Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo

Available Covers

There are several different covers available for Because of Winn-Dixie, including:

Because of Winn-Dixie Lesson/Activity Ideas

Activity Idea #1:  Publisher's Novel Study
Candlewick Press, the publishers, has a teacher's resource guide for this book -- 6 pages of different lesson plan / activity ideas for Because of Winn Dixie.  To access this FREE resource, click here:   Because of Winn Dixie novel study

Activity Idea #2:  Letter to Mom
Throughout the book, Opal thinks about what she would tell her mother if she saw her again. 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.

Activity Idea #3:  Lessons Learned in Because of Winn-Dixie
The town of Naomi, Florida is full of eccentric, unique characters, and Opal learns a lot of good life lessons through each new encounter. Think of when Opal met each character, and for FOUR of the phrases below, give an example of how Opal learned this valuable lesson (ie: who did she meet and why did she learn this lesson)

• Don't judge others by appearances.
• Don't believe what other people say about a person.
• "Some people have a strange way of going about making friends."
• "You can't always judge people by the things they've done in their past."
• Sometimes people aren't friendly because they are holding a lot of sadness inside.
• Elderly people often have some of the best stories to tell.

Answers: (1) the dog's initial appearance, or really almost any character in the story, as long as it is explained as to why, (2) Stevie & Dunlap kept saying that Gloria Dump was a witch (3) the Preacher and Gloria Dump told Opal this about how Stevie & Dunlap were treating her, (4) about Otis being in jail, but could also be logically related to other characters, (5) Amanda Wilkenson-- about Carson, (6) Miss Franny Block, the elderly librarian who was always full of great stories.


Activity Idea #4:  Map of Naomi
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).

Students will have to read the story in order to create this map, and will 'revisit' the stories and events in the process of making it. (Suggestion: Provide an over-sized piece of paper.) Possible items students may include (do not provide this list the student):

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