Hello everyone.

It's great to see you today.

How are you doing? I hope you're feeling good.

I hope feeling ready and excited for what we're going to be getting into today, which is exploring a fantastic novel.

So my name is Ms. Afsal, and I'm really pleased because today we're gonna be exploring "Wonder" by RJ Palacio.

Take a look at that fantastic front cover.

So I'm gonna pause now while you go off and get your copy of the novel.

All right, so you're back.

You've got your copy of the text.

You are ready.

This is going to be a fantastic, thrilling, amazing, inspiring ride.

There is so much in this book that can inspire and change lives, so I cannot wait to get into it.

Let's begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is: I can discuss the main ideas of "Wonder".

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn: empathy, discrimination theme, precept.

Great stuff.

I liked hearing those words loud and clear.

Let's find out about their meanings.

Empathy is the ability to understand other people's feelings and points of view.

Discrimination means treating a person or group of people differently and unfairly because of a certain characteristic.

A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.

Precepts are a moral lesson or guiding principle.

Let's make sure that we're looking out for these words.

Let's think about them.

Let's be curious about these keywords.

So our lesson today: Developing an understanding of "Wonder" through rich discussions has two parts.

First of all, exploring the story and next exploring themes.

Let's begin exploring this amazing story.

"Wonder" is a novel written by RJ Palacio with cover and interior illustrations by Tad Carpenter.

So let's find out more about this novel.

The protagonist of the story is August "Auggie" Pullman.

Auggie is born with a facial deformity that has made him an outsider and subject to bullying.

Despite his challenges, he is intelligent, witty, and resilient.

What fantastic character traits.

The novel chronicles Auggie's journey as he enters Beecher Prep School and interacts with classmates who initially struggle to accept his appearance.

Through friendship, empathy and understanding, Auggie gradually wins over his peers and becomes an integral part of the school community.

So my first questions for you, why is this novel important? And what message do you think it has for readers? So pause the video here, turn to someone nearby and share your answers to these two questions.

Why is this novel important? What message do you think it has for readers? Let's hear from Sofia.

"'Wonder' provides positive representation for individuals with disabilities or differences.

It addresses the harmful effects of bullying and prejudice, exploring events from a range of perspectives.

The text encourages readers to reflect on their own behaviour and consider the impact of their actions on others." Wow.

Fantastic answer, Sofia.

And what a thing for a text to be able to do that, to really get us, as the reader, to look at how we are living, how we are acting, what's the impact of our actions? Amazing.

Wow.

I wonder what your answers were.

Check for understanding.

August is bullied because he is unkind towards others.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected False.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer.

She's from one of these two statements.

August is kind, respectful, and understanding.

He is bullied by others based solely on his outward appearance.

August's sister, Via feels left out as two of her friends begin to ignore her at school.

She finds a new group of friends, including Justin, a musician and actor.

So pause the video while you decide which of these statements best justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected the first statement.

This gives a more direct justification to your earlier answer.

Although the second statement is true as well, it's not really related to your earlier answer.

And now here's a brief summary of the text: Auggie is homeschooled.

His parents suggest he start going to middle school in fifth grade, the equivalent of Year 6.

Auggie begins to enjoy school and builds friendships with Summer Dawson and Jack Will.

However, August faces bullying from some classmates including Julian, who leads a group that ostracises and taunts him.

And to ostracise means to leave someone out, to exclude them.

Auggie overhears Jack Will speaking poorly of him to Julian when Auggie is not supposed to be listening.

Their friendship is ultimately reconciled by Jack understanding where he went wrong, empathising and apologising to August.

Auggie participates in various school events, including history and science fairs and a nature retreat, facing both setbacks and triumphs along the way.

This brief summary really shows us how much is involved in this text, how deep and wide it goes.

And now I'd like you to put the following events from "Wonder" in chronological order.

So that's in time order, in the sequence in which they occurred in the novel, and use the text to support you.

So let's go through these events.

August stands up for himself against some older pupils at the nature retreat.

He's backed up by his friends.

Auggie receives an award for his resilience and courage, symbolising his growth and acceptance within the school community.

August enjoys English lessons.

His teacher is Mr. Browne.

He teaches the class about precepts.

August finds out about the "plague" that Julian and other members of his year group have made up.

It causes people to avoid August.

