Workshop 1: Unpacking the themes and ideas

Kindness - Verbal / physical action that is nice, caring, using manners, respect.

Example 1- When Jack sticks up for Auggie during the fight scene with Julien.
Example 2 - When Amos and the others helps Jack ans Auggie fight the 7th graders.

Shows kindness - sticking up for a friend.

• Not letting others talk badly about friends.
• Jack has previously not been kind, talked about Auggie behind his back.

Important because - helps people make friends

• Builds a persons self confidence
• Makes people feel accepted / included
• If there wasn't kindness Auggie wouldn't have made any friends, grown his self confidence to be able to take off his helmet, feel included at Beecher prep.

Importance of family and friendship - Trust, trust of others, support systems, people you feel safe with, help build resilience.

Example 1 - When the Pullmans dog Daisy dies.

Shows theme - brings family together to grieve.

• Show support for one another
• Auggie and Via put aside their argument to look after each other.

Example 2 - The fight at the nature reserve where Amos and the other boys come together to rescue Jack and Auggie from the 7th graders.

Shows theme - support because they stand up for each other.

• Trust - the boys come to help them, they don't abandon each other.
• Resilience - the boys support each other to move forward, they are all friends now.

Important to the story - good relationships with friends help Auggie build trust and feel safe. He takes the helmet off.

• His friendship with Summer teaches him resilience, trust and forgiveness.
• His family are always there to support him when things go wrong at school.

Struggle between right  and popular - being right means showing integrity - doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

Being popular means agreeing with / acting in a way others want you to, even when you don't agree.

Example 1 - When Jack chose to stay with Auggie as his science partner instead of Julien.

Shows theme - Jack choses right over popular. Julien wanted to leave Auggie out and Jack chose not to.

• In the past Jack picked friendship with Julien over Auggie.

Example 2 - Summer decides to sit with Auggie instead of the popular girls who were talking behind Auggie's back.

Shows theme - Summer chose right - not to sit and talk nasty with her friends, but to go and sit with Auggie who was alone.

• Auggie doesn't trust her at first because of Jack Summer stays anyway and helps Auggie - link to importance of friendships.

Important to the story - the concept is relatable, everyone has to experience this so it helps to viewer to engage with the story.

• Makes kindness / relationships move obvious when we've seen the persons struggles.