Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo is a novel about a girl named Opal who rescues a dog who she names Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace. They also meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them to sleep with his guitar. Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. This is one of my favorite books and I would give this books ten stars if I could. Needless to say, I would highly recommend this book! 

Guided Reading: Level R

Classroom Activities: 

Have your student pretend to be Opal and write a letter to her mother telling her all about life since moving to Naomi, Florida with her father. Letters should focus on describing the people she has met and the experiences she has had, plus whether she likes living in Naomi more now than when she first got there (and why). Teachers will be able to sense the extent to which the student read and understood the book from the letter than they produce.

For artistically inclined students... Have students imagine a map of the town of Naomi, placing different places mentioned in the book on the map. Locations are NOT clearly specified, so the student can create the map however they please. Instruct the student to include 15-20 people, places, and events from the book on the map. A person can be shown in more than one place at a time (ie: Otis at the pet store +Otis elsewhere playing music on the street).

Review:

Because of Winn Dixie is a beautifully told story of a little girl and her dog. Opal meets Winn Dixie and falls in love with the dog. They go on several life lessons together. One of those lessons is learning to not judge others on first impressions. They meet an interesting Lady in their journey who helps teach Opal all about life. 

Leveling System:

Lexile 670L

Classroom Activity: 

I would read this book as a whole class. This book is a great way to teach students about how to not judge others and don't believe what some people say about others. This book will end by me asking a series of questions about what the students think Opal learned in her journey. I will also ask them if they believe that these are good things for us to learn? We will begin creating our class contract based on this book. 

Because of Winn Dixie is a story about a little girl who moves to a new town with her father. She takes a trip to the grocery store and finds this stray dog. She decides to save him and take him home. Throughout the story she ends up being loved and becoming good friends with people in the community. When reading this in my classroom, I would like to do a book study/interactive notebook. As the class reads through the story together, they could break up into groups and fill out some charts and notes about the chapters. 

Lexile: 670L 

Reading level and Leveling System:

Guided Reading: R

Lexile Measure: 670L

Opal and her father move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket and comes out with a dog, she names Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block,t Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours. Opal spends the summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother.

An activity to go along with this book for practicing writing skills could include journal entries such as:

• A time when you felt especially lonely
• • Describe your local public or school library.  What does it look like?  What’s good about it?  What’s bad?
  • • Your biggest sadness
    • This activity will help students make text to self connections.
    •  

This book is about a ten year old girl named Opal who is abandoned by her mother at a young age. She moves with her father, who is also a preacher, to a small town in Florida. Opal is lonely and missing her old friends, but is soon happy to find companionship with a rambunctious little dog she names Winn-Dixie, after finding him in that store. With Winn-Dixie's help she befriends many different townsfolk, and she even begins mending her relationship with her father. A class activity would be for students to write about a mistake they have made on their own paper bottles, and then place all the bottles on a tree in the classroom to show that everyone makes mistakes and that it is ok. Then have a class discussion why Gloria might have done this in the story.

Lexile: 670L