Wonder Teachers Resources 2018
Wonder Teachers Resources 2018
RESOURCES
Explore the
themes of:
Bullying
Friendship
Family
Getting on and
falling out.
Encourage your class to discover Wonder and its many important themes before they see
the film with the help of the detailed lesson plans, reading cards and activities in this
resource pack.
Wonder is the story of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy who longs to be ordinary. He
does ordinary things – eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary – inside.
But ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds and
ordinary kids aren’t stared at wherever they go. Born with a facial anomaly, Auggie has been
home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he’s being sent to a real
school – and he’s dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted – but can he convince his new
classmates that he’s just like them, underneath it all?
Within this resource pack are lesson plans that have both a Literacy and a PSHE objective,
exploring the themes of: Bullying, Friendship, Family, and Getting on and falling out. You
will also find detailed reading cards which explore the themes of Judging by appearances,
Humour and Storytelling.
Plus, join the #ChooseKind movement and help your class bring the spirit of Wonder
into the classroom with the Certified Kind Classroom Challenge which aims to promote,
recognize and celebrate acts of kindness throughout the school year.
We hope that within these pages there is everything you need to discover and fall in love
with the story of Wonder with your class.
Best wishes
Penguin Schools
“It’s like people you see sometimes, and you can’t imagine what it
would be like to be that person, whether it’s somebody in a wheelchair
or somebody who can’t talk. Only, I know that I’m that person to other
people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium.To me,
though, I’m just me. An ordinary kid.”
“I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing
ovation at least once in their lives.”
“Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should
be kinder than needed.”
“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as
human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”
“We carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very
choice of kindness.”
KINDNESS AWARDS
At the end of each half term, ask children to each nominate a person they think has been the kindest child.
Nominations can be placed in a designated CHOOSE KIND ballot box. The kindest child receives an award.
WONDER WALL
Create a WONDER display wall in your classroom or library. Encourage children to post on the wall once
they have read the book. They could post reviews, quotes from the book or even pictures which relate to the
book.
SHARING PRECEPTS
In WONDER, teacher Mr Browne shares a monthly precept with his students. Why not do the same? You
could use the precepts from the story or create your own, and encourage children to share their own precepts,
display the completed postcards on a WONDER wall.
REFLECTION
At the end of the school term or year, ask children to write a short piece on what they have felt, learnt and
discovered over their school year. The writing can be anonymous and can be 50 or 500 words.
WONDER FILM
In anticipation of the film version of WONDER, divide children into groups and task them to create and
perform a WONDER film trailer.
ENGLISH:
Creating a character
Using similar writing as a model for their own
STARTER ACTIVITY:
Read aloud extract 1 with the class. Auggie says right at the beginning of Wonder, ‘I know I’m not an
ordinary kid.’ Ask the children to discuss in pairs what they think it is about Auggie that means he’s not
‘an ordinary kid’, and take feedback. Draw out that there is something about the way Auggie looks that is
different to other people, and that other people are scared of him and/or make fun of him because of this.
Explain that Auggie was born with a facial anomaly which means his face did not form properly, so he looks
very different to other people’.
At the end of the extract, Auggie says, ‘I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s
probably worse.’ Ask the children for their ideas of what Auggie might look like.
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
Task one
Display resource 1: WHO IS AUGGIE PULLMAN? on the whiteboard. Tell the class this is a list of facts about
Auggie’s character. Reading out one item from the list at a time, ask the children to raise their hands if this is
something they share with Auggie, e.g. ‘Likes Star Wars’. Record their responses as a tally beside each item.
What do these facts tell us about Auggie? Draw out that Auggie might look different on the outside, but he
is very ordinary on the inside.
Task three
Provide each child with a copy of resource 4: WONDER WRITING FRAME, and ask them to look at their
copy of extract 1 again. What do they notice about the way it is written? Draw out that it is first-person
perspective, and is written in quite simple, conversational prose, as if Auggie is just talking directly to the
reader. Explain that their job will be to write a new introduction to Wonder from the point of view of the
animal character they created in the previous task. Resource 4: WONDER WRITING FRAME will help them
to structure their introduction, and they may wish to refer to their copy of extract 1 to help give them ideas
for what to write. (For higher ability writers, you may prefer that they write without the frame for support.)
EXTENSION:
Ask the children to continue their story, imagining that their character goes somewhere for the very first time.
How do the other animals react to their extraordinary appearance? What happens next?
PLENARY:
Read extract 2 with the class. Explain that this is Auggie’s sister’s description of her little brother. Is his
appearance similar or different to what the children imagined when they read extract 1? Ask the class to
imagine that Auggie is going to join their class as a new pupil. What sort of things would they say to make
Auggie feel welcome? How could they show Auggie that they understand that he is ordinary on the inside,
just like them?
