Choose one of these three elements to do your project on:
1. A setting
Because of Winn-Dixie is set in the fictional town of Naomi, Florida, but we already know that "setting" does not just mean the town. What are some other settings in the book? These can include characters' homes, buildings, or places within characters' memories. Setting can also includes the time period, weather, and community.
To review what we know about setting in stories, take a look at this lesson online.
Since the settings of Because of Winn-Dixie are not all very clear, you may have to be creative in your project. You may want to start by brainstorming a list of settings in the novel. Think of Gloria Dump's house; Naomi, Florida; Opal's church; or the grocery store, just to start you off. Then choose the one you would like to analyze.
Once you have chosen your setting, you may choose the project that you would like to complete. Use any of these ideas, just make sure that the project is relevant to the setting (as in, a brochure might not make much sense if your setting is Glora Dump's house; a scrapbook page might be better). If you think of a different kind of project, run it by me first.
Since we don't live in rural Florida nor do we have Winn-Dixie supermarkets here, you may need some help learning a little more about the kinds of places Opal Buloni visits. Use the links below to research these places on the internet.
https://www.winndixie.com/Pages/Home.aspx
http://www.visitflorida.com/
http://www.myflorida.com/
You can download a free brochure template here: http://www.printplace.com/printing/brochure-templates.aspxhttp://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0027-map-key-and-scale.php
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Orlando+FL+USFL0372
You must use details from the book in your project.
To review what we know about setting in stories, take a look at this lesson online.
Since the settings of Because of Winn-Dixie are not all very clear, you may have to be creative in your project. You may want to start by brainstorming a list of settings in the novel. Think of Gloria Dump's house; Naomi, Florida; Opal's church; or the grocery store, just to start you off. Then choose the one you would like to analyze.
Once you have chosen your setting, you may choose the project that you would like to complete. Use any of these ideas, just make sure that the project is relevant to the setting (as in, a brochure might not make much sense if your setting is Glora Dump's house; a scrapbook page might be better). If you think of a different kind of project, run it by me first.
- Create a scrapbook page with pictures (they may be drawn or from the internet) and text about your setting
- Create a map of your setting
- Create a neat and polished Venn diagram comparing where you live with your setting
- Create a brochure advertising the place you chose
Since we don't live in rural Florida nor do we have Winn-Dixie supermarkets here, you may need some help learning a little more about the kinds of places Opal Buloni visits. Use the links below to research these places on the internet.
https://www.winndixie.com/Pages/Home.aspx
http://www.visitflorida.com/
http://www.myflorida.com/
You can download a free brochure template here: http://www.printplace.com/printing/brochure-templates.aspxhttp://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0027-map-key-and-scale.php
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Orlando+FL+USFL0372
You must use details from the book in your project.
2. A character
The best way to understand a story better is to put ourselves in the characters' shoes. Lucky for us, there are lots of characters in Because of Winn-Dixie. Choose the one you would like to get to know even better. Then start thinking of all the qualities that make that character unique from the others in the book. Look back in the book often. Remember to brainstorm and write your ideas down.
Once you have a good list of qualities, you may decide which of the following activities would be most appropriate for your character (if you come up with a different activity, run it by me first):
For whichever project you choose, I need to see these words used:
You must use details from the book in your project.
Once you have a good list of qualities, you may decide which of the following activities would be most appropriate for your character (if you come up with a different activity, run it by me first):
- Trace yourself or a volunteer on a piece of butcher paper twice and turn it into two life-sized versions of your character. The first one represents the character at the beginning of the story, the second represents him at the end. They should look different, because our characters don't stay the same the whole time. Somewhere on the drawings or on a separate piece of paper, tell me why they look different. Tell me which of their traits changed and which stayed the same.
- Write a diary entry as your character after one of the days that takes place in the book (for instance, the day Opal finds Winn-Dixie). Use details from the story to write about your feelings. You are no longer yourself, you are your Winn-Dixie character.
- Write an adoption ad for Winn-Dixie. What are some selling points for him? What could you expect a new owner of Winn-Dixie to experience having him come into their life?
- This one isn't tied down to one specific character. Rather, this is asking that you use your knowledge of all the characters in our book to cast a movie version of it (WARNING: no repeat actors from the actual movie). Cast each character, and write a few sentences defending your decisions for each. I don't care about physical descriptions; I'm going to be looking for decisions based on personality.
For whichever project you choose, I need to see these words used:
You must use details from the book in your project.
3. An event
We talked about in class different ways events affect the stories that we read. Many, many different events take place in Because of Winn-Dixie. There are big and small events to choose from. Every event causes a change in some character, so you can choose whatever one you'd like. Just be sure that you have enough material to work with. Once you have chosen an event from the book, go ahead and choose a project from the following list (feel free to think of your own, but run it by me first):
You must use details from the book in your project.
- Trace yourself or a volunteer on a piece of butcher paper twice and turn it into two life-sized versions of a character. The first one represents the character before the event you chose, and the second represents your character after the event. They should look different, because events change our characters. Somewhere on the drawings or on a separate piece of paper, tell me why they look different. Tell me which of their traits changed and which stayed the same. In your text, I need to see the words static character and dynamic character used.
- If you feel inclined to write about the thunderstorm, which is the climax of the novel, write about it from Winn-Dixie's perspective. Winn-Dixie is a dog, so his senses are a little different. Take a look at this link to learn about what a thunderstorm would be like for a dog. Use all five senses, just like we learned!
- If you could add one more event to the end of this book, what would it be? Write me one and a half to two pages as a continuation or an epilogue. You must use some vocabulary words from Because of Winn-Dixie. Refer to this list for help.
You must use details from the book in your project.