Summary: Justin narrates this part of the novel. Justin describes his experience with meeting Auggie. He says that although Olivia prepared him in advance, he is still surprised by August’s appearance. Justin tells Olivia that he is not freaked out or scared by August’s looks. Justin goes out to dinner with Olivia’s parents. He is stressed out which activates his tics, but her parents arevery nice. At Olivia’s house, Justin meets Daisy, the family dog, and hears the story of how Olivia’s father bought him off a homeless man. Justin is amazed by how warm and loving her family is compared to his own. Justin and Jack both leave the Pullman residence at the same time, so Justin walks Jack to the bus stop. While Jack goes to the store, Justin notices three kids following him making throw-up noises. Jack explains that they are boys who have turned the middle school against him. Justin realizes that they are tormenting him because of his friendship with August. After Jack leaves, Justin approaches the boys, scares them, and warns them to leave Jack alone. Justin gets the lead in the school play, Our Town, while Olivia is the understudy for the lead female character. Justin is surprised when he learns that Miranda, who is playing the female lead, had been a close friend of Olivia and August. He is not pleased that Olivia had never mentioned that to him. Justin confronts Olivia for not telling him that she and Miranda used to be close friends. Olivia starts to cry because she hasn’t told her family about being in the play. She is worried that they will bring August to the play. She likes that no one at the school knows about Auggie and she wants to keep her ‘normal’ life at school. Activity:
Justin's Internet History Your internet browsing history reveals a lot about your character and personality. Write down what you think would be the top 5 websites (real or imagined) that Justin would most frequently visit during this part of the novel. Explain why using examples from the reading Summary: Part 4 is narrated by Jack. It starts with Jack’s mother getting the call from Mr. Tushman requesting that he be a “welcome buddy” for a new student (August). Jack doesn’t want to do it because he knows it is for August. He recalls the first time he saw August while he was getting ice cream with his his little brother, Jamie, and their babysitter, Veronica. Jack made an embarrassing noise when he saw August’s face, and their babysitter grabbed the boys and moved away quickly. In the end, Jack decides to be a welcome buddy. After getting used to August’s face, Jack realizes that he is actually really cool and smart. Jack doesn’t know why August is mad at him, and he doesn’t understand Summer’s Bleeding Scream clue. He decides to ignore August and spend time with the popular kids. He realizes that he likes August a lot more than the popular students. Jack soon understands the Bleeding Scream clue and knows why August is mad at him. When Jack is paired up with August for a science project and Julian calls August a freak, Jack punches Julian right in the mouth! Jack is suspended from school, but it seems Mr. Tushman understands that something precipitated Jack’s actions. The reader learns that Julian’s mother is also not accepting of August. She photoshops his face out of the school photo and also unsuccessfully tries to get August removed from the school because she says he has special needs. Jack reaches out to August to apologize for what he said, and the two make up. When he returns from his suspension, almost all the boys in the school avoid him. Jack learns from Charlotte that Julian has turned the students against him saying Jack has developed emotional problems from spending time with August. Summer and August kindly invite Jack to sit with them at lunch. Jack goes to August’s house to work on the science fair project. They meet Via’s boyfriend, Justin. Activity: You will listen to 5 songs which relate to themes which emerge in the novel, Wonder. With your group, choose one line from the lyrics of each song and explain how it relates to the novel! Make sure to use specific examples from the novel and quotes when possible.
Summary: Summer narrates this part of the novel. She explains that she first sat with Auggie because she felt sorry for him, but now she sits with him because he is fun. Summer sticks up for Auggie when people call him names behind his back. She thinks the other kids in her grade are too concerned about being cool, but Auggie still wants to play the games that she likes. Summer learns about a cruel game called The Plague where anyone who accidentally touches August has to wash their hands or use sanitizer within 30 seconds or they will get The Plague. The popular kids invite Summer to their Halloween party. She is happy to go, but soon realizes they only invited her to tell her to stop hanging around August if she wants to be in the cool group and have Julian as a boyfriend. Summer quietly calls her mother to come pick her up and lies about why she left early. When August comes back to school, Summer gets a bad vibe from him. August accuses Summer of only hanging out with him because Mr. Tushman forced her. She is mad and says it is not true. Auggie apologizes and explains what happened with Jack. She promises not to tell anyone about it. August goes over to Summer’s house after school to work on an Egyptian project. He learns that Summer’s father was a platoon sergeant and died a few years ago. The two discuss what happens after death. Summer thinks that people come back in another body. August likes this idea. Summer asks August about his medical condition, and he explains it to her in a humorous way. On the day of the Egyptian Museum Exhibit, Jack asks Summer why August is mad at him. She knows she can’t tell him, but she gives him a hint by saying “Bleeding Scream.” Activity:
Pay it forward by doing something kind for someoneelse and passing them a Random Acts of Kidness card. Summary: This part of the novel is narrated by Auggie’s sister, Via. Via explains that her family is like the galaxy and August is the sun because everyone orbits around him. She truly does understand Auggie’s challenges, but sometimes she feels ignored by her parents. Via remembers meeting August for the first time and knowing that he didn’t look like her baby doll. She quickly got over it and loved August. Via never looked at Auggie the way others did until she spent some time living with her Grans. While living there, she did not have to deal with people staring or making comments and her grandmother made her the center of her world. When she returned from her trip, for a fraction of a second she saw Auggie the way others did. She never told anyone this. Shortly after, her Grans dies from a heart attack. Via provides lots of details about Auggie’s face and the surgeries he has undergone. She wonders how August feels about his appearance and thinks he should share his feelings now that he is older. She also discusses the science behind Auggie’s condition and explains that she is a carrier of the mutated gene. As a result, she has decided not to have children when she is older. Via goes by Olivia at school. Her relationship with her two oldest friends, Miranda and Ella, begins to change. Olivia feels excluded, so she starts hanging out with a new crowd of people. Via tries to share her feelings with her mother, but she is busy dealing with Auggie after his first day at school. Via’s father helps her through it by making her laugh. Dad is impressed that she is reading War and Peace, and although Via’s mom doesn't think she is old enough, her dad says she can ride the subway home instead of riding with Miranda’s mom. Because she is missing her Grans around Halloween, Via stays home from school and spends time with her mother. This quickly ends when Auggie calls home sick from school. Auggie shares the story about Jack with his sister. She strongly encourages him to return to school, so he says he will. Auggie shares that Miranda called him to see how he was doing and to say that she missed Via. Activity:
Write a diary entry from the perspective of a Via. Consider her thoughts, feelings, or opinions on the events of the novel and share in as much detail as possible. You can reveal your inner most thoughts because no one reads your diary - itʼs personal! Summary: The reader is introduced to August, a young boy who has a deformed face who has had 27 surgeries since birth. August feels completely normal on the inside, but he knows that others do not see him as ordinary. Auggie is homeschooled, but he has a few friends. His best friend, Christopher, moved away to Connecticut, and his other couple of friends are often busy with school. Auggie overhears his mother talking to Christopher’s mom about the possibility of him going to Beecher Prep School. Auggie and his father are not keen on the idea and, when they are driving home, he overhears his parents discussing it. At first, Auggie is not happy since his parents had been lying to him about applying to the school, but he soon comes around to the idea of going. Auggie meets Mr. Tushman, the principal of Beecher Prep, and his assistant, Ms. Garcia. Mr. Tushman introduces Auggie to three students who are there to show him around the school. They are Jack, Julian, and Charlotte. During the tour, they show Auggie his homeroom, the auditorium where they have school plays, and the science lab. Julian makes a rude comment about Auggie’s face, but Jack and Charlotte stick up for him. They return to Mr. Tushman’s office, and Auggie signals his mother to leave. Auggie shares that Julian made a rude comment which makes her unsure about him attending school. He still decides to go. On his first day, he finds his class easily and finds a seat in the back. Julian ignores him, but Charlotte says hi and Jack sits beside him.Ms. Petosa makes the students in homeroom share information about themselves. After August says he likes Star Wars and that he has a Padawan braid, Julian asks if Auggie likes Dark Sidious. Auggie knows it is a rude question as he is a character whose face is disfigured. In English class, Mr. Browne introduces the precept that “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind”. The class will get a new precept each month to respond to. At lunch, Auggie has difficulty finding a place to sit. He thinks it is because of how he looks when he eats as a result of his cleft palate. A girl named Summer sits with him and the two playfully decide that only people with summer related names (or people who are nice) can sit there. On the way home from his first day, his mother has lots of questions. Auggie rates his day at a 5 on the pain scale, but doesn’t give his mother much information. When he gets home, he cuts off his Padawan braid, much to the dismay of his sister. His mother comes to put him to bed, and Auggie cries wishing he did not look the way he does. Auggie continues to go to school and although people still stare and whisper, they are starting to get used to the way he looks. Jack and Auggie start to become closer friends. Auggie invites his whole homeroom to his birthday party, but only six kids attend, including Jack and Summer. This disappoints him. August loves Halloween because he can hide behind a mask which makes him feel like everyone else. When he arrives at his homeroom with a mask, people do not know it is him. He overhears Jack saying that if he looked like August he would kill himself. August is devastated. He walks out of the class, cries uncontrollably, and calls home sick. He doesn’t want to return to school. Activity
Part 1: Advice For Auggie At the end of Part 1, Auggie feels completely betrayed by Jack. He says “I was pretty sure I would never go back to school again” (80). Based on what you know about the following characters, write what advice you think they would give to Auggie about returning to school or about how to deal with the Jack situation. -Summer -Mom & Dad -Via -Mr. Tushman Lyrics
Doctors have come from distant cities, just to see me Stand over my bed, disbelieving what they're seeing They say I must be one of the wonders Of God's own creation And as far as they see, they can offer No explanation Newspapers ask intimate questions, want confessions They reach into my head to steal, the glory of my story They say I must be one of the wonders Of God's own creation And as far as they see, they can offer No explanation Ooo, I believe, fate, fate smiled And destiny laughed as she came to my cradle Know this child will be able Laughed as my body she lifted Know this child will be gifted With love, with patience, and with faith She'll make her way, she'll make her way People see me I'm a challenge to your balance I'm over your heads how I confound you And astound you To know I must be one of the wonders They say I must be one of the wonders Of God's own creation And as far as they see, they can offer No explanation Ooo, I believe, fate, fate smiled And destiny laughed as she came to my cradle Know this child will be able Laughed as she came to my mother Know this child will not suffer Laughed as my body she lifted Know this child will be gifted With love, with patience and with faith She'll make her way, she'll make her way Wonder is a children's novel by Raquel Jaramillo, under the pen name of R. J. Palacio,[3] published on February 14, 2012.
Palacio wrote Wonder after an incident where she and her three-year-old son were waiting in line to buy ice cream. Her son noticed a girl with facial birth defects. Fearing he would react badly, Palacio attempted to remove her son from the situation so as not to upset the girl or her family but ended up worsening the situation. Natalie Merchant's song "Wonder" made her realize that the incident could teach society a valuable lesson. Palacio was inspired by Merchant's lyrics and she began writing. The book has a released spin-off, 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts. In August 2015, the book Auggie and Me was published. A film adaptation is set for release in 2017. |
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