Wonder-ing About Which Read Aloud to Select This School Year?

It was August, two weeks into the school year. I had just found out that I was taking over the third grade class. It was a very exciting opportunity! While I was thrilled, from my interactions with this class, I knew that I had my work cut out for me.

This would not be the first time that I had taken over a class a couple weeks into the school year. In my experience I knew that in order to get this class back on track I needed to not only set firm expectations, but also build a strong sense of community.

The weekend before taking the position I set out to look for a good read-aloud to help build that classroom community. I knew that this class was very diverse and part of the diversity included a student with autism. I wanted to find a book that helped my students embrace diversity. I wanted them to begin to not only understand but appreciate the differences of their peers.

I began my search by browsing through several Pinterest suggestions. This was followed by a trip to the store for further research. As I read the back of multiple novels in the store one novel caught my attention immediately. The cover had a cartoon face of a boy with one eye. As I read the back I knew that this was the book I had been searching for.

The novel that I picked up was Wonder by RJ Palacio. It follows the story of August "Auggie" Pullman, a 10-year old living with a facial deformity. Due to his disability Auggie has been homeschooled most of his life. However, as he enters middle school his parents decide to enroll him in a private school known as Beecher Prep. The story follows Auggie's journey through this difficult transition. Each section is told from a different character's perspective, which is great for discussions about point of view.

However, my favorite part about reading this novel to my class was that it opened the door to a lot of great conversations about bullying and how to treat others with kindness. My favorite memory of reading Wonder to my kids happened on the day we finished the story. One of my students suggested that we have a class group hug. I guess I got that classroom community that I was looking for.

I would highly suggest using this story as a read-aloud in your classroom.  I used it with my third graders, but I feel that it would make a great read-aloud for older grades as well.

What are your favorite classroom read-alouds?

-Carly

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