I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice
cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an Xbox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess.
And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away
screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.
If I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face
that no one ever noticed at all. I would wish that I could walk down the street without people
seeing me and then doing that look-away thing. Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not
ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.
But I’m kind of used to how I look by now. I know how to pretend I don’t see the faces people
make. We’ve all gotten pretty good at that sort of thing: me, Mom and Dad, Via. Actually, I
take that back: Via’s not so good at it. She can get really annoyed when people do something
rude. Like, for instance, one time in the playground some older kids made some noises. I don’t
even know what the noises were exactly because I didn’t hear them myself, but Via heard and
she just started yelling at the kids. That’s the way she is. I’m not that way.
Via doesn’t see me as ordinary. She says she does, but if I were ordinary, she wouldn’t feel like
she needs to protect me as much. And Mom and Dad don’t see me as ordinary, either. They
see me as extraordinary. I think the only person in the world who realizes how ordinary I am
is me.
My name is August, by the way. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking,
it’s probably worse.
His head is pinched in on the sides where the ears should be, like someone used giant pliers
and crushed the middle part of his face. He doesn’t have cheekbones. There are deep creases
running down both sides of his nose to his mouth, which gives him a waxy appearance.
Sometimes people assume he’s been burned in a fire; his features look like they’ve been
melted, like drippings on the side of a candle. Several surgeries to correct his lip have left a
few scars around his mouth, the most noticeable one being a jagged gash running from the
middle of his upper lip to his nose. His teeth are small and splay out.
...is kind___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TURN OVER
ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary ________________________
don’t___________________________________________________________________________ .
If I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish___________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ .
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ .
ENGLISH:
Devising and performing a short role-play
STARTER ACTIVITY:
In pairs, give the children one minute to come up with a definition of bullying. Take suggestions from around
the class. Now read extract 1 as a class. Do the children think Auggie is being bullied here? Draw out that he
is being left out or excluded by the other children, and that this is a form of social bullying. It’s not as obvious
as some other types of bullying – such as verbal bullying, physical bullying and cyber bullying – but it’s still
bullying. It makes Auggie feel bad about himself.
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
Task one
In pairs, ask children to read extract 2 together. Ask them to underline all the incidents of bullying in red,
and all the places where Auggie and Jack try to stop the bullying in green. What strategies do Auggie and
Jack use against the bullies? Draw out that they try not responding to the bullies, they try walking away from
them, they ask them to leave them alone, and they also calmly confront the bullies by asking them what their
problem is. Can the children think of any other strategies Auggie and Jack could have tried? Record all their
suggestions on the whiteboard for use in their next task. (Suggestions might include: staying calm; keeping
strong body language; not resorting to bullying back; telling a trusted adult; running from danger.)
Task two
Auggie and Jack did a really good job of resisting the bullies in extract 2. Tell the class that now it’s their turn!
Divide them into six groups, then hand out a card from resource 1: SCENARIO CARDS to each group. Each
card describes a bullying scenario inspired by the events in Wonder. The children must act out the scenario
and then decide what happens next. Which anti-bullying strategies will the characters use?
Give the groups plenty of time to prepare and practise their role-plays until they are ready to perform them
to the class. When they come to perform, explain that you will be stopping each performance midway
by shouting, ‘FREEZE!’ The actors must then freeze-frame their scene while the rest of the class offer
suggestions for which anti-bullying strategies they think the characters will use next. The actors then un-
freeze and play out the rest of their role-play while the rest of the class watches to see if they were right!
PLENARY:
Challenge the groups of children to come up with a short catchphrase or rhyme to help them remember the
anti-bullying strategies they have explored during the lesson. Display the catchphrases or rhymes somewhere
prominent in the classroom.
I could tell I was being stared at without even looking up. I knew that people were nudging
each other, watching me out of the corners of their eyes. I thought I was used to those kinds
of stares by now, but I guess I wasn’t.
There was one table of girls that I knew were whispering about me because they were talking
behind their hands. Their eyes and whispers kept bouncing over to me.
ENGLISH:
Participating in discussion and debate
STARTER ACTIVITY:
Read extract 1 with the class. In this extract, Jack is explaining to his mom why he doesn’t want to help show
Auggie around when he starts at school. In pairs, ask the children to discuss why they think Jack doesn’t want
to help Auggie, and then take feedback. Draw out that Jack is afraid of Auggie because he looks different.
How do the children think that Auggie would have felt when Jamie screamed and ran away from him? Ask
them to fill in the outline of Auggie’s face on resource 1: INSIDE AUGGIE with things that Auggie might be
feeling and thinking at that moment.
