Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Explore the main

characters and begin to

understand August's
point of view
Relate the novel to the

song that inspired it

 What do you think beauty is? Try to be

honest.
What do you do to feel attractive?
How would you feel if you had a facial

disfigurement that you couldnt hide? Do you

know anyone like this?

Discuss

Blurb
My name is August.
I wont describe what I look like.
Whatever youre thinking, its
probably worse.

The Song
You are about to hear the
song that inspired the
author to write the book.
As you listen to the song,
think about how the lyrics
could relate to what we
have read so far.
Has a song ever inspired
you in the same way?

Homework
Research Treacher-Collins syndrome, which is
the condition suffered by the main narrator of
Wonder.
You need to collect five facts: how it affects people; how
common it is; symptoms etc

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Use evidence from the

text to make inferences

about characters
Creative empathetic

writing that explores

thoughts & feelings

First Impressions
Character

Julian

Quotation

What it tells us
about the character

forced a smile

He doesnt want to
be there and is
pretending to be
friendly.

Hot Seating

In the back of your books, write

three

open

would

like

Augusts

questions
to

guides

ask

any

you
of

(Charlotte,

Julian and Jack) about their first

impressions of August.

Diary Entry
Choose to be either Charlotte or Julian and write a
diary entry of your day giving Auggie a tour of the
school.
You should include:
Write in first person (I)
Write in the past tense
Include information about the characters feelings
Include details from the book
Use language suitable to their character

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Select & retrieve

information from the text

Relate events in the

novel to our own lives

Wonder

Learning Intentions
By the end of the lesson
you will
Explore the opinions and

feelings of the characters

in the novel
Create your own precept

and explain its meaning

to others

Precepts
A precept is a motto or a rule to live by.
A later precept from Mr Browne is:
your deeds are your monuments
What do you think this means? Do you
agree?

WHY is your precept a good rule to live by?

You never know
what someone has
been through you
should be kind if
you can.

No-one likes
self-righteous
people (bigheaded)

When given the choice between

being right and being kind,
choose kind.

If someone is wrong
and you are mean
about it, they might be
afraid to ask questions
again.

Treat others
the way
youd like to
be treated.

If you act like youre

always right, youll
never learn
anything new.

Precepts: Rules To Live By

If you cant say anything nice, dont say anything

at all.
Kind words do not cost much, yet they accomplish

much.
Keep calm and carry on.
All you need is love.

Create your own precept with explanation in your

exercise book. Make it your personal motto: it can
be a song lyric, quotation from a novel, a famous
saying or something personal between your friends
and family.

Comprehension Questions
Answer the following questions in full sentences using
evidence whenever possible:
1. How does August feel on his first day? (page 35)
2. Look at the chapter called Locks. Explain its literal

3.
4.
5.
6.

meaning and then try to explain its metaphorical

meaning. (page 37)
What do we learn about Charlotte from the way she
introduces herself? (page 42)
Why is Darth Sidious discussed? (page 44)
How does Mr Brownes precept relate to the novel so
far? (page 48)
Try to create three more names that can be linked to
summer. Explain your choices. (page 52)

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Explore the thoughts &

feelings of August
Infer & deduce by using

evidence from the text

The Bleeding Scream

Freeze Frame
In groups of no larger
than four, create a
freeze frame of one of
the scenes from todays
reading.
Add a thought track
and be ready to
perform for the class.

Homework
Find out

five facts about a

Victorian man named John

Merrick,

more

famously

known as the Elephant Man.

Write a paragraph (or more)
explaining how his situation
could
Auggie.

relate

to

that

of

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Explore the authors craft

and understanding the

importance of point of
view in writing
Compare and contrast

the lyrics from Space

Oddity to the novel

Part Two
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And theres nothing
I can do
-David Bowie, Space
What could these lyrics
be
Oddity

about?
What point of view is
expressed?
What mood is created?
How can you relate the title to

Via

Space Oddity by David

Bowie
As you listen to the
song, think about the
following:
The message of the

song
How it relates to
August
How it relates to Via
The
point the
of view
Annotate
worksheet
The
with
links &
to the novel
mood
atmosphere

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Explore characters

through creative writing

and drawing

Auggie was
going to be
Boba Fett.

