Character analysis is one of the most engaging aspects of teaching R.J. Palacio's Wonder, and this is one of the rare books that offers an obvious playbook for teachers. Six narrators. Six perspectives on the same events. Six opportunities for your students to step outside themselves and think about how the same situation looks completely different depending on who is living it.
Here is how I build character analysis into my Wonder novel study, including an end-of-unit project that my students look forward to every year.
Why Wonder Is the Perfect Book for Teaching Character Analysis
Most novels give students one narrator and one lens. Wonder gives them six. Auggie, Via, Summer, Jack, Miranda, and Justin each share their version of the same school year, and the gaps between those versions are where the real teaching happens.
When my students realize that two characters can experience the same moment in completely different ways, it opens up conversations that go well beyond the book. That is what makes Wonder such a powerful mentor text for character analysis work. Students are practicing perspective-taking in a way that sticks with them.
I have built character analysis into every part of my Wonder novel study unit, from the daily lesson plans through the final project. If you want a complete, print-and-go resource that handles the lesson planning for you, you can grab my Wonder Novel Study Unit in my TPT store. It includes everything I describe in this post, including the character project below.
How I Teach Character Analysis During the Novel
I do not save character analysis for the end. I start with Auggie's birth story and build on each character's introduction.
A comparison of the six narrators offers an easy format that always works well. Because Wonder is structured by different narrators, it is easy to pause between sections and ask students to compare how different characters describe the same event. Jack's version of Halloween and Auggie's version of Halloween are not the same story. Putting those side by side is one of the most effective character analysis lessons I have ever done.
The End-of-Unit Character Analysis Project
Novels that help my students become more empathetic toward one another will always be snatched up for my classroom bookshelves. Empathy is a skill that is tricky to teach but essential to helping a classroom full of adolescents relate more thoughtfully to one another. I need teaching tools that help me communicate the importance of how our words and actions directly impact others. We need to realize that we have no idea what experiences another person has had throughout their life, so we need to be understanding of their needs and life experiences.
Wonder is a great mentor text for empathy and character analysis. Among the Wonder novel activities I have created, this character analysis flipbook helps my students better understand the book's portrayal of empathy. It is included with the novel study resource I highlighted earlier.
By completing character analysis work like this at the end of the novel, students get a better perspective on the narrator's thoughts and how there is always more than one side to every story. Since Wonder features six narrators who each share their perspectives on their relationship with Auggie, it is a great book for comparing traits across multiple characters.
You can use this Character Thoughts from Wonder activity to help students think beyond themselves and reflect on the characters in the story. We can get very self-centered and self-focused, forgetting how words and actions can both positively and negatively affect others. We need to be considerate and understanding of one another.
Complete this activity as a whole class, in a small group, with partners, or independently. You will just need to make copies accordingly.
- Print out the Character Heads and Character Thoughts task cards. Each student will need their own set of Character Heads.
- Read the Character Thoughts task cards that correspond to each character.
- Allow students to use markers, colored pencils, or any writing tool to record their ideas in the designated space.
- Fill in the thoughts that would be going through each character’s head after reading each task card.
- Use as few or as many task cards as you choose, depending on the time you have available.
- Once students have completed the thoughts in each character's head, they can cut, staple, and create a flip book.
- Students can add as little or as much color and detail as the teacher determines. See the image examples for ideas.
- The goal is for students to reflect on how our words and our actions can impact others in relation to this story.
If you are looking for the perfect book to help students work on character analysis and develop empathy toward the characters in this story and toward one another, I definitely recommend Wonder by RJ Palacio.
Click on the image below to get my complete Wonder Novel Study Bundle, which includes the character analysis flip book I featured in this blog post.
If you want character analysis built into your daily lesson plans from the first chapter through the final project, my Wonder Novel Study Unit has everything you need. Lesson plans for all 8 parts, reader-response questions, character-perspective journal prompts, context-clue worksheets, narrator-comparison work, and the character-analysis flipbook project are included. It is available as a printable PDF.
Over 330 teachers have left five-star reviews on this unit. Grab it in my TPT store and spend your planning time on the conversations, not the prep.
