Because of Winn-Dixie - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Students learn of loss and longing, loneliness and friendship, and finding contentment and a place for oneself. Our resource is a useful tool to write, discuss, assess, and challenge all learners. Students write the meaning of vocabulary words from the book in their own words. Using multiple choice, choose the best answer that describes how certain events in the story took place. Infer the meaning of certain character actions towards Opal. Students put themselves into Opal's shoes to understand her state of mind when Winn-Dixie is missing. Write a chapter for a nonfiction tour book about the town of Naomi, Florida. Use a fishbone organizer to keep track of different aspects of the characters, setting and resolution from the novel. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: This is a story in which a ten-year-old girl must face the abandonment of her mother, and find the answer to the question “Will she ever come back?” The answer, surprisingly, is “No!”, but India Opal Buloni, over the course of the novel, learns to deal with this answer through her experiences and support of a growing circle of friends, all of whom has also suffered some kind of loss themselves. And finally, it is the story of the love between a girl and her dog; a pet that has an uncanny ability to bring kindred spirits together.




Because of Winn-Dixie


Book Description

A classic tale by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo, America's beloved storyteller. One summer’s day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries – and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog. It’s because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make friends. And it’s because of Winn-Dixie that she finally dares to ask her father about her mother, who left when Opal was three. In fact, as Opal admits, just about everything that happens that summer is because of Winn-Dixie. Featuring a new cover illustration by E. B. Lewis.







An Instructional Guide for Literature: Because of Winn-Dixie


Book Description

Learn how Winn-Dixie encourages Opal to make friends by completing fun, challenging activities and lessons in this instructional guide for literature, created to support this award-winning children's favorite. This guide is the perfect tool to aid students in analyzing and comprehending this inspiring story. Appealing and challenging cross-curricular lessons and activities incorporate research-based literacy skills to help students become thorough readers. These lessons and activities work in conjunction with the text to teach students how to analyze and comprehend story elements in multiple ways, practice close reading and text-based vocabulary, determine meaning through text-dependent questions, and much more.




The Mouse and the Motorcycle - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Enjoy this tale of friendship and adventure, a new take on family vacations. Get your students thinking and predicting with the use of before and after you read questions. Answer opinion questions to set up the reading. Understand difficult words that will be used in the book. Use proof from the novel to find out why Ralph liked motorcycles so much. Students describe an exciting adventure they were a part of. Create new idioms like "quiet as a mouse". Identify problems Keith encounters in a flow chart, leading to how he solves each problem. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Meet Ralph, the perky and reckless mouse that lives at Mountain View Inn. Vacationing boy Keith Gridley brings out his motorcycle, and through the mouse hole, Ralph falls in love with it. They become friends and share the motorcycle. Ralph gets into many entertaining situations. While on an errand to find an aspirin for his sick friend, Ralph gets caught by two teachers. Eventually Ralph escapes and finds an aspirin, which he brings to Keith. Now that Keith's family’s vacation is coming to an end, he wants to bring Ralph home with him. Ralph, however, wants to stay at the Inn, since this is his home. Keith gives his motorcycle to Ralph to enjoy as the two part ways.




The Tale of Despereaux - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Learn the value of courage and fortitude with this twist on the classic fairy tale. Our comprehensive resource has response questions and activities that are great for guided reading and independent work. Use clues to match vocabulary words from the novel to a crossword puzzle. Show understanding of details from the book by answering short questions. Imagine the inner qualities Roscuro has by describing why he decides never to torture another prisoner again. Compare the expression, "not the sharpest knife in the drawer," with the character Mig. Organize a character's actions and thoughts as they happened in the story on a graphic organizer. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: A story of a special mouse who is on a dangerous quest to rescue the princess. Despereaux falls in love with a princess, even though mice and humans are not supposed to! Caught, Despereaux is sentenced to the dungeon; however, he escapes and goes looking for his beloved princess. Unfortunately, the Princess has already been tricked and has been taken to the dungeon. Despereaux must save his love, and together with the help of his friends, eventually rescues her. As his quest comes to a close, Despereaux realizes that he still cannot marry the Princess, but they become friends. The story ends with the King, the Princess and Despereaux eating a feast and living happily together forever.




