Positive Thoughts About Sara

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Wonder - Pages 294-315, The End

The graduation program includes three songs. One previously mentioned ("Light and Day"), one traditional song (Pachelbel's "Canon in D"), and one of my personal favorites ("Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie).

In his commencement speech, Mr. Tushman quotes three authors. I'm only including the first of the three quotes here, just in case one of them might give away something from the story. The first quote is from J. M. Barrie who wrote Peter Pan. The quote Mr. Tushman uses, however, is from the book The Little White Bird. Here is J. M. Barrie along with the quote from the original text.

Mr. Tushman's second quote is from Under the Eye of the Clock by Christopher Nolan. Christopher Nolan was born with cerebral palsy and could only move his head and eyes, yet he wrote award winning books and was first published at the age of fifteen. Here is a picture of him with his book.

Finally, Mr. Tushman quotes Henry Ward Beecher and describes him as a "nineteenth century abolitionist - and a fiery sermonizer for human rights." Their school is named after him. Here is a picture of him as a younger man, followed by an image of a statue of Beecher currently in downtown Brooklyn, New York.

These last images are reversed, but I thought the last one was the best way to end our read aloud. Auggie mentions a red carpet. A red carpet is traditionally used when important people arrive somewhere, like when a president arrives to visit another country. This is a picture of the president of Japan arriving in the United States.

Red carpets are also used for celebrities when they arrive at fancy events like award ceremonies and movie premiers. This is probably the sort of red carpet Auggie is referring to.

And finally ... well ... I'm not even going to introduce this one. I'll just say this: I hope you enjoyed the book, and I especially hope you enjoyed the ending.

*All images linked to their source.

Create a Chart in Google Drive under Spreadsheet

Title your chart Character Problems and Resolutions
For each of the characters listed below write
1. Character's main problem
2. Events that led to a solution
3. Solution to the Problem

Characters
1. August
2. Via
3. Summer
4. Jack
5. Justin
6. Miranda

When finished attach link to chart with your name to this post.

Last Questions

How might things have been different for August if he had decided not to go to school?  Would he have had the same amount of growth do you think?  What about the the other characters in the book?

Positive Thoughts about Natalie

Wonder - Pages 275-293

When Auggie goes to school after the fifth grade trip to the nature reserve, he says there was a shift in the way things were. "A monumental shift. A seismic shift. Maybe even a cosmic shift." Now I can't find any videos that correctly illustrate a cosmic shift, but here's a great example of a seismic shift. Would you say the entire ground moving is a big change?

And now a great quote from Mr. Tushman: "Sometimes a duck is just a duck!" Here's the story he was thinking about when he made that memorable statement.

Free Kids Book Download The Ugly Duckling Picture Reader free ebook download

Mr. Brown's June Precept, the final precept for the school year, comes from a song by The Polyphonic Spree. JUST FOLLOW THE DAY AND REACH FOR THE SUN! is from the song "Light and Day."

Just before the graduation ceremony, Auggie's dad tells him a secret, but then immediately wishes he hadn't said anything. He wants Auggie to keep the secret, but Auggie thinks he might as well try to get a little something out of it. He says he'll keep the secret if he gets the new Xbox when it comes out and his own car in about six years. A red Porsche.

Right after that conversation, Auggie and his dad sing their favorite song. It includes lines like "But I'm the luckiest guy on the Lower East Side, 'cause I got wheels, and you want to go for a ride." The song is by The Magnetic Fields and is titled "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side." So close your eyes and picture Auggie and his dad sitting in the car belting this one out at the top of their lungs.

*All images linked to their source.

Wonder - Pages 248-274

There are certain things you need to take on a camping trip, and moms are the ones who help us remember to pack them and actually use them when camping. Auggie's mom is no different. Sunscreen and bug spray are two big ones. But having a rain poncho, especially with a hood, is very important for Auggie as well. Why?

Auggie is reading one of my favorite books of all time, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. In the part quoted on page 255, it tells how the White Witch knows the Deep Magic but that "there is a magic deeper still which she did not know." The White Witch is evil and knows Magic. What might this "deeper magic" be like? And why does author R. J. Palacio include that phrase here? Here's a picture of the original cover of the book.

