WONDER-ful Reading

Last week all the fourth graders in our school huddled together in our library to kick off our read aloud of RJ Palacio's incredible book, Wonder.  After I read the book this fall, I have been telling every man, woman and child to read it (see my review here).  Since it sends such a powerful and important message, the teachers in our building thought it would be a great idea to have our 4th and 5th grade classes all read Wonder as a read aloud at the same time.

The students were all very curious.  After all, we had never read a book as a whole grade-span before.  The students were very focused on the cover of the book.  "Does he only have one eye?" they asked.  "What happened to his eye?" They were frustrated when we wouldn't tell them the answers.  They also could not believe that they will NEVER see August's face.  All of the students had seen the book trailer earlier in the day. We introduced the book as a powerful read that they will love and remember, a book that will make them feel a wide array of emotions.

Each of the four teachers read a chapter aloud.  It was so incredible to see so many of the students hanging on every word.  And then came the part about the "farting nurse". To hear a teacher use the word "fart" over and over again was so hilarious to them.  I'm sure it was the topic of discussion at many dinner tables that night.  Of course as we finished the fourth chapter, they begged for more.  Now each class will read the book independently for a few weeks.  Then we will get together to discuss the story and do some activities to enhance the experience. 

Please visit again to hear more about our WONDER-ful journey.