At the last
minute, he
changed to a
bleeding
Scream
costume.
Julian
is
going to be
Jango Fett.

Jack said he
was going to
be a wolfman.

Halloween
Costumes

Designing a Halloween
Costume
Create a Halloween costume
for one of the major
characters. Take a full page of
your exercise book for the
drawing add labels and
colour when completed.
Then, on the following page,
explain why you chose the
costume: how does it relate to
the character? What are you
trying to reflect about their
personality & behaviour?
Extension Task: write a
diary entry for your
characters Halloween

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Explore characters

through creative writing

Character Playlist
Imagine you find one of
the main characters
iPod on the floor.
What music do you
think you would find on
it?
Create a playlist of 10
songs for one of the
characters. Explain why
you have chosen each
song.

Homework
Choose one of the songs from the
playlist, print out the lyrics and explain
how it relates to the novel (just like we
did as a class with Space Oddity).

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Be able to write from a

characters point of view

Julians Story
Although we see many sides of the story
in Wonder, we never get to see Julians
point of view.
Your task is to rewrite a scene from the
novel from his point of view. Consider his
thoughts, feelings, behaviour and
attitudes.
It would be easy to paint him as a
stereotypical villain, but as weve seen
from exploring other characters, this is
not real. Try to create a real, flawed
human being.

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Be able to understand

the hidden meaning

behind words
Be able to explore formal

& informal language

choices

right, right, right, i say,

shaking my head. i
sigh. im wiped, olivia.
how the heck am i
going to remember all
these lines?
I hate science the
most out of all my
classes. We get so
much work its not
even funny!

And this is the way

its always been for
me, for the little
universe of us. But
this year there seems
to be a shift in the
cosmos.
When
Julian
mentioned he was
having a hard time
befriending the
boy, we told him he
was off the hook
in that regard.

Who is talking? What does their

language suggest about them?

Language Choices
We never hear directly from the adults in Wonder.

Why do you think this might be? Do you think it

would add to the impact of the story or detract from
it?
Look at page160: who uses formal language? Why it

is used? What do they want?

Look at page 164: who uses informal language? Why

it is used? What do they want?

Facebook Page
Create a detailed Facebook page
based on information from the
novel, for ONE of the following:
Miranda
Via
August

Create some statuses and recent

events on their wall that match
what has been happening in the
book, e.g. Via Pullman was
amazing in Our Town tonight!
These could also be adding/
deleting friends, changing
relationship statuses, comments,
etc

Information: relationship
status; birthday;
hometown; e-mail address.

Friends: Think about who

the characters would and
would not be friends with.
Maybe they have recently
made or lost friends? Draw
some thumbnail pictures.

Likes: think about the kind

of groups your character
would be a member of, or
things they would be a fan
of, from what we know

Homework: Postcard
Precept
Mr Browne has his pupils send
him their own precept. You will
be doing the same thing.
Complete the postcard by
writing down an address,
precept and explain your
choice.
Precept Hint: choose a famous
quotation, musical lyric or
famous saying that expresses
something you feel is
important.

Due: next
lesson!

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson you
will
Understand the character of

Jack
Be able to use TEEC to

display your knowledge of

the character

Thinking about Jack

1. Draw a picture of how you
imagine Jack to look on a full
page in your exercise book.
2. Label the picture with as many
ideas about his character as
you can from the chapters we
are about to read.
3. Add a quotation from the text to
support each idea you have
about her. Remember to use
quotation marks.

Using TEEC

Can you spot

the

Topic
Evidence
Explanation
Conclusion
Jack is a kind person, but he suffers
under the stress of

being Augusts friend. I know this as he says I guess I was

just kind of wanting a little normal time to chill out with
other kids. The sentence begins with I guess as if Jack is
struggling with his feelings; he wants to leave August but
he feels guilty about it. Normal time suggests when he is
with August he must carry his burden, which he finds
difficult. Chill out tells the reader that
he feels
uncomfortable and wants to avoid the unpleasant attention
that being with August brings. This links to his later feelings
Which the
partpressure
Doofyou
agree
or
of having
under
being
Augusts
Why dosnapped
we
of the
TEEC
disagree
with
friend.
hides this from
his
friends as he
feels ashamed.
useHe
TEEC?
is longest?
Why?

the comments?
Why?

