Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
Small Group Reading Lesson Plan
Title: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Strategy: Character Traits and Motivations
Teaching Method: Small Group
Grade Level: 3
SCOS:
RL.3.3. Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the
sequence of events.
“I can describe the characters in a story and explain how their actions add to the plot and
influence the events in the story.”
Prereading: (picture walk, book intro, prior knowledge, review)
Expectations: During today’s small group reading, I am going to show you how I think
while reading aloud a section of Because of Winn-Dixie. By thinking aloud, I am
modeling a “meaning making strategy,” or I am sharing my thoughts about-, questions
regarding-, and my understanding of- the text as I read aloud.
As good readers we know that we need to listen carefully while another person is reading
aloud so that we can follow along and connect with- or follow along so that we
understand the text. As you’re listening today, please pay attention to any questions I
may ask that show you how I’m thinking about specific characters and their
actions/emotions, how their action(s) are determined by their motivation(s), and how
their motivation(s) are supported by their character traits. I also expect you to watch
what I am doing while I read aloud; watch as I provide supports for today’s lesson and
model a reading comprehension strategy.
Explicitly Tell Students: Today we will be figuring out a character’s traits and
motivations based on their actions. Their actions and/or emotions oftentimes, if not
always, influence the plot of a non-fiction book like Because of Winn-Dixie. By thinking
aloud as I read, I may ask questions, make inferences, or predictions, and/or reiterate
specific details to help you describe characters in the story and how the characters’
actions contribute to the sequence of events, or plot of the story.
I am going to read you a section from Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. While
I read, I am going to be thinking aloud and using different prompts or hints (i.e., asking
questions, making inferences, etc.) to help you describe characters in the book and
explain how his/her actions affect the story’s sequence of events.
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Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
As a refresher, here are some content-specific definitions, or academic language, to help
you in your understanding of the lesson:
Plot = sequence of events, or chain of events in the story
Character Traits = think personality versus emotions/feelings. One’s emotions and/or
feelings are easily changeable; their personality, or character traits do not change like
emotions or feelings. Traits describe what a characters’ qualities and/or vices. They also
help put the story in motion or drive the plot of the story.
Action = what a character said or did
Motivation = why a character said or did something, the reason for the action
Action-Motivation-Trait “connection” = use the character’s action(s) and motivation(s)
to figure out his/her trait(s), a character trait is the underlying reason for the action, or the
“why” behind the motivation.
Sequence of Events = the plot of the story; it is the order in which events within the
story take place – the beginning, the middle, and the end.
Use the anchor chart linked here for the “refresher” or example with academic language
supports for the lesson.
And, as a quick review of the story, I’ll re-read a few pages prior to where we ended the
read aloud last class. During this time, I will also be thinking aloud, possibly making a
prediction and/or inference about the plot, characters, central focus, etc. Please
remember that you must listen carefully; make sure your stuff is situated at an area that
doesn’t distract you (i.e., white boards/markers closed and on the carpet in front of you);
and capture mental notes of any unknown words and/or think aloud prompt(s) that were
confusing and why it was confusing to you.
After the think/read aloud, we will work together to complete a graphic organizer that
will support your knowledge and understanding of a character and his/her actions,
motivations, and traits (i.e., characterizations), and the relationship amongst the three
“characterizations” After the guided practice, you will independently complete an exit
ticket to demonstrate your understanding of the content.
Vocabulary: (OR unusual language - no more than 5) – linked here as a PowerPoint
slideshow
 knuckle – a joint of a finger. The rounded area of a joint when you bend your
finger.
 lozenge - a small, and usually sweet or flavored, material designed to be
dissolved in the mouth (like a tablet or capsule)
 melancholy – a sad or dreadful mood; expressing great sadness, despair
 vermin – a person with offensive behaviors; a group of rats or mice that cause
problems for humans.
Please remember, good readers always listen carefully!
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Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
Review: to connect the small groups’ background knowledge to the lesson’s goal, or
objective, I will use this anchor chart to reiterate the meaning of a character trait and the
importance of character traits (as they relate to the characters’ motivations and/or
actions). I will also include other literary terms, or academic language, to reinforce the
purpose of today’s lesson and actively engage students with the content through “thumbs
up/thumbs down” simulation and a quick talk-and-turn.
