Wonder (2017):The Film That Inspires Students to Choose Kindness Over Fitting In

Auggie Pullman in Wonder is not a character to observe from a distance. He is someone followed through corridors, lunchrooms, and playgrounds that feel recognisably real. The difference is that Auggie does all of this with a face that makes strangers stare, and the movie does not look away from what that costs him.

Based on R.J. Palacio's bestselling novel, Wonder follows ten-year-old Auggie as he starts fifth grade at a mainstream school for the first time after years of home education. He has had twenty-seven surgeries. He wears a space helmet when he wants to. And he is funny, sharp, and determined in a way that the movie earns rather than simply asserts. The story is told in sections, each from a different character's perspective, so students see the same events refracted through different eyes.

For teachers, Wonder works across subjects and year groups in a way that few movies do. The perspective-taking structure makes it a natural fit for ELA and SEL classrooms, the themes of belonging and identity resonate across grades 4 to 7, and the emotional honesty of the storytelling gives students something real to respond to.

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👁️ A story told from multiple perspectives, not just one. The movie follows Auggie's sister Via, his friend Jack, and other characters in their own chapters, giving students a structural lesson in how the same events look different depending on who is living them. That shift in perspective is one of the most teachable things about the movie.

🤝 Friendship portrayed with real complexity. The friendships in Wonder are not straightforward. Jack Will likes Auggie but says something cruel to fit in. Summer chooses Auggie when nobody else will. These are not simple acts of kindness or cruelty, they are the kind of ambiguous social decisions students recognise from their own lives.

😂 Genuinely funny as well as emotional. Auggie's voice is warm and funny, and the movie earns its emotional moments partly because it does not treat them as the only register available. Students who expect a tearjerker find themselves laughing more than they anticipated, which makes the harder scenes land with more weight.

📖 A strong companion to the novel. Wonder is widely taught as a classroom text, and the movie follows the novel's structure closely enough to work as a companion. Students who have read the book will find the adaptation faithful; those who have not will have a solid basis for reading it.

🌟 A cast that gives students real characters to write about. Auggie, Via, Jack, Summer, Miranda, and Julian are all drawn with enough specificity that students can write from their perspectives convincingly. The movie gives them the voice, motivation, and context they need to take those characters somewhere new.

💬 It opens up conversations about difference without making it a lecture. Wonder handles Auggie's facial difference with honesty. Students see how people react, how it isolates him, and how it shapes every interaction, but the movie never reduces him to a lesson. He is a person first, and the story treats him that way throughout.

⚠️ Things to be aware of:

• Bullying is depicted throughout, including name-calling, deliberate exclusion, and mean comments about Auggie's appearance. Some of the language used by other students is cruel, including words like 'freak' and 'Darth Hideous'.
• A fight scene between two tween boys involving punching. Brief and not graphic.
• Mild language including 'shut up', 'oh my God', 'jerk', 'sucks', and a small number of slightly stronger words.
• Emotional scenes involving grief, loneliness, and family stress. Some students may find these upsetting.
• A background storyline involves a character's parents going through a difficult divorce, with references to a parent drinking.
• No sexual content, gore, or substance use beyond the above.

📚 English Language Arts Teachers. The guide is built around ELA skills across all four parts: differentiated comprehension questions, critical thinking responses requiring opinion and explanation, perspective-taking writing tasks including an apology letter and diary entries, and a word search and crossword for vocabulary reinforcement. The multi-perspective structure of the movie gives students strong material for written analysis.

🗣️ ESL and ELL Teachers. The 30 multiple choice questions with 3 possible answers provide structured comprehension support for ESL and ELL students. The chronological order and accessible story make Wonder a good choice for ELL classrooms, and the visual storytelling helps students follow the plot in a language they are still developing.

🎬 Substitute Teachers and Cover Lessons. At 16 pages with structured tasks across every part of the movie, this guide works well as a self-directed sub plan. The three differentiated comprehension sets mean students at different levels can all work independently, and the writing tasks provide substantial follow-up work once the movie ends.

🏠 Homeschool Parents. Wonder covers ELA, empathy, and perspective-taking in a single movie experience. The differentiated question sets make it adaptable across learning levels, and the writing tasks, including the apology letter and diary entries, give students meaningful written work to show for the lesson.

🎭 Theater Teachers. The multi-perspective narrative and the range of clearly drawn characters make Wonder strong material for Drama classes. Students can explore how different characters experience the same events, and the perspective-taking writing tasks translate naturally into character work and improvisation.

💙 SEL Teachers. Wonder is built around SEL themes: empathy, belonging, the cost of cruelty, and the courage it takes to be kind when a group is moving in the other direction. The movie handles these themes through story rather than message, which means students engage with them as human situations rather than abstract lessons.

🌟 Supporting All Learners Movie guides can be a wonderfully calm fit for students with autism, learning difficulties, and mild to severe disabilities. The structured format gives every student a clear purpose during viewing, easing uncertainty and allowing them to engage at their own pace. If you teach in a special education or learning support setting, you may find this guide a gentle and practical resource. Find out more about why movies work for diverse learners.

Part 1: Comprehension Questions
Three differentiated sets of questions in chronological order. Set one consists of 45 questions requiring written answers. Set two consists of 30 questions, with 15 removed from the 45-question set for a shorter version. Set three consists of 30 multiple choice questions with 3 possible answers, suited to differentiation and ESL students. Answer keys included for all three sets.

Part 2: Critical Thinking Questions
5 additional questions asking students to provide their opinion and a brief explanation of their thinking. Example answers included, with a note that responses may vary.

Part 3: Essay and Recount
Two perspective-taking writing tasks. In the first, students imagine they are Jack after Auggie overhears him say something cruel. They write an apology letter to Auggie explaining what he said and what he plans to do to make it up, and include a drawing of the two making up. In the second, students write a short diary entry from the perspective of each student who gave Auggie a tour of the school before term started, taking into account each character's personality and their experience of the tour.

Part 4: Word Search and Crossword
A word search and crossword puzzle using 15 key words from the movie. Answer key included.