Making connections: Reading Wonder during Ramadan

Wonder, by RJ Palacio, is a book about a boy named August (Auggie) with a facial deformity.  He begins attending school at the beginning of fifth grade, hoping to be accepted for who he is, rather than ostracized for his face.  The book switches between Auggie's point of view and the point of view of his classmates and others.  The main theme of this heart-wrenching and brutally beautiful story is the importance of empathy, compassion and acceptance.

So, why Wonder and Ramadan?  It happened very naturally for me, as I was using Wonder in a book study during Ramadan.  I wanted to find a way to help students really connect with the text.  Several of the students I was working with were Muslim and the connection happened very organically.  As we continued to explore Wonder through the theme of Ramadan, I watched my Muslim students, especially the girls, gain a new sense of their worth in the classroom as ambassadors of their culture. The other students, I hope, learned about empathy, compassion, and acceptance not only through the medium of the text, but also as their classmates shared pieces of themselves and their culture during our discussions.

Some background on Ramadan:
Each day of Ramadan, every person over the age of 12 is expected to fast from dawn until sunset. The translation of the Arabic word "to fast" is "refrain." This means not only refraining from eating and drinking, but also refraining from idle gossip or unnecessary speech and unkind words and thoughts. The goal of Ramadan is spiritual purification. Many Muslims pray more often during this time. They ask for forgiveness of past sins, focus on positive acts for the benefit of others, and ask God for guidance for future living. The fasting is supposed to induce feelings of empathy for those who are less fortunate, as well as a sense of inner peace.  For more information, try this website, or go to an even better source: your students and their families.

Ramadan is also a time of fellowship, and people will often invite friends and family to share in the sunset fast-breaking meal, the Iftar.  I've been blessed to have been invited to share in many Iftars, and if you get the chance, I highly recommend accepting this invitation.  Not only will you eat some amazing food, but the bonds of friendship and community you'll make are life-long bonds.

As you begin the book study with a focus on Ramadan, modeling making connections will help students frame their own connections.  While non-Muslim students may be tempted to make connections between the book and their own culture, I recommend gently encouraging them to stick to keeping connections linked to Ramadan--especially if the other students are of the mainstream culture.  Muslim culture gets such little airtime in U.S. classrooms, so if you've made the decision to give your Muslim students the opportunity to really use their voices and be heard during this book study, be sure to keep that space open to them.

Some possible connections to make while modeling are:

Page 46: Precepts: rules about really important things

Page 47: What kind of person am I?

Page 48: When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.

Page 65: Your deeds are your monuments; we are remembered for the things we do

Page 77: Other students talking about August

Happy reading,
Jacquie

I Hate English by Ellen Levine

I Hate English by Ellen Levine is a story about a young Chinese girl, Mei Mei, who experiences culture shock when she moves to the United States.  Her sadness is manifested in her dislike of English.  To Mei Mei, English letters fight and bang into each other.  When an American teacher comes to the Chinatown Learning Center to work with her in English, Mei Mei becomes angry because she fears that if she learns English, she will lose her Chinese identity.  The story ends with Mei Mei appreciating her bilingualism.


This story is an excellent one to read with all students, but will especially resonate with recent immigrants.  Students can use the book as a springboard for discussing their own experiences with learning English, as well as to share their own native languages with classmates.



Ideas for the ESL classroom:

• Background knowledge: words we know in other languages; write on chart paper and post in the room
• Character development: How does Mei Mei change throughout the story?  How does the author show Mei Mei's feelings?  Check predictions.
• Making predictions: Looking at the cover, what do you think the story will be about?  How do you think Mei Mei will respond to the English teacher?  Do you think Mei Mei will learn to like English?
• contractions
• proper nouns
• Vocabulary that may be tricky for ELL's: lonely, noise, bang, sound, strokes, tutors, arithmetic, ping pong, checkers, post office, pails, shellfish, stared, glared, continued, suddenly, strange, invisible

Some Writing Activities for students to respond to the story include making an English/ native language dictionary.  The students could begin their dictionaries at school using agreed-upon words with illustrations and then take the dictionaries at home to work on with their families.  Students could also create a chart about how certain words in English sound (banging, hard, soft, ringing, fuzzy).  Students may want to journal about how they feel learning English, including both likes and dislikes.  They could use their journal responses to create a brochure about learning English.


Happy reading!
Jacquie