Because of Winn-Dixie

Unit Plan

Seventh grade students in Trenton, NJ may not think they have a lot in common with a 10 year-old girl growing up in the Florida Everglades, but that is not true.  Kate DiCamillo's Newberry Honor novel, Because of Winn-Dixie, proves otherwise.  It is the story of 10 year-old India Opal Buloni and one very special summer she has in Naomi, FL...all thanks to one rather unique dog.  Because of Winn-Dixie is a tale of longing for acceptance while finding friends where and when you least expect it.  The novel deals with a lot of issues related to family, marriage, alcoholism, religion, law and justice, and second chances, but most importantly it is a tale of friendship. 

Our unit takes students from the start of the novel, through various reading activities, spelling, and grammar lessons, all the way to a final creative writing assignment.  The links below will take you through our unit rationale, unit calendar, and the various lessons it encompasses.  Also included is an annotated bibliography of the many resources we utilized throughout the planning process.  The Core Curriculum link provides an explanation of the eight NJ core curriculum content standards that my unit dealt with the extensively.