Because of Winn-Dixie - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4

By David McAleese

Students learn of loss and longing, loneliness and friendship, and finding contentment and a place for oneself. Our resource is a useful tool to write, discuss, assess, and challenge all learners. Students write the meaning of vocabulary words from the book in their own words. Using multiple choice, choose the best answer that describes how certain events in the story took place. Infer the meaning of certain character actions towards Opal. Students put themselves into Opal's shoes to understand her state of mind when Winn-Dixie is missing. Write a chapter for a nonfiction tour book about the town of Naomi, Florida. Use a fishbone organizer to keep track of different aspects of the characters, setting and resolution from the novel. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included.

About the Novel:
This is a story in which a ten-year-old girl must face the abandonment of her mother, and find the answer to the question “Will she ever come back?” The answer, surprisingly, is “No!”, but India Opal Buloni, over the course of the novel, learns to deal with this answer through her experiences and support of a growing circle of friends, all of whom has also suffered some kind of loss themselves. And finally, it is the story of the love between a girl and her dog; a pet that has an uncanny ability to bring kindred spirits together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CCP Interactive
• Release date: Jan 9, 2006
• ISBN: 9781553198550

Book preview

A Literature Kit™ FOR

Because of Winn-Dixie

By Kate DiCamillo

Written by David McAleese

GRADES 3 - 4

Classroom Complete Press

P.O. Box 19729

San Diego, CA 92159

Tel: [phone] | Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

www.classroomcompletepress.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-55319-325-8

ISBN-10: 1-55319-325-3

eISBN: 978-1-55319-855-0

© 2007

Permission to Reproduce

Permission is granted to the individual teacher who purchases one copy of this book to reproduce the student activity material for use in his or her classroom only. Reproduction of these materials for colleagues, an entire school or school system, or for commercial sale is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities. Printed in Canada. All rights reserved.

Critical Thinking Skills

Because of Winn-Dixie

Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy

Contents

Assessment Rubric

Because of Winn-Dixie

Teacher Guide

This resource has been created for ease of use by both TEACHERS and STUDENTS alike.

Introduction

Since she published her first novel, Because of Winn-Dixie, which was recognized as a Newbery Medal Honor Book, Kate DiCamillo has been sharing her fine writing style and sensitive stories with us all. Her novels deal frequently with the themes of loss, longing, love, and the importance of finding a place where one belongs and finds contentment. This contentment, such as Opal finds at the end of Because of Winn-Dixie, frees Kate