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
Task one
Remind the children that we already know from LESSON ONE that just because someone looks different
on the outside, it doesn’t mean that they’re not ordinary on the inside. Read extract 2 with the class. Explain
that Ms Petosa is helping Auggie and his classmates to get to know each other by finding out what they are
like on the inside.
Hand out a blank fact card from resource 2: GETTING TO KNOW YOU to every child. Ask them to write
down two things about themselves that nobody else in the class knows (if they have trouble thinking of
things that nobody knows, ask them to think of things that most people don’t know). It might be an interest
or hobby they have, something that has happened to them in the past, or a fascinating fact about themselves
or their family. When everyone has finished writing, take a basket around the class for the children to drop
their cards into. Pull out cards from the basket one at a time, and read the two facts aloud to the class. The
children have to guess which of their classmates wrote each card.
EXTENSION:
Children design a mask to go with their school uniform. They should consider its colour, the materials
it would be made from, how it would attach to the wearer’s head, and how it would function in terms of
comfort, ease of vision and communication.
PLENARY:
In Wonder, Auggie was judged by his appearance by many of the other characters until they got to know
him. Can the children think of other characters from books and films who are judged by their appearance? In
pairs, give the children three minutes come up with as many other characters as they can, then take feedback.
(Examples might include Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Shrek and Fiona from Shrek;
the Beast from Beauty and the Beast; Dumbo.) Choose a couple of the most well-known characters that the
children suggest. What happened when people in the story looked beyond this character’s appearance and
saw who they were on the inside?
“It’s just…” I started. “Mom, you have no idea what this kid looks like.”
“I can imagine.”
“Trust me, it is. And I’m telling you, it’s really, really bad. He’s deformed, Mom. His eyes are
like down here.” I pointed to my cheeks. “And he has no ears. And his mouth is like…”
Jamie had walked into the kitchen to get a juice box from the fridge.
“Ask Jamie,” I said. “Right, Jamie? Remember that kid we saw in the park after school last
year? The kid named August? The one with the face?”
“Oh, that kid?” said Jamie, his eyes opening wide. “He gave me a nightmare! Remember,
Mommy? That nightmare about the zombies from last year?”
“No!” said Jamie, “it was from seeing that kid! When I saw him, I was like, ‘Ahhh!’ and I ran
away…”
“Wait a minute, said Mom, getting serious. “Did you do that in front of him?”
Ms. Petosa told us a little about who she was. It was boring stuff about where she originally
came from, and how she always wanted to teach, and she left her job on Wall Street about
six years ago to pursue her “dream” and teach kids. She ended by asking if anyone had any
questions, and Julian raised his hand.
“Yes…” She had to look at the list to remember his name. “Julian.”
“Thank you!”
“Okay, so why don’t you tell us a little about yourself, Julian? Actually, here’s what I want
everyone to do. Think of two things you want other people to know about you. Actually, wait a
minute: how many of you came from Beecher lower school?” About half the kids raised their
hands. “Okay, so a few of you already know each other. But the rest of you, I guess, are new to
the school, right? Okay, so everyone think of two things you want other people to know about
you – and if you know some of the other kids, try to think of things they don’t already know
about you. Okay? Okay.”
For me, Halloween is the best holiday in the world. It even beats Christmas. I get to dress up
in a costume. I get to wear a mask. I get to go around like every other kid with a mask and
nobody thinks I look weird. Nobody takes a second look. Nobody notices me. Nobody knows
me.
I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could
walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the
masks.
FACT 2 FACT 2
FACT 1 FACT 1
FACT 2 FACT 2
FACT 1 FACT 1
FACT 2 FACT 2
FACT 1 FACT 1
FACT 2 FACT 2
FACT 1 FACT 1
FACT 2 FACT 2
FACT 1 FACT 1
FACT 2 FACT 2
BULLYING:
What do the characters mean by calling someone a jock, a cheerleader or a boffin? Do you think this is a
helpful way for them to refer to each other?
How does bullying go unseen by adults in WONDER? How do the adults in school deal with difficult
situations? Do you think they always respond in the best way?
When Julian calls Auggie a ‘freak’, Jack punches him in the mouth. Who do you think behaved most
badly in this situation: Julian or Jack? Is Jack justified in the action he takes against Julian?
The author has explained that she was inspired to write WONDER after an experience at a local ice-
cream parlour, very similar to the scene described in the chapter ‘Carvel’, where Jack sees Auggie for the
first time. In this scene, Jack’s babysitter Veronica chooses to get up and quickly walk Jack and his little
brother Jamie away from Auggie, rather than risk Jamie saying something rude or hurtful. What do you
think you would have done, if put in that position?