Jack

If you are having trouble

creating a TEEC paragraph,
use these prompts:

Use TEEC to answer the

following question:

Topic (one sentence only)

What do we learn about

Jack
as a character in pages
175-185?

Evidence (remember
quotation marks)

The writer suggests

Jack seems like
Palacio uses

I know this because

When he writes
With the words
Explanation (your own ideas
go here)
This suggests that
This makes me think that

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson you
will
Understand the character of

Justin
Be able to use TEEC to

display your knowledge of

the character

Justin
Use TEEC to answer the
following question:

If you are having trouble

creating a TEEC chain, use
these prompts:
Topic(one sentence only)
The writer suggests
Justin seems like
Palacio uses

What do we learn about

Justin throughout his
Evidence (remember
section
quotation marks)
of the novel?

I know this because

When he writes
With the words
Explanation (your own ideas
go here)
This suggests that

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Select & retrieve

information from the text

Infer & deduce ideas

from the text

Comprehension Questions
Answer the following questions in full sentences using
evidence whenever possible:
1. What extended metaphor does August use to describe
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

his feelings for facing the parents? (page 207)

What changes about the laughter aimed at August?
(page 210)
How does August connect with his doctor? How does this
effect his feelings about the hearing aids? (page 212)
What does brightness have to do with Augusts hearing?
(page 214)
What makes mom angry and why? (page 216)
What is Augusts cave and why does he go there? (page
218)

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Know the key information

for one of the main

characters
Be able to analyse a main

character

Character Analysis
1.

Choose one of the main

characters from the novel

2.

Write a list of the five key

events in that characters life

3.

Link one of the figures on the

tree to each of the events

4.

Explain why the figures

position matches the
opinions/behaviour of the
character
Extension Task:
complete the task for
another character

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Understand how to vary

your sentence openings

Be able to create a piece

of autobiographical writing

Add variety to your writing

Vary your Sentence Openings..

Use an ing clause

Waiting for her food to cook, Megan played on her
PlayStation.
Screaming as loud as possible, Sam took a leap out
of the plane.
Starting from the top, he worked his way down the
page.
Connecting the dots he found he had made a
picture of a dolphin.

Use an ed clause
Panicked, he sprinted out of the
classroom.
Drenched, he went to dry his clothes
under the hand dryer.
Inspired by the book she just read, she
decided to write a story of her own.
Surprised by the noise, Shelley gasped.

Use an ly clause
Reluctantly, he went out for shopping.
Slowly, he walked along the thin plank.
Daringly, he jumped over the fence.
Stupidly, he put his life in danger.
Carefully, she opened the castle gate.

Use a simile
As quietly as a mouse, he crept past his
parents bedroom.
As fast as a cheetah, she sprinted into the
100m race.
Like a diamond ring, it twinkled brightly in
the sunlight.
Like an eagle, Sarah soared above the
trees on her hang glider.

Autobiographical Writing
It is a rite of passage to go
on a school trip. Your task is
to write a page in your
exercise book that
describes a school trip you
have been on.
Be sure to include
descriptive details,
thoughts & feelings and
vary your sentence
openings.

Homework
Your homework is to write a paragraph that
predicts what could happen to August on his
adventure away from home.

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will
Explore the opinions and

feelings of the characters

in the novel

Precepts
Answer the following questions in full sentences in
your exercise books:
1. Explain what you think Mr Brownes precept

could mean
2. Try to find an example from your life that
relates to the precept
3. Without reading the end of the novel, flip to the
appendix (page 311) and read the different
characters precepts
Task:
an What
4. Choose oneExtension
and explain
itsdesign
meaning.
alternative
front
cover for How can
does it show
about their
character?
the novel.
you relate it to yourself?

Wonder

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson you
will
Know the structure of a

review
Understand how to use

adjectives to express your

personal opinion

Review
1.

Read the
Wonder.

review

2.

Highlight the adjectives

that show the writers
opinion of the book

3.

Annotate the various

topics of the review
How is it structured?

4.

Plan your
Wonder.

review

of

of

Review Structure
Review Focus
The audience of your review will be young people
The purpose of your review is to inform

Structure (a paragraph each)

1. Introduction
2. Explain the plot (do not reveal too much - like a book

blurb)
3. Give your overall impressions of the film and rate it

(out of 5 stars)