The War with Grandpa - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Explore the complexities of intergenerational family relationships as one boy declares war on his older relation. Bring this novel to life for students, with well-designed and thorough vocabulary and chapter assessments. Imagine the problems that may arise from a grandparent moving in. Draw a scene from the novel as it is being described. Come up with reasons behind certain characters' actions. Complete sentences with words from the reading. Students get into the mind of Peter to understand his motives and reactions. Create a "How Not to Start a War Handbook", detailing helpful tips on how to avoid fighting with family members. Detail all the things Grandpa did to get revenge on Peter in a Timeline Graphic Organizer. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: The War with Grandpa is a story about a young boy and his grandfather at odds. 10-year-old Peter Stokes loves his grandfather and is excited to learn that he will be coming to live with the family. That is, until he learns that grandpa will be taking over Peter's bedroom. Peter's two best friends encourage Peter to stand his ground and do something about this injustice. Peter soon declares war on his grandfather, who proves to be an even match. The two attack and counterattack each other until escalations lead to one finally surrendering.




Matilda - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Explore the power of the mind and how anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Challenge students by expanding their vocabulary and testing their comprehension with writing prompts and assessment questions. Test comprehension with multiple choice questions that explores the character of Matilda. Expand your character study by reflecting on Matilda's view of C.S. Lewis' novels, and what she considers to be a drawback in them. Show understanding of tricky words from the book by matching them to sentences where they make the most sense. Conduct an interview with a partner to find out what they think of the novel. Compare physical and character attributes of two people from the story in a Compare/Contrast chart. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Matilda is the charming story of a very unusual little girl who, despite having two very horrible parents, learns how to read by the age of three. There are many other things about Matilda that are very special. She can solve arithmetic problems very quickly in her head, and she can move things about with the power of thought. Despite all of this she is a most pleasant little girl who is well liked by her classmates and by her wonderful teacher, Miss Honey. Matilda discovers the headmistress of the school, Miss Trunchbull, is actually Miss Honey‘s aunt and has cheated her out of her inheritance. Matilda sets her mind to work, and in the end Miss Honey recovers her stolen inheritance and adopts Matilda.




Babe: The Gallant Pig - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Anyone can overcome their destiny in this story of a pig who saves himself from the table. Great discussion questions engage students to think deeper about the text. Students explore the concept of prejudice and give an example of this from their own experiences. Write sentences using the vocabulary words from the story. Identify statements about Babe herding ducks as true or false. Brainstorm reasons why Farmer Hogget never named his pig. Conduct an interview with Babe for the London Times. Create a trading card for one of the characters in the book. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Everyone is astonished when sheep farmer Hogget brings home a pig from the county fair. Shortly after his arrival, the piglet is adopted by the sheepdog. Destined for the oven, Babe changes that destiny by becoming skilled at the process of sheep-herding. Babe is taken to the Sheepdog Trials, where he astonishes the judges and spectators by excelling at herding the sheep. Babe: The Gallant Pig is a charming story with an unforgettable cast of characters. A number of positive themes run throughout the novel including the dangers of prejudice and stereotyping, leadership styles, and the positive results that can come through hard work, perseverance and courage. Set in rural America, other themes are those of farm life, sheep, sheepdogs, pigs and sheepdog trials.




Sarah, Plain and Tall - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

A unique view on a survival story helps students to value the need for companionship. The comprehension quiz works great as a study guide for a final exam. Students begin by imagining the hardships with living as a pioneer on the American prairies. Answer true or false questions about Sarah's letter to Anna and Caleb. Complete sentences from the story with their missing vocabulary words. Do some investigation to learn about mica, something that Sarah says her dune sparkled with. Use events from the story to inspire a tercet poem. Students imagine interviewing Sarah about her experiences. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: A story filled with wisdom, gentle humor and the practical concerns necessary for a satisfying life. This Newbery Medal-winning story is based on the true adventures of a family living on the vast prairie in the early years of the 20th century. The story begins when Anna and Caleb—missing their mother who died—wish for another woman to make their father laugh again. Sarah responds to an ad, stating she will come by train, wearing a yellow bonnet and that she is plain and tall. And into their lives comes Sarah—with her own needful loneliness and searching—to help them create a whole family. But life on the endless prairie can be hard and unforgiving, taking all a person's strength and courage just to survive.