Wonder Teacher Guide

Essential question: What makes inclusion an ongoing practice rather than a single kind gesture?

• Explain how perspective shapes character choices.
• Support an interpretation with two accurately described scenes.
• Compare the portrayal with a selected passage from its source or another relevant text.

Introduce perspective, bystander, inclusion, and characterization. Discuss characters without asking students to disclose disability, medical history, or bullying. Provide a selected Palacio passage.

• Bullying, cruel remarks, exclusion, fights, and emotional distress.
• Discussion of medical procedures; a family pet dies.
• Family conflict and some mild language.

Preview the assigned edition and arrange required permissions and an alternative source-based assignment. Students can explain harm without describing graphic acts or repeating slurs. Keep discussion focused on characters; do not require personal disclosures.

Pause after the school tour, after Halloween, after Jack’s change of understanding, and after the nature retreat.

Use brief responses during viewing and reserve interpretation for afterward. Check subtitles and captions. If scenes are omitted, bridge the narrative and adapt the affected questions.

Facial difference does not define a person’s whole identity. Examine the film’s shifting perspectives and whether others’ growth overshadows Auggie’s agency. Avoid using simulated disability experiences as an activity.

For a short comparison, select one accessible source or excerpt, establish author/date/purpose, and compare one film claim with what it supports and leaves unanswered. Teacher selection and adaptation are required.

Studio film information · Content advisory (spoilers)

• What makes inclusion an ongoing practice rather than a single kind gesture?
• Which scene best supports your interpretation, and what might another viewer notice?
• What does the film leave out or simplify?

Exit ticket: One claim, one supporting scene, and one question for further study.

Optional extension: Build an evidence chart with columns for film portrayal, external source, agreement or difference, and remaining uncertainty. Assess accuracy and reasoning.

Expected answers for 13 questions. Accept supported alternatives for analytical prompts.

1. How is inclusion different from simply allowing someone to be present?
   It involves access, participation, respect, and meaningful belonging.
2. What worries Auggie about beginning school?
   He anticipates attention, judgment, and difficulty finding acceptance.
3. How does the school tour reveal different responses?
   Students show curiosity, kindness, discomfort, or hostility through their behavior.
4. What does the astronaut helmet represent for Auggie?
   It offers imaginative escape and a way to control being seen.
5. Why does Halloween become painful for Auggie?
   He overhears Jack’s hurtful remarks while others do not realize who is listening.
6. What does Via’s perspective reveal about the family?
   She cares for Auggie while also experiencing overlooked needs and her own changes.
7. How does Miranda’s story complicate appearances?
   Her behavior is connected to loneliness and family circumstances not initially visible.
8. Why is an apology only a beginning?
   Trust also depends on changed behavior and sustained respect.
9. What changes during the nature retreat?
   Peers defend Auggie and their relationships develop through shared experience.
10. What does the final ceremony recognize?
    The film presents Auggie’s influence and growth within the school community.
11. Which action most clearly supports genuine belonging?
    Explain a specific act and its effect, accepting more than one supported interpretation.
12. How does a selected novel passage convey perspective differently?
    Compare interior narration with the film’s performance, editing, or voice-over.
13. What limitation remains in the film’s picture of inclusion?
    A hopeful ending does not establish that all barriers or bullying have disappeared.

Expected answers for 20 questions. Accept supported alternatives for analytical prompts.

1. How is inclusion different from simply allowing someone to be present?
   It involves access, participation, respect, and meaningful belonging.
2. Why can a change of perspective alter our judgment?
   It reveals circumstances or motives that one viewpoint did not show.
3. What worries Auggie about beginning school?
   He anticipates attention, judgment, and difficulty finding acceptance.
4. How does the school tour reveal different responses?
   Students show curiosity, kindness, discomfort, or hostility through their behavior.
5. What does the astronaut helmet represent for Auggie?
   It offers imaginative escape and a way to control being seen.
6. How does Summer’s choice at lunch affect him?
   She offers ordinary companionship without treating friendship as a performance.
7. Why does Halloween become painful for Auggie?
   He overhears Jack’s hurtful remarks while others do not realize who is listening.
8. What does Via’s perspective reveal about the family?
   She cares for Auggie while also experiencing overlooked needs and her own changes.
9. How does Miranda’s story complicate appearances?
   Her behavior is connected to loneliness and family circumstances not initially visible.
10. What does Jack learn about the Halloween incident?
    Understanding who heard him helps him recognize the harm he caused.
11. Why is an apology only a beginning?
    Trust also depends on changed behavior and sustained respect.
12. How do adults respond to Julian’s actions?
    The school addresses his treatment of Auggie rather than dismissing it as harmless teasing.
13. What changes during the nature retreat?
    Peers defend Auggie and their relationships develop through shared experience.
14. How does the loss of Daisy affect the family?
    It creates a shared moment of grief within an already complex year.
15. How does the school play matter to Via?
    It gives her a space for recognition and participation beyond her family role.
16. What does the final ceremony recognize?
    The film presents Auggie’s influence and growth within the school community.
17. Which action most clearly supports genuine belonging?
    Explain a specific act and its effect, accepting more than one supported interpretation.
18. How can a bystander respond without making someone a spectacle?
    Use respectful intervention, companionship, and appropriate adult support.
19. How does a selected novel passage convey perspective differently?
    Compare interior narration with the film’s performance, editing, or voice-over.
20. What limitation remains in the film’s picture of inclusion?
    A hopeful ending does not establish that all barriers or bullying have disappeared.

Final writing: Look for a clear claim, two accurately described scenes, reasoning, and a meaningful limitation of the portrayal or a question for further study. Accept different supported interpretations. No graphic descriptions are required.