So pause the video now while you decide which order these events occurred in.

Okay, so what order did you come up with? Did you have the first event as this one here? August enjoying the English lessons.

Loved his teacher, Mr. Browne and those precepts.

Next, did you have August finds out about the "plague".

A really, really unkind thing that Julian and other members of his year group made up.

Next up, August stands up for himself against some older pupils at the nature retreat.

And finally, Auggie receives an award for his resilience and courage.

Fantastic.

Well done for putting these events in this order.

Now that we've explored the story, we're going to discuss our own thoughts and feelings about the text.

I'd like you to answer some questions in the grid that's coming up with a partner.

Be honest about your thoughts and make sure you listen to your partner's opinion.

Here we are.

Here is our grid.

I would like to know all about your likes, your dislikes, and anything that puzzled you.

So first of all, likes: What caught your attention, what made you wanna keep reading, keep turning those pages? And you could start your answers with something like: "I enjoyed.

." or "My favourite part was.

." Next, dislikes: Was there anything you weren't so sure about, maybe something you didn't understand? And you could begin with: "I was unsure about.

." or "I wanted to know more about.

." And then finally, puzzles: Was there anything you found strange, puzzling, or surprising? You could begin with "I wondered.

." or "I noticed.

." So pause the video here.

Use this grid to support you with sentence starters and remembering all the questions and share your answers with someone nearby.

And listen carefully to their answers as well.

And I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay.

I am very curious.

What did you come up with? Let's find out.

Some likes, dislikes, puzzles.

Likes: "I really liked how each part of the text had a different voice.

It was like I was in the character's heads." Yeah, that's a really great device that the author used.

"I enjoyed researching the quotes, which are included at the start of each of the parts." Yeah, fantastic.

So many inspiring quotes there.

I actually felt like writing some of those down, taking them away with me and just having them, having them close.

Dislikes: "I did not like the character of Julian.

He's not empathetic at all and fakes being kind.

His family have similar prejudiced attitudes, looking down on August.

I wonder why he's like this?" Yeah.

Interesting to think about why he is this way.

And puzzles: "I noticed Justin's perspective had all the text in lowercase letters.

I wonder how this made other readers feel?" Yeah, really interesting.

"I wondered how events were going to be portrayed from another character's perspective.

I really looked forward to these moments." Yeah, that's it, isn't it? You know, we have our own perspective.

We can't see things necessarily from, well, with empathy we can see things from another person's point of view, but it's really interesting to get into different characters' heads around the same event.

And now it's time for us to explore themes.

A theme is a big idea, topic or message that occurs within a story.

Identifying themes within a text involves inference, looking for clues, looking deeper.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

So text won't say "this text is about X, Y, Z themes." But there are a few ways to help us to identify themes: considering actions and characteristics of people within the text, identifying repetition, actions, emotions, traits, searching for deeper meaning using inference, considering the overall message of the text.

Two of the most prominent themes are discrimination and kindness.

And discrimination is treating a person or a group of people unfairly or unjustly because of certain characteristic they may have.

Throughout the narrative, August seeks out positive relationships and with support from his family creates a supportive community.

What themes do you think are shown within the text? So pause the video now, turn to someone nearby and share with each other what themes do you think are shown within the text? Okay, what did you come up with, I wonder? Maybe something like this.

So some themes in "Wonder" might include: belonging, empathy, family, loss, cultural heritage, friendship and identity.

So many themes.

What a rich, deep, incredible novel this is.

It explores so much.

There are many possible themes that can be drawn out from this text.

Readers may interpret themes and their importance differently.

Check for understanding.

Match the theme to how it is conveyed in the text.

So we have the themes here: loss, discrimination, belonging, and how it could be conveyed in the text: Characters grapple with the consequences of their actions and learn the importance of standing up against injustice.

By the end of the text, August has formed strong bonds with many of his classmates and children in his year.

The Pullman's family dog, Daisy is put to sleep after an illness.

Via talks about her experiences of her Latino grandmother passing away.

Pause the video while you match the theme to how it could be conveyed in the text.

Okay.

Good to be back with you.

Let's see how these themes and how they conveyed the text link together.

Did you make this connection? Loss is conveyed through the Pullman's family dog, Daisy being put sleep and Via talking about her experiences of her Latino grandmother passing away.

