Because of Winn-Dixie

The novel Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo holds a special spot in my heart. I created all of these activities after using each and every one of them with my own students. These creative, engaging, and meaningful literacy activities can be used during your read aloud or at the completion of the story. I hope you find that even your most reluctant readers will develop a love of reading, especially after having the opportunity to attend their very own “Inspired by Opal” dog-themed class party!

In this 110+ page resource, you will find detailed teacher directions, pictures and examples of the activities, student reproducibles, notes to send home, and colorful posters to hang for display.

Detailed List of Activities included in this resource:
1. Realistic Fiction Genre Characteristics:
This lesson will teach your students about the characteristics of realistic fiction, which is the genre of Because of Winn-Dixie.  Colorful anchor charts and student reproducibles are included.
2. Reading Response Journals: After reading a chapter(s) of the book, students will fill out their reading response journal. Ideas for how to teach mini-lessons about effectively writing in the journals are included.
3. Two Littmus Lozenges Activities: First, the students write about each character’s experience as they taste the Littmus Lozenge, providing textual evidence. Second, students have their own taste of a Littmus Lozenge and SAVOR the candy, writing about their own experience, eventually resulting in a final verdict of whether or not they taste the melancholy. Colorful anchor charts, pictures, and student reproducibles are included.
4. Gloria Dump’s Ghost Tree: Students will bring a bottle from home and write about a past mistake or regret. Student reproducibles are included.
5. Character Traits Cooperative Group Project: Students work together to highlight positive and negative character traits of a character in the book by using the text to prove their answers. Group members work together to create a visually appealing poster using the beautiful clip art of characters.
6. List of 10 Things Writing Activity: After students create a list of the 10 Things the preacher told Opal about her mom, they will write special notes to their classmates. Each student will have a list of “10 Things” about themselves- a special memento to treasure!
7. Welcome to Naomi, Florida Group Activity: Students work in groups to create a map of Naomi, Florida, which is the setting of the story. Students will put their creative skills to the test by using the student reproducibles that are included.
8. Because of Winn-Dixie Party: After finishing the novel and completing the activities in this unit, your students are ready to really celebrate by having their own party…just like Opal did in the story! There is a plethora of resources included to help you plan and host a successful party- invitations for students, notes to send home to families, colorful posters to print for display on your food table.
9. Compare the Book to the Movie Using a Venn Diagram: The students will create an interactive Venn Diagram using hula hoops in this interactive lesson and compare the book to the movie.  Over 15 sentences are included to sort.
10. Opinion Writing Activity: After completing the Venn diagram, the students will write their opinion to a provided prompt and hold a class debate supporting their opinion. Graphic organizers and a writing checklist are included.

Please ask my if you have any questions, prior to purchasing.
Thank you!
Melissa