Question of the Week: What experiences bring diverse people together?
Click on the picture to read the story here. As you read, think about the following questions.
- How do people in a community get to know each other?
- What are some places in a community where people might gather?
- What can you learn about people by listening to their stories?
Spelling Words for
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1. admire
2. magnet
3. contest
4. method
5. custom
6. rally
7. soccer
8. engine
9. sudden
10. finger
11. accident
12. mitten
13. intend
14. fabric
15. flatten
16. rascal
17. gutter
18. mammal
19. happen
20. cannon
2. magnet
3. contest
4. method
5. custom
6. rally
7. soccer
8. engine
9. sudden
10. finger
11. accident
12. mitten
13. intend
14. fabric
15. flatten
16. rascal
17. gutter
18. mammal
19. happen
20. cannon
Weekly Vocabulary Words
More Books by Kate DiCamillo
Meet the Author - Kate DiCamillo
Read more from Kate DiCamillo here.Learn more about Kate DiCamillo here. |
Kate Dicamillo's Author's Note
Because of Winn Dixie Because of Winn-Dixie is a story that is a result of my own longing. I was homesick for Florida (where I grew up) and it was the worst winter on record in Minneapolis (where I live now) when I sat down to write Opal's story. Also, I was living in an apartment where no dogs were allowed (what a terrible, terrible rule!), and I was experiencing what I call "dog withdrawal." I was desperate for the companionship of a dog, so desperate that, sometimes, if there was a dog in a car next to me in traffic, I would honk and wave madly at him or her (and, it must be noted, the higher caliber of dog would wag its tail and/or prick its ears by way of returning my greeting). Those two longings, homesickness and dog-sickness, are, I think, responsible for the book that Because of Winn-Dixie became. But the rest of the creative process is (as it is for every story I write) a mystery to me. I began with one sentence ("I have a dog named Winn-Dixie") and the sound of India Opal Buloni's voice clear in my head; and after that I just listened and wrote down what Opal told me. Writing the book was a wonderful experience. Every morning, I woke up excited; I would think, "What the heck am I so excited about?" And then I would remember. Opal. And her dog, Winn-Dixie. "I wonder what's going to happen next?" I would say out loud. And then I would sit down at my desk and find out. Because of Winn-Dixie is a book about hope and love and comfort and joy; and in the process of telling the story, I was given all these things: hope and love. And comfort and joy. That, to me, is one of the great miracles of storytelling, how it can fill some of the holes in the teller's own heart. From http://www.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1000 |