Severn News

Connecting Literature and Character: 5th Graders Learn Empathy Through R.J. Palacio’s Wonder

1/8/2024

This time of year as the holiday season approaches, we all start to think a little more outside of ourselves. We are a little friendlier, a little more courteous and a little more cognizant of those in need in and around our community. All of this comes from one human emotion, empathy. At Severn, we believe that empathy, like all traits of good character, can be explicitly taught. Our 5th-grade classes have been working since the start of the school year on a series of language arts assignments on R.J. Palacio’s book, Wonder — a book that will leave you teary-eyed, inspired to put yourself in the shoes of someone else, and choose kindness whenever possible.

The Book

Have you heard the buzz about this book? If you haven’t read it, you should. Wonder tells the story of Auggie, a young 5th-grader about to start the school year at Beecher Prep, his first mainstream school. Auggie was born with a facial deformity and until the start of this story had been homeschooled by his mother. The story is told in first person perspective from 8 different people in Auggie's life, including the main character himself. The reader gets a glimpse into the personal dialogue of each character as Auggie perseveres through the trials and tribulations of starting a new school with new friends and the insecurities brought on by his differences.

The Assignments

For their first language arts unit of the year, Ms. Kitchin and Ms. Hayman’s 5th-grade classes read Wonder — some sections at home and some together as a group accompanied by discussion.

Through reading and discussion they:

Explore different character traits represented in the novel
Discuss patterns of behavior; how different characters interact with one another
Examine how the characters’ behavior changes depending on that interaction and different events throughout the book
Develop theories about each character; what type of person they are
Based on those theories, make predictions about what characters might do or what might happen next

They also complete a series of short writing assignments based on the ideas they discuss:

Choose a trait to describe a character and support that with evidence from the book
Compare and contrast two characters using character theories
Create a character theory about yourself

“Wonder is a great book to build community which makes it perfect for the beginning of the year. I’ve found that this book appeals to everyone — even kids that don’t love reading love to read this book. To start the year with a book that they all fall in love with is wonderful. It sets the stage for our students to enjoy school, to enjoy reading and writing, and to enjoy working together.” — Ms. Lauren Kitchin

Severn School 5th graders writing with pen and paper.” width= — *Efi '25 and Claudia '25*

The Finale

In a final culminating writing assignment, our 5th-graders write a chapter for the book from their own perspective. Ms. Kitchin and Ms. Hayman choose specific scenes from the book that students rewrite as if they were in the story. And they can be whoever they want to be — taking on different personas and exploring different parts of their own personalities in this fictional space. This is the ultimate experience of putting oneself in another’s shoes.

“Why do we choose this book for this grade? It’s relatable and it helps build empathy. Our 5th-graders can really identify with Auggie’s experience because they are about to go to new campus next year. We ask them to think about how it might feel to be a new person and how what they are learning now might help them when they move to Teel Campus. We ask them to think about what they can do to help others feel more comfortable.” — Ms. Jennifer Hayman

Severn School 5th graders writing with pen and paper and laptops.” width= — *Alex '25 and Harlan '25*

Lastly, as a special treat and a follow-up to their study, our entire fifth grade and their parents took a trip to the Annapolis mall to see a special showing of the recently released movie version of Wonder.

"It was a great outing for everyone! Our parents were just as moved with the book, movie, and overall learning experience as the students. We all shed a few tears at the movie." — Lower School Head Ms. Cathy North

Through each assignment in this unit, our students build critical and creative writing and thinking skills while learning to look outside of themselves to explore the inner dialogue of characters they might not normally identify with. They learn to examine events through the lens of different but shared experience. This is at the heart of what creates empathy and helps our students both form a tighter community at school and engage compassionately with the world beyond Severn.