Contemporary Realistic Fiction Book Blog #1

Book Title: Because of Winn-DixieAuthor: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: N/A
Publisher: Candlewick, Copyright 2009
Number of pages: 288
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

One day a young girl named Opal heads down to the grocery store to get some groceries and she stumbles upon a new friend...a dog that she decides to take home and name Winn-Dixie. Winn-Dixie became her very best friend and was the reason for several things- Opal finally made new friends and got the courage to ask her father about her mother that abandoned them when she was just 3 years old. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal learned true friendship and had the Sumer of her life!

Because of Winn-Dixie is a chapter book, so there are no illustrations. However the cover to the book is so child friendly and inviting. The original publication pictures a little girl walking along with her dog, Opal and Winn-Dixie.
Grade Level: 5th grade

Content Area: ELA
Standard: 2) Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in a text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text. [RL.5.2]

In my classroom, I would use this to help my students practice determining the theme of a story and summarizing the text. They could do a writing assignment for summarizing the text and publish it on some kind of digital platform when finished. This book could be a part of a Literature Focus Unit in which the students are working with the book in small groups. They would each have a specific job and rotate each day. Within these groups, they can work together to determine the theme of the story.