Wild Rumpus

Choose Kind


I've written about Wonder before here and here, so it's no secret that it's one of my favorite books on the planet. Like EVER. The quote above is one of the most memorable from the text, and it pretty much says it all. The book lends itself so well to conversations around taking care of each other and building a caring community. It has been my first read aloud novel of the year this year, and it's a MUST read, people.

At the same time, I'm also trying to use more videoclips in my teaching, so I was thrilled when I found a couple that could support and stretch my kids' thinking about the text this week.
This is apparently another video that the planet already knew about (while I was withering and getting old listening to my records and watching super 8 movies):
When we watched it, I asked the kids to jot in their notebooks about their overall impressions, what they thought the filmmaker's message was, and what, if anything, it had to do with Wonder. Their faces at the end when they see that it's called "Kindness Boomerang" were worth all of the technical difficulties I endured before getting it to play. They were so insightful and thoughtful about the power of what we can put out into the world. About how people can surprise us, and about how making assumptions based upon the external can keep you from knowing and connecting with some awesome people. I know that I was moved the first time I watched it, but I wasn't sure if they would be--I'm glad I took the chance.
Next, we watched a short clip from a NatGeo Channel show called Taboo. It's not a show I suggest for kids for a number of reasons, but my friend Magda's son was featured in an episode last year, and his story is really powerful. This 3 minute clip is appropriate for upper elementary kids. Their son has a severe facial deformity, just like Auggie in Wonder. I felt that seeing a real little boy who actually struggles with the way the world sees him would make the power of Auggie's journey less mysterious for my kids:
They again jotted their thinking as they watched. I was quite proud of how sweet and smart they were, and incredibly sensitive conversation about how we need to treat one another followed. So much empathy in these little people, really. Tonight they are writing letters to me about their thoughts about the book so far, and I'm hoping that the experience of having watched these clips together will add even more depth to their thinking.
Want your own printable? Click on the image below to download a freebie from me to you:


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