This term in reading we are diving into a novel study for the book “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio. This week we are focusing on what we can learn about the characters, especially through their dialogue. Characters’ thoughts and feelings can be revealed through their dialogue. This allows readers to make inferences about their internal perspectives and motivations.
We read Part One Chapters 5-7 which was about It was a long drive home. I fell asleep in the backseat like I always do, my head on Via’s lap like she was my pillow, a towel wrapped around the seat belt so I wouldn’t drool all over her. Via fell asleep, too, and Mom and Dad talked quietly about grown-up things I didn’t care about. I don’t know how long I was sleeping, but when I woke up, there was a full moon outside the car window. It was a purple night, and we were driving on a highway full of
cars. And then I heard Mom and Dad talking about me. “We can’t keep protecting him,” Mom whispered to Dad, who was driving. “We can’t just pretend he’s going to wake up tomorrow and this isn’t going to be his reality, because it is, Nate, and we have to help him learn to deal with it. We can’t just keep avoiding situations that . . .”
Our first task was to choose dialogue from the relevant chapter and use the dialogue to infer what each of the characters’ thoughts may have been. Here is my work:
Our second task was to imagine we are part of a welcoming committee at Beecher Prep, and create a warm and inviting poster to welcome August, the main character in the story. Our poster had to reflect the school’s values of kindness, inclusivity, and diversity.
I enjoyed making the poster. I need to improve on making more positive logos. I did well at finishing the dialogue in time.