Literature Circle Unit
By: Carrie Goodin
Because of Winn-Dixie is a heart-warming story about a young girl who overcomes moving to a new town and her mom leaving by befriending a stray dog, Winn-Dixie. Opal and Winn-Dixie help each other and the people around them to find happiness through their adventures and the life lessons that they learn along the way.
Theme: Friendship and Family
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Rationale:
This unit is going to be used to introduce literature circle to 3rd graders. It is designed for upper level readers in this grade. The students will be assuming the role of discussion director, passage picker, character sketcher, word wizard, and internet investigator. Since literature circle is a very in-depth way to get students to read and learn about a subject, these roles will be scaled down to a 3rd grade level. This topic is important for this age because it teaches them about friendship and the importance of families. This unit is appropriate for this age group because they are beginning to deal with the true concept of friendships.
Assessment:
Throughout this unit, students will be assessed through a K-W-L chart, creating a letter a character, and carrying on roles such as discussion director, passage picker, character sketcher, word wizard, and internet investigator. They will also be completing several activities that will go along with their internet investigations. In one section, they will complete a set of questions that relate back to what they will read.
