Friday, March 9, 2012

Wonder - Pages 118-132

Auggie mentioned the Cheese Touch back in Part One and said, "At Beecher Prep, I'm the old moldy cheese." Now we learn that the game (and I use that term loosely) is called The Plague. Are you familiar with that term? There have been several outbreaks of the plague, one of which was called the Black Death. Here's a description of what one outbreak did in the 1300's.
The trend of recent research is pointing to a figure more like 45 percent to 50 percent of the European population dying during a four-year period. There is a fair amount of geographic variation. In Mediterranean Europe, areas such as Italy, the south of France and Spain, where plague ran for about four years consecutively, it was probably closer to 75 percent to 80 percent of the population. In Germany and England ... it was probably closer to 20 percent. (quote from Wikipedia, further cited on that site.)
Can you imagine? In places where the death rate was lower, still 20% of the entire population died. In our class that would be six people. In other areas it was from 45-50% all the way up to 75-80%. In our class that's anywhere from fourteen to twenty-four people dying from the plague. 

And THIS is what kids say can happen if they touch Auggie. Do you think they realize the historical significance of the plague? Do you think they realize how horrible it was and that's why they named their game The Plague, or do you think they just used the term because they thought it was funny? How funny is it?

This painting is by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and was painted in 1562. The title of the painting is The Triumph of Death. Remember, it's a painting not a photograph, and it shows a lot of stuff in one image. What parts of the picture show real things from the plague? What parts are symbolic of the time?



Summer and Auggie share what their topics are for Egyptian Museum Day. Auggie gets the Step Pyramids of Sakkara and Summer gets Anubis, god of the afterlife.




Oh, by the way, more shoes. This time they are Summer's UGGs. 


All the students from the school dressed up in Egyptian costumes for museum day. Summer and Auggie dressed as mummies. I'm not sure what exactly they looked like, but here are a couple of ideas.

Ancient Egyptian mummy. Source

Boris Karloff as the Mummy. source

Homemade toilet paper mummy.


Continue to Part Four: Jack.

32 comments:

  1. Your visuals and the music links are great - thank you so much. My fifth grade class is loving this book.

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  2. My 7th/8th grade class is loving this book and your visuals are super helpful in engaging them. They are even asking to read at home!!

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    1. yah teacher

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    2. yeah i enjoy it very much

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    3. I love it i have read it 5 to 6 times!

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    4. This has really healped me understand more about the book! Thank you!

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  3. Awesome! That's when you know students are engaged in what you're doing at school - they want to do more at home! :-)

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  4. awesome book

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  5. Best book ever

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  6. love it continue writing

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  7. i am 5 grade and i love the book

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  8. I love the book. Good job too! :-)

    #wonder is AWSOME

    -wonder lover

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  9. This book is so entertaining, and this website helps me!

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  10. This website is cool

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  11. Thank you for explaining this book! You are an awesome help'

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  12. I am only half way through the book and this book already falls in my top 3 favorite books!!! =>

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  13. I love how this book shows that even if you act or look different then the kids at your school or neighborhood that it doesn't mean if you are different that people should be mean to you

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    1. If we were all exactly the same, how boring would that be? Why should our differences be something to be mean about rather than something to celebrate?

      Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I'm glad you are enjoying the book, and I'm REALLY glad you are getting this huge message.

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  14. I really like how you described the steps in order, and how you broke it down.

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  15. the mummys crepet me out

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  16. sorry i am typing very late in 2020 but that was amazing and it had great facts

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  17. Mr. W. - I am a 4th grade teacher from Maine, and I absolutely LOVE this resource! I have used it for many years (showing it on my Smartboard) to accompany my read aloud of Wonder (along with your resources for Auggie and Me), and the kids really love the connections you make and the photos you have posted! Even if I'm teaching "remotely" next fall, I still plan on sharing it as I read the book to my new class. Thank you SO much!!!

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    1. You are welcome! I've posted this before, but it still surprises me that something I put together for my class of fifth and sixth graders has become a resource used across the country and around the world. Truly amazing.

      I'm glad you enjoy the resources and find them useful for your students. Best of luck in the fall!

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  18. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

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  19. one of the best books

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