A Letter to My Class of Readers

Dear Class, 
     I'd like to thank you all for a wonderful year together.  I can't believe it is the end of the school year and you will soon be 5th graders. 
   When looking back on this year, I will remember many things.  One thing I will remember is our read alouds together.  

Remember how nervous we all felt every time "the Nova" was parked in front of Ferris Boyd's house? Or how Delly stopped at nothing to help her friend when Ferris Boyd was missing in True...Sort of?  





Then there was The One and Only Ivan.  I

remember your anger when "the hook" was used on Stella and your happiness when Ivan finally went to the zoo.  We also watched Ivan win the Newbery Award together.  Your cheers when Ivan was announced was one of my favorite moments (even though some of you hoped Wonder would win).

Speaking of Wonder, reading this book as a whole 4th and 5th grade was one of my highlights of this year.  As we read, I noticed more and more copies of the book popping up around the room with all of you huddled around them as we read. Oh how we all grew to love Auggie and his true friends who stood up for him.  We cried when Daisy died and celebrated as Auggie was recognized for his inspiration and courage. These books knit us together and the characters became members of our class. 

We celebrated books and reading whenever we could.  I had so much fun at our Diary of A Wimpy Kid book release party.  We even got to review the new book on The Nerdy Book Club!

I also remember some of you groaning in disbelief when I asked you to read 40 books this year.  There was actual fear in some of your eyes as you tried to imagine yourselves reading so many books. Slowly, you built your reading stamina and were groaning when reading time was over.  It made me smile every time I heard you recommend books to each other or talk about a great part of the book you were reading.  Every time I brought new books into the classroom it was like a feeding frenzy.  I watched each of you find your favorites.  Whether it was: the Amulet series, Origami Yoda books, Out of My Mind, Drama, Dork Diaries, Capture the Flag, Wonder, RULES, A Dog Called Homeless, One for The Murphys or another favorite, you all found books that you liked best. Pretty soon you stopped asking me for recommendations and started asking each other.  

My wish for you is that you continue to be readers.  Reading is not something you do just for school, but a lifelong activity.  I truly feel that reading makes life better.  I wish you the best of luck next year and in years to come.  If you ever need a book recommendation, you know where to find me.

Our Wonder-ful Journey Comes to a Close

This week our classes finished reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio (a bit tearfully I might add).  We all enjoyed reading this book together throughout the winter.  Reading about Auggie's difficulties created rich and important classroom discussions about kindness, bullying and acceptance.  


It was fun to watch the students fall in love with this book.  It seemed like each week, more and more students came to school with their own copy to follow along or read ahead.  They carried the books around like trophies. Some even wrote their last name along the pages just like I do.

I often overheard students talking about Auggie amongst themselves.  Slowly, he became part of our classroom community. They reacted to his mistreatment with personal outrage, as though it were happening to a class member.  They reacted to his successes just as strongly, with cheers and happy tears.  

As a culminating activity, we had students write about what makes each of them a wonder. It was heartwarming to see what kind words can do.  I watched their faces beam as they read the kind words their classmates had to say about them.

Reading Wonder has made our year together better.  It created a bond through a beautiful common experience.  They will be able to discuss this book together for years to come.  I would like to thank R.J. Palacio for giving this amazing book to us.  It was truly a gift.

See my review of Wonder here.
Read more about our Wonder-ful experience:
Entry #1
Entry #2

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.

What Are You Reading?

 

Please visit the amazing blog: Teach Mentor Texts 

who host this terrific meme each week. 

This week I finished:

Wonder by R.J. Palacio 

Loved this book!  
Click to see my complete review.




 and

Nerd Camp by Elissa Brent Weissman. 

Fantastic!

This week I'm reading:

 The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

What are you reading?

Wonder by RJ Palacio

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Ages 8 and up (From the publisher)


I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.



I won't mince words here.... EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.....EVERYONE!

Wonder is the most compelling and touching story I have read in a long while.  You will fall immediately in love with Auggie.  August Pullman was born with a severe facial deformity.  The strong negative reaction of children (and shameful adults) to the way he looks has prevented him from attending school until he enrolls in 5th grade at Beecher Prep.  Although he is extremely reluctant, with the encouragement of his mother and incredibly loving family, August agrees to try to go to school. 

The well-meaning director of the middle school, Mr. Tushman (a very unfortunate name for a middle school administrator) sets up a visit before school started in order to help Auggie feel more comfortable.  He enlisted the help of a few of Auggie's fellow 5th graders to take him on a tour of the school.  Throughout the course of the book, you learn more about how the students were chosen and how this visit later creates huge conflicts.

Middle school is difficult for any student, but imagine how it could be for a child who looks very differently from his peers...someone who the others don't want to sit near, look at or talk to.  There are numerous incidents throughout this book that will make your blood boil.  Some people actually scream and run away when they see him.  Parents gasp and quickly move their children away from him.  The other students avoid brushing up against him so they won't catch "the plague".  He is picked on, talked about, physically injured and possibly worst of all...completely ignored.  One parent even crops his picture out of the class photo and gives it to parents who want an August-free photo.  This same parent tries to get him removed from the school because of his "special needs" even though he is a very bright student. 

Then there are the parts that will warm your heart as people get to know and love the real Auggie. Despite all the adversity, Auggie develops friendships with Jack and Summer.  These friendships are consistently tested by other classmates who feel Auggie is scary and different and therefore unworthy of attention or friendship.  Jack and Summer learn a lot about true friendship and are wonderful authentic examples of how young people can demonstrate true courage. 

I could go on and on.  In my opinion every parent should read this book with their elementary aged children.  As you read Wonder, there are numerous opportunities to discuss virtues of acceptance, courage, honesty, friendship, love and especially KINDNESS.  Teachers can share the story through read aloud and it lends itself to some very powerful and poignant classroom discussions. 
(I would encourage teachers and parents to read it before or just ahead of the kiddos.  Since Auggie has a teenaged sister, there is some teenage girl drama-type stuff, but not much.)

So go now!  But it, borrow it, download it-whatever you need to do to get your hands on Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  

Click to view a video trailer of Wonder

Click here for author interviews and activities