Time allowing, based on observed student discussion at the talk-and-turn activity:
 I will selectively call on individual students to share his/her knowledge of
character traits and give an example with evidence from the text of a character
trait presented in Because of Winn-Dixie.
o The responding student will also be encouraged to share “why” the trait is
important to the plot, or sequence of events within the story.
I begin re-reading Chapter 17, starting at page 113 at the beginning of the second
paragraph…
I begin my think aloud as Franny Block asks Amanda if she likes the lozenge.
“’What about you, Amanda? Do you like the Littmus Lozenge?’”
“’Yes ma’am,’ she said. ‘But it makes me think of things I feel sad about.’”
 What? Amanda feels sad? About what? This isn’t typical of her…I wonder what
it is that makes her feel sad?
o Or is she feeling sad because of the lozenge, or the taste of the lozenge?
 Am I able to infer that the author is not referring to the actual taste,
or ingredient, as what is triggering Amanda to feel sad?
Character: Amanda Wilkinson – Character Action
Opal goes on to say that she is shocked to learn that Amanda Wilkinson says she is sad.
Opal is shocked because Amanda has “her mom and dad at home;” she isn’t new to
Naomi, and she attends church. [Opal says.]
Miss Franny tells the girls that there’s an unknown, or secret ingredient in the candy.
Both girls agree that they’re able to taste the secret ingredient.
Not until after they agree does Miss Franny tell them the ingredient: “sorrow.”
Miss Franny says to Opal and Amanda: “Well, then…you’ve both probably had your fair
share of sadness.”
From the text, we learn:
 Both Opal and Amanda feel sad sometimes.
 But is an emotion considered a character trait? Why?
o No, a character trait tells us what the person’s like on the inside or gives us
a glimpse of their personality.
 Opal has no hesitation when sharing why she often feels sad, or sorrow, or
melancholy.
 Amanda says, “It makes me miss Carson.”
o Like Opal, are you wondering who is Carson?
o Why does Amanda miss Carson?
 Do you remember from our last read aloud?
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Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
Amanda Wilkinson – Character Action (cont’d):
 Amanda agrees with Opal that she also tastes “sorrow,” or feels sad at times.
o Amanda goes on to say the taste “makes her miss Carson.”
o Miss Franny previously mentioned that both girls have “probably
experienced their fair share of sorrow.”
o How does Amanda admitting sadness how she misses Carson change the
plot, or sequence of events?
 Do you think Amanda and Opal will become friends?
Amanda Wilkerson – Character Motivation:
 When Amanda tasted the Littmus Lozenge, she was reminded of the taste of
“sorrow.”
*If not done already, place the “Sample Character Traits” resource sheet/handout at the
visualizer for the students to review.
Remind students that if they don’t already have the copy out, that’s okay – thank you for
patiently following directions; please pull the reference list from your weekly reading
packet because we will be using it for the remainder of today’s class as we describe other
characters in Because of Winn-Dixie.

[in the students’ weekly reading packet, there is a list of examples of Character
Traits, and the list is also linked here for reference – time allowing, use the
visualizer to present the resource…this list is something the students have
previously seen and worked with]
Amanda Wilkerson – Character Trait:
Based on the evidence from the text and the list of character traits in our weekly packet,
we know that when Amanda tastes the candy, she admits that she misses Carson. For her
to portray that she never feels sadness, loneliness, etc. we can infer that Amanda is
possibly miserable. She carries herself with confidence and ultimately wears a façade
until this scene in the book. We are able to infer that Amanda is mysterious
(embarrassed, confused, sneaky) by using the “Sample Character Traits” chart, or
resource, from online at www.readwritethink.org website (2024).
Ask students to give a thumbs-up if they agree with Amanda’s character trait as it relates
to her action and motivation, or reason for doing/saying said action. Thumbs-down,
please if you disagree.
Call on one student to explain why he/she disagree with the character trait(s): miserable;
embarrassed; confused; sneaky.
Remind students that their explanation needs to be referenced from the text or based on a
conceptual understanding of the plot and/or book.
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Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
Call on another student that had his/her thumb up. Encourage this student to explain why
he/she agrees with the character trait(s) mentioned above.
