In this activity students synthesize and summarize the text. Students’ work should reflect their understanding of the beginning, middle, and end of the novel, and display this understanding through the use of the images, dialogue, and sentences.
Opal finds a stray dog running through a grocery store. She takes him home to ask her father if she can keep him.
Opal finds herself making new friends and building relationships with the help of her dog, Winn-Dixie.
Opal is happier than ever with her friends, her father, and her dog surrounding her.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Make a storyboard summary of Because of Winn Dixie.
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Events | Each of the cells represents a different part of the story. The cells are in order from beginning to end. | One cell is out of order, or the storyboard is missing important information. | Important information is missing and/or two or more cells are out of order. |
| Images | Cells include images that accurately show events in the story and do not get in the way of understanding. | Most images show the events of the story, but some are incorrect. | The images are unclear or do not make sense with the story. |
| Descriptions | Descriptions match the images and show the change over time. | Descriptions do not always match the images or mention the importance of the event. | Descriptions are missing or do not match the images. |
| Spelling and Grammar | Spelling and grammar is mostly accurate. Mistakes do not get in the way of understanding. | Spelling is very inaccurate and hinders full understanding. | Text is very difficult to understand. |
Ask the students to read all the text carefully and try to get a conceptual understanding of what the author is trying to depict. Teachers can also help them by listing the main points of the entire story so students have an idea of which part they should focus on the most.
After carefully reading and analyzing, students will be able to identify which parts of the story are important and which details are unnecessary and do not have any significant impact on the characters or the storylines. Eliminating these details will provide them with a structure to begin with.
Teachers can provide students with a list of synonyms or the students can take help from dictionaries to put complex words in a simpler form and change the sentence structure to summarize extensive paragraphs in a few lines.
Students should go back and edit their work after paraphrasing the text to produce the summary. By doing this, the summary is guaranteed to precisely reflect the original material and keep its coherence.
The overall organization of the text, which may include sections and subsections as well as an introduction, body, and conclusion, is referred to as its structure. This structure can e used for writing a basic style summary without using visuals or storyboards.
Opal, the main character of "Because of Winn-Dixie," is a young girl who relocates to a new town with her preacher father. Opal adopts a stray puppy and names him Winn-Dixie since she is feeling lonely. As Opal and Winn-Dixie become closer, they spread happiness and camaraderie to everyone they come into contact with in the community, including Miss Franny Block, Gloria Dump, and Otis. Opal discovers the value of interpersonal relationships and the concepts of forgiving and accepting via her friendship with Winn-Dixie and the neighborhood.
According to the summary, Opal struggles to adjust to a new town and experiences loneliness as a result of her mother's absence. Conflicts also occur when Opal attempts to repair her tense relationship with her father. However, she is able to get through these obstacles and tensions thanks to her friendship with Winn-Dixie and the bonds she forges with other people.
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