Teaching Empathy and Acceptance with Wonder

 Daily Instructional Lesson Plan

Grade: 7th Grade Lesson: Empathy and Acceptance Date: Teacher: Ashley Laake Materials: Wonder

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of empathy and acceptance by analyzing and discussing character perspectives and actions in the book "Wonder.” AASL Standard Framework for Learners III A 2 Developing new understandings through engagement in a learning group.

Activity: Hook: Ask the students what they think the word wonder means? Record their ideas on chart paper or on the whiteboard.  Introduce the book Wonder to the students. You may read the back cover of the book or give a brief summary of the story. Explain that the book is about a boy named Auggie who was born with a facial deformity and his journey to navigate the challenges of school and fitting in. Distribute sticky notes to the students and ask them to write down any questions they have about the book "Wonder". After a few minutes, collect the sticky notes and use them to facilitate a class discussion about the book. Divide the class into small groups and give each group chapter 1 of the book to read. Ask the students to discuss the following questions: What happened in the chapter? How did the events in the chapter make you feel? What did you learn about Auggie and the other characters in the chapter? What themes or messages did you notice in the chapter? After each group has completed their discussion, ask them to share their findings with the class. Record the themes and messages on chart paper or the whiteboard. As a class, discuss how the book "Wonder" teaches empathy and acceptance. Ask the students to share examples from the book that demonstrate these values. As a final activity, ask the students to create a poster or write a reflection on how they can apply the themes of empathy and acceptance in their own lives. They can include quotes from the book.

Closing: Students can check out books for the remainder of the time.