Lunch and Summer

Auggie met a girl named Summer in the cafeteria. Why do you think Summer came and sat with Auggie? What do you think about Summer?

It's finally Auggie's first day of school! How do you think it's going so far?

Auggie really likes Mr. Browne's class and I think it's cool that even though Auggie is feeling awkward and unsure a lot of the time, in Mr. Browne's class he decides he is going to like school. "No matter what."

I love the idea of the precepts, or "rules about important things" that Mr. Browne is doing. Mr. Browne's September precept is "When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind." When listening to what you guys think this means, I heard a lot of really great ideas. One idea stood out to me though. Trevor, from my bell 2 class said, "You don't always have to be right, but if you're kind, you're never wrong." WOW! I hadn't thought of it that way, but Trevor is absolutely right! What great insight! I love the idea that as long as I am being kind and doing the kind thing and making choices that are kind, I am right. Think about how much better our school, community, and world would be if everyone followed this practice!

Meeting Jack Will, Charlotte, and Julian

So, August got to meet some of the students he is going to be going to school with. We can tell what characters are like in several ways. We look at what the character says, what the character does, and what others say about the character. Based on what we read today, what are your impressions of Jack Will, Charlotte, and Julian?

Meeting Mr. Tushmann and Mrs. Garcia

So, it has been decided. Auggie is going to go to Beecher Prep. Today we read about him meeting the principal, Mr. Tushmann, and the secretary, Mrs. Garcia (Mrs. G.). Both seemed nice, although Auggie liked Mrs. G better when she wasn't showing her "shiny smile." Auggie seemed very shy and nervous about meeting Mr. Tushmann and about seeing his new school. Mr. Tushmann and Mrs. G. both seemed to like Auggie and were very nice to him.
What do you think about the part when Auggie noticed that just for a split second, Mrs. G. looked away? Why do you think she did that? Why did no one notice but Auggie? Why would something like that bother him?

Check out this link to read a post by the author of Wonder, R.J. Palacio. This book is something to talk about!

http://choosekind.tumblr.com/

Happy Birthday Auggie!

Tomorrow is Auggie's birthday! How should we celebrate? First, we are going to read - and for more than just a few minutes! I know you guys are enjoying this book and are ready to really get into it, so I will set aside at least 15 minutes for read-aloud time. Second, we are going to spend some time talking about bullying and I am going to ask for volunteers to pledge to "choose kind" which means you promise to make an effort every day to be a little kinder than necessary. Finally, we will spend a few minutes celebrating Auggie's birthday. I'll let you be surprised!

CHRISTOPHER'S HOUSE

We only got to read 1 short chapter today - "Christopher's House." In this chapter Auggie overhears his parents talking to Christopher's parents about him starting "real school" instead of being homeschooled. Auggie's mom feels like it's time and Auggie is ready. His dad doesn't think so. Auggie doesn't want to go.

Wow! Think about how Auggie must feel. He has never even thought about going to school before. How would you feel if you were him?

Mrs. Kirby Cried

Yes, it happened. While reading from Wonder today, I cried. It was during the chapter called "How I Came to Life." What a great opportunity to talk about what makes a book a "great" book. I connected with Auggie's mom as she saw his sweet little face for the first time. No matter what he looked like to the rest of the world, he was beautiful to her and she loved him more than anything. When we connect with a story in such a personal way,  it becomes a memorable book to us.
Another thing that makes this book memorable is the author's ability to make us laugh. I know teachers probably aren't supposed to think farts are funny, but the part of the story about the farting nurse and the doctor passing out makes me laugh every time I read it!
What an amazing book to have me laughing one minute and crying the next! I can't wait to read more to you guys!

WONDER

I began reading the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio to my reading classes today. I only had time to introduce the book and read chapter 1 - Ordinary. In this chapter, Auggie, the main character, lets us know how badly he wants to be just an ordinary kid. What exactly is an ordinary kid and why do you think it's so important to Auggie that he is seen this way? Let me know what you guys think!