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This WebQuest activity is intended for 5th grade students, but may be adapted to other grade levels. It is designed for post-reading activities, but PART II and PART III may be used as pre-reading activities to help readers make deeper connections when reading and responding to either book.

 

In 2000, Because of Winn-Dixie was designated as a Newbery Honor Book.  A possible extension activity would be for students to learn about Newbery Medal with the link provided on the “CONCLUSION” page.

 

Other popular Newbery Medal Books with similar themes to Kate DiCamillo’s books are:

 

      The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

      Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

      Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

      Holes by Louis Sachar

 

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The following New York State Learning Standards are addressed:

 

ELA Standard 1—Language for Information and Understanding:

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

 

ELA Standard 2—Language for Literary Response and Expression:

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

 

ELA Standard 3—Language for Social Interactions:

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communication of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

 

MST Standard 2—Information Systems:

 

Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

 

Social Studies Standard 3—Geography:

 

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.

 

I hope that you found this WebQuest to be a useful tool to enhance your lessons and welcome any comments or suggestions.