The woods at the Broarwood Nature Reserve are not like the woods in Central Park. Auggie calls it "real woods." Central Park is an 843 acre public park in Manhattan in New York City. Here you can see what Central Park looks like in New York and part of the woods as well.

And even though they are camping in "real woods" there are still some modern games. Well, kind of modern, anyway. Auggie says they have Pac-Man and Missile Command classic arcade games.

Auggie says when the stadium lights go on in the field all at once, "I thought of that scene in Close Encounters when the alien ship lands and they're playing that music: duh-dah-doo-da-dunnn." Here is that scene from the movie, but the part Auggie mentions starts at the 5:00 mark. Skip ahead.

The movie for the twenty-third annual Big Movie Night is The Sound of Music. A couple of the songs are mentioned including "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," "My Favorite Things," and "The Lonely Goatherd." Here is a clip of one of the songs, "My Favorite Things."

More names for Auggie. This time it's Gollum and Alien and orc (again).

Gollum

Alien

Finally, Auggie mentions an "emperor's guard." In Star Wars the Emperor's Royal Guard are the characters in red in this image, and their only job is to protect the emperor. Although Auggie doesn't say exactly "Emperor's Royal Guard," does it make sense that he'd use a Star Wars reference? And considering the situation when Auggie uses the reference, why does this one seem especially important?

*All images linked to their source.

August

Beautiful Child by Eurythmics

Something that I said made you wear a frown.
The way you hang your head has made the tears come down.
But don’t you wear a sigh my beautiful child.

You know it doesn’t burn when you touch the sun.
So don’t be concerned my golden one,
You’re gonna reach the sky
Fly ... Beautiful child

There is no other place.
The human race is running out of space.
There is no better love,
And human love is what it takes.

And I’ll be at your side when you’re falling down.
You’ll be feeling fine when you hit the ground.
So don’t slip away
Stay ... Beautiful child

Wonder - Pages 235-248

Miranda says she watched all six episodes of Star Wars just so she could talk to Auggie about "aliens and bounty hunters and all that." She even lets readers know where Auggie got the astronaut helmet he wore for two years. Now, I'd like to take the time to watch all six episodes in school - all in the name of research, of course - however I think it's best if we settle for the one-sheet for each of the films.

I put the images in the order the films were released, which is why it starts with Episode IV and ends with Episode III. The first three movies were released in 1977, 1980, and 1983. Over fifteen years later, the final three movies were released, all prequels, that tell the events that happened before the original three films. The final three episodes were released in 1999, 2002, and 2005.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Although Miranda only says she "watched all six episodes," who thinks she watched The Clone Wars too? The movie was released in 2008 as an introduction to the television series.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Emily Gibbs is the main character in the play Our Town. Miranda mentions Emily's costume at the end of her section. Here are some images of how Emily Webb was dressed in various productions of the play.

*All photos linked to their source.

Miranda

Beautiful Things by Andain

Got up early, found something’s missing
My only name
No one else sees, but I got stuck
And soon forever came
Stopped pushing on for just a second
Then nothing’s changed
Who am I this time, where's my name?
Guess it crept away

No one's calling for me at the door
And unpredictable won't bother anymore
And silently gets harder to ignore

Look straight ahead, there’s nothing left to see
What’s done is done, this life has got its hold on me
Just let it go, what now can never be

I forgot that I might see
So many beautiful things
I forgot that I might need
To find out what life could bring

Beautiful things

Take this happy ending away
It's all the same
God won't waste this simplicity
On possibility
Get me up, wake me up, dreams are filling
This trace of blame
Frozen still I thought I could stop
Now who's gonna wait?

No one's calling for me at the door
And unpredictable won't bother anymore
And silently gets harder to ignore

Look straight ahead, there’s nothing left to see
What’s done is done, this life has got its hold on me
Just let it go, what now can never be

So many beautiful things
So many beautiful things

Now what do I do?
Can I change my mind?
Did I think things through?
It was once my life
It was my life at one time

Positive Thoughts About Matt