us!  Tell us your thoughts!  I'm circulating the copies of the books as they come back to me, so if you're waiting for a copy, it'll come your way soon!

 

 

Star Wars, Summer, and Point of View

         PADAWAN BRAID                                  DARTH SIDIOUS

 

 



Lots of Stars Wars references in these chapters!  SLE and KME also met Summer.  She's quite extraordinary and rises above peer pressure to befriend Auggie at lunch.  Do you have any text to self connections with Auggie when he stresses about lunch?  I do!  Even as an adult, when I go to new places, or I'm in an unfamiliar situation, finding someone to eat lunch with is stressful!  No one wants to eat alone, and if there is already a group of friends eating together, it's hard to sit down with them.  You don't know if they want you to - it's much easier when you have friends already!  Summer is not your ordinary kid - it takes someone really special to leave her comfort zone and friends and eat with someone who looks lonely.  Could you do that?  We also loved it when Jack Will and Auggie could laugh over Auggie's face in a positive way.  It takes trust to laugh at yourself with a friend.  I also liked how an SLE student said, Auggie "allowed" Jack Will to tease him.  If you allow someone you trust to tease you or laugh WITH you about your insecurities or problems, then it can be healthy.  It's NOT okay when someone laughs AT you to be mean or when you're not allowing it.

We talked a lot about point of view at JFB.  Cassandra and Emma asked and answered excellent questions about first person point of view and complex story structure.  I loved that they understood that an author can tell a story from multiple first person points of view in a linear, chronological way, or each character can start from the beginning to tell the same story/scene from his/her perspective. Some kids get confused by that and wonder if it's a flashback or wonder why they're hearing the same story again. What a great discussion!  Ask your JFB kids if they remember what omniscient and limited omniscient points of view are! :-)  We're on chapter "Lunch" at JFB.  They're about to meet Summer.

Some parents are finishing the book - what do you think??  I'm trying to circulate the books to the next parent as soon as I get one back.  It's so fun to have you reading with us!  I already know what our next read aloud is going to be, so I'll make sure I get multiple copies again for parents!



Precepts



It's so fun to be reading a book aloud that has captured all the kids' attention and hearts!  We all care about Auggie!  Today, SLE read through the "Choose Kind" chapter, and we met Mr. Browne.  We had a great discussion about precepts.  Mr. Browne's September precept is "WHEN GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING RIGHT OR BEING KIND, CHOOSE KIND."  The kids responded in their notebooks with their thoughts about this precept.  We got some interesting feedback.  The discussion on precepts (precepts = rules about really important things) prompted interest in making our own precepts.  Maybe a classroom wall or door of precepts?  What are your family's precepts?  I'll be posting some of the kids' precepts as we write them.

At KME, we stopped at the chapter "Locks" and at JFB, we stopped at "First - Day Jitters."  The kids are just disgusted by Julian's character.  What is his deal??  We still wonder what Jack Will is going to be like, and will Jack and Charlotte stick by Auggie once school gets under way?  Who are going to be Auggie's true friends?

Talking about Wonder

 

 

Welcome to our first class blog about our read aloud, Wonder, by R.J. Palacio!  I'll be posting here every day to tell you what chapter we're on, and what we're thinking, writing about, and discussing.  Please post comments to the blog about what YOU'RE thinking while listening, if you're a student, and what you thought when you read these chapters, if you're a parent or part of school staff.  The more participants, the merrier!

 

Monday, September 10th:  JFB has read through the chapter "Jack Will, Julian, and Charlotte," and SLE and KME are on the chapter, "Locks."

 

We've talked about Julian and what kind of person he is.  We also discussed predictions about what Auggie's first day is going to be like.  We've discussed Auggie's parents and Via a bit, too, and how they deal with Auggie's disorder.  We're going to be talking about empathy and what happens when we read about characters that may be very different from us.  How will feeling empathy toward Auggie affect how we relate to real people who may be different?

 

What are your thoughts about the characters we've been introduced to so far?  How are you feeling about Auggie going to school?  What would it be like to be his parents or his sibling?