And discrimination is conveyed through the characters grappling with the consequences of their actions and learning the importance of standing up against injustice.

And belonging is conveyed by how at the end of the text, August has formed strong bonds of many of his classmates and the children in his year.

Well done if you made these connections.

Early on in the text, August overhears his father saying to his mother that August going to school is "like a lamb to the slaughter." This describes a situation where someone is unaware of impending danger or harm.

Refer to the text.

Why do you think both August's father and August both use this phrase? Pause the video while you refer to the text and reflect on your answer to this question.

Let's see what Aisha has to say.

"I think August's father knows how tough middle school is going to be, let alone if you have a characteristic that makes you different." "August understands how protected he was by his family.

He learns that there will still be challenges, but there are many more people who are empathetic than those who are not." I wonder if you came up with a similar answer, or maybe something different.

Throughout the story, Mr. Browne presents his students with a new precept each month, encouraging them to reflect on its meaning and how it applies their lives.

Precepts are a moral lesson or guiding principle.

After teaching the class for the entire year, Mr. Browne encourages the pupils to send their own precepts to him over the summer break.

These are shown in the appendix, pages 311 to 313.

Referring to these pages, reread the precepts chosen by Mr. Browne.

Which is your favourite and why? Then read the precepts from the pupils in his class.

Whose is your favourite and why? Pause the video while you take the time to read these pages, these precepts, and choose your favourites and give me a reasoning why you chose this.

It's good to be back with you.

I love everything about this novel.

One of my absolute favourite parts of it are the precepts.

So I'm so looking forward to finding out what your favourites were.

So which was your favourite precept by Mr. Browne and why? And which pupil's precept was your favourite and why? Let's hear from Lucas.

"September's precept is probably my favourite.

It links so well with Mr. Tushman's speech at graduation where he uses a JM Barrie quote: 'Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight? Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary.

'" Oh my goodness, that makes me feel something very warm and lovely just to hear that.

Let's do it.

Let's all do that.

Come on, let's make that our rule.

And who else have we got here? We've got Sam.

"I like August's precept the best.

It celebrates everyone and is really inclusive.

Doesn't everyone deserve a standing ovation?" Yes, everybody does.

Everybody does.

Make sure you give yourself a standing ovation and you know, everybody around you.

Just give each other standing ovations.

We deserve this.

Check for understanding.

What is a precept? A moral lesson, a guiding principle, a topic or message that recurs within a story? Pause the video while you decide what is a precept? Well done if you selected a moral lesson and a guiding principle.

A takeaway idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight, or perspective that the author has communicated to the reader.

Here are some takeaway ideas.

Here's one from Izzy: "Kindness Triumphs over prejudice." Yes, love that.

Here's one from Alex: "It's important to embrace differences celebrating diversity and appreciating uniqueness in ourselves and others." Yes, Alex! Absolutely.

Oh my goodness.

I feel we should have these on flags and banners everywhere.

These are brilliant, brilliant takeaway ideas.

So what are your takeaway ideas within "Wonder"? Pause the video and tell someone nearby your takeaway ideas.

It's good to be back with you.

So some takeaway ideas you might have mentioned could be: Strength and courage is found in facing challenges with resilience and determination.

Understanding and compassion have the power to change perspectives and relationships.

Friendships offer support during difficult times.

We should always stand up against injustice and create a culture of kindness and inclusion.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes to all of those.

As our reading experiences are unique, your ideas will be too.

Thank you for sharing your ideas.

In our lesson today: Developing an understanding of "Wonder" through rich discussions, we have covered the following.

The protagonist of the story is August "Auggie" Pullman.

Auggie was born with a facial deformity, which marks him out to be different and subjected to discrimination.

Through friendship, empathy, and understanding, Auggie gradually wins over his peers and becomes an integral part of the school community.

"Wonder" allows readers to perspective-take: to consider what events look like from someone else's point of view.

A take-away idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight, or perspective that the author has communicated to the reader.

I would like to communicate to you what a fantastic time I have had exploring this incredible novel "Wonder" with you through rich discussions.

Loved how you joined in.

I especially loved you sharing your favourite precepts and your takeaway ideas.

There's so much to take away from this novel and to literally take into our lives and to change our lives, and it can have an impact on how we live.

What an incredible novel.

I look forward to seeing you at the next lesson.

Bye for now.