Here is an example from Imelda Enriquez. As we collaborated for this assignment, we were really
able to capture how grammar intersects with Author’s Purpose and Craft. When we imitate sentences,
we are doing more than imitating a grammatical structure. We are also looking at why an author would
have used the sentences in this way to reveal character and theme. Another important distinction here
is that our work is not about correcting things that are wrong, but analyzing the impact on the reader.
Students will read an excerpt from “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio.
“I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.”
-Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The excerpt has many short sentences. I would ask students why Palacio wrote it that way.
By using short sentences, how does Palacio give the reader information about the character?
Normally, we’d ask students to combine sentences to make them flow better. But Placio chose NOT to.
Let’s look at what happens when we combine them.
“I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things like eat ice cream, ride my bike, play ball, and play XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary, I guess. And I feel ordinary inside, but I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.”
How does your view of the character change?
Here are some of my thoughts…