HUMOUR:
Auggie’s parents bring Auggie around to the idea of attending school by joking with him about Mr
Tushman’s name, and telling him about their old college professor, Bobbie Butt.
How is humour used as a tool throughout WONDER to diffuse difficult or tense situations, or to convey
a part of the story that would otherwise be depressing or sad? Look at the chapter, ‘How I Came To Life’,
where Auggie’s mom tells the story of his birth.
In the chapter, ‘Jack Will’, Auggie’s friend Jack jokes that Auggie should sue his plastic surgeon and
Auggie cracks up laughing. In ‘The Auggie Doll’, Auggie jokes that the Uglydoll creator based the toy on
him. Would these things have been funny if Julian had said them? Why not?
STORYTELLING:
WONDER is told from the point of view of six different characters: Auggie, Via, Summer, Jack, Justin
and Miranda. Why do you think the author chose to do this? What limitations would the author have
had if she had only told the story from Auggie’s point of view? Why do you think the author chose those
six characters in particular? Are there any other characters whose perspective you would have liked to
have read about? Why?
In Justin’s section of the story, no capital letters or speech marks are used. Why do you think the author
wrote the section like this? What information does it convey about Justin’s character?
WONDER is written in the first person, in conversational prose. What effect does this have on the
reader? Why do you think the author didn’t choose to write the story in a more formal style?
BULLYING:
When Julian calls Auggie a ‘freak’, Jack punches him in the mouth. Who do you think behaved most
badly in this situation: Julian or Jack? Is Jack justified in the action he takes against Julian?
The children at Beecher Prep play a game that you can’t touch Auggie, or you’ll catch ‘the Plague’. Why
do you think the author has given ‘Plague’ a capital letter here?
There are a number of incidents of bullying by social exclusion in WONDER. Can you think of some
examples of this from the story? Why do you think the children in the book do more of this kind of
bullying than verbal or physical bullying?
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Why do you think Via was so angry to learn that Auggie cut off his Padawan braid? Do you think she is
right to be angry?
Via’s grandmother told Via that she loved her more than anyone else in the whole world. Why did she do
this? Was it a fair thing for her to say?
STORYTELLING:
None of the chapters are told from Julian’s point of view. Why do you think the author has chosen to
leave Julian’s perspective out of the story?
How would you describe Auggie as a person in the first few chapters of the book? What about the final
few chapters? Has he changed significantly?
Auggie’s teacher, Mr Browne, gives his class a new precept to write an essay on every month, such as
‘YOUR DEEDS ARE YOUR MONUMENTS’, or ‘FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD’. Why do you
think the author chose to include this in the story? What effect do you think the precepts have on Auggie
and his friends?
BULLYING:
The children at Beecher Prep play a game called ‘the Plague’, where they have to wash their hands if they
accidentally touch Auggie. Why do you think the author chose to name this game ‘the Plague’? How do
you Auggie feels when he finds out the name of the game?
When Auggie chooses a lunch table to sit at, nobody else sits next to him at first. Do you think this is
bullying? Can you think of any other examples from the story where this kind of thing happens?
What other kinds of bullying happen in WONDER?
OTHER CHARACTERS:
After Auggie has a tour of Beecher Prep, Auggie’s mom no longer wants him to go to school. Why do
you think she changes her mind?
At first, Via doesn’t want Auggie to go to her performance at her new school. Why do you think this is?
Do you think this is fair of her or not?
On Halloween, Auggie overhears Jack telling Julian that if he looked like Auggie, he’d kill himself. Do
you think Jack really meant this? Why do you think he said it?
STORYTELLING:
What do you think of the line ‘You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out’ which appears on the
front cover of the book? Do you think it’s true for Auggie?
WONDER is not just told from Auggie’s point of view, but also from the points of view of several of his
friends and family. How did you find this as a reader? How did you keep track of whose point of view you
were reading? Did the author do anything to help you know which character you were reading about?
None of the story is told from the point of view of one of the adult characters. Why do you think this is?
1 2
3 4 5
10 11
12
Across Down
1. Don’t ________ a book by its cover 2. Your ________ are your monuments
7. It is better to know some of the __________ 3. Have no friends not _______ to yourself
than all of the answers 4. ________ teaches success
8. Better ________ than never 5. Be the type of person you want to ________
9. To thine own self be _________ 6. No man is an ________, entire of itself
11. Waste ________, want _________ 10. Kind ________ do not cost much. Yet they
12. When given the choice between right or being accomplish much
kind, ________ kind
Wonder
9780552565974
ALSO AVAILABLE:
Wonder - Film Edition 365 Days of Wonder Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Journal We’re All Wonders
9780141378244 9780552572712 Wonder Stories 9780552574747 9780141386416
9780552574778