St. John Fisher fifth graders have been reading Wonder by RJ Palacio as a read aloud, and using it as a mentor text for the last five years. Teacher, Mrs. Kroeger, considered using another book when the movie came out, but said “I love it way too much to not teach it. It has so many lesson I want the fifth graders to learn including empathy, kindness, forgiveness, inclusion, and so much more!”
August Pullman’s (main character) tenth birthday was October 10th; so the SJF fifth graders threw him a party! When students arrived at school on Thursday they walked into a room decorated for a birthday bash, complete with balloons. party favors, and cake!
The party started with a game to review the plot and conflict in the story. Later, fifth graders ran around campus in a “literary scavenger hunt” answering questions about the book and collecting puzzle pieces along the way; the game ended with groups solving the puzzles. Wonder themed BINGO helped students review key places and characters in the novel. The party culminated with singing and cake!
Anne-Marie Hudani
St. John Fisher School Principal