Time allowing, encourage students to discuss his/her opinion with a talk-and-turn with
their neighbor. Observe answers and rationale given by students.
Dispel any misconceptions.
Now that I have expressed my thoughts about Amanda and her action(s) to you through
the re-reading of part of Chapter 17 in the text and modeling my thinking,
 I have clarified my response by
o checking my resources (Sample Traits handout and the text) and
o discussing my thoughts with you all.
Finally, I am able to fill-in my Character Traits-Evidence Chart with details about
Amanda Wilkinson.
We will use the graphic organizer as we continue our lesson, and identify traits for Opal,
Winn-Dixie, the preacher, Otis, Gloria Dump, Franny Block, etc. (at least 2 or 3 more
characters in the story)
A copy of the chart is linked here and would also be included in the weekly packet. Or, if
time allows, encourage students to draw the chart, or outline the organizer in his/her
reading spiral to be able to review for upcoming lessons.
The overall goal of the lesson is for students to learn a “meaning making strategy,” or
conceptually understand how to present a character’s trait(s) and the action(s) and
motivation(s) that support the trait based on context clues and explicit evidence from the
text.
*The information in the brackets at the “empty” rows, or rows for Character 2 and
Character 3 is only for instructional purposes. If student completes electronically, they
may delete/overwrite. If using the chart in worksheet format, delete the information from
the brackets/cells prior to distributing to students.*
During Reading: (shared, paired, echo, choral, independent)
I continue reading Chapters 18, 19, and 20 while modeling my think aloud to describe the
characters of the story and how their actions can impact the plot within the story.
Formative Assessment Opportunities (WE DO) Examples for completing the Character
Trait-Evidence Chart, or another worksheet that is very similar, except it uses the phrase
“Character Action” in place of the column titled “Text Evidence” since one is reporting
the same information. I.e., the columns may be used “inter-changeably” so long as the
objective is being met: “Students can describe: characters in a story and explain how
their actions contribute to the sequence of events” (NCDPI, 2019).
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Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
Examples for Thinking Aloud/Model:
Say explicitly: As I read aloud Chapters 18, 19, and 20 from the book, I will pause to
model my thinking as it relates to figuring out and describing characters in the story,
Because of Winn-Dixie, and explaining how their actions/motivations influence the
sequence of events, or story plot.
Please use the graphic organizer just used to report on Amanda Wilkinson for the next 23 characters.
Examples to model and reference to the text: *please note that the modeling will be done
as a think aloud as described with questions/prompts at the above. The following
examples are short-handed “internal,” or reference notes.
Sample questions to think aloud as I read:
-What does the character say/do? What action(s) does he/she do/say?
-Why did the character act this way? Why did he/she say that? What provoked them?
-What trait from the sample list do you think best fits the character in relation to his/her
action and/or motivation? Why? What’s the opposite of this trait? If you are _______,
you have the opposite traits/qualities/personality than a character that’s described as
_______.
-At what page, or where in the text did you find this evidence? Why/how does it support
the action/motivation?
Chapter 18: Opal-honest-passage where she admits to the preacher what she said to
Dulap and Stevie Dewberry (called Stevie a bald-headed baby).
Chapter 19: Otis-Opal brings the candy to work one morning for Otis to try. When he
tastes the lozenge, he begins to cry and says that it reminds him of his time in jail. Otis is
depressed. Pps 128-129
Otis-Otis describes when he is released from prison and that he vowed to never play his
guitar in the street again because he doesn’t want to go back to jail. He rambles along to
say, Gertrude the shop owner, and Gertrude the parrot, both told him that he is always
welcome to play for the animals at the pet-pet supply shop. He faithfully plays music to
the animals every day, or at least from what we are able to find in the story, and this
shows how he uses his music to connect with others. To this point in the story, Otis is
not mentioned to have any other friends or associates outside of work and the animals
there. While he says he’s playing the music to “calm the animals,” he is also enjoying
himself as he connects, or communicates with them, and allows us to infer that he is
friendly, kind, and/or easygoing. Pps 130-132
Chapter 20: Gloria Dump-“I believe, sometimes, that the whole world has an aching
heart.”…Opal changes the subject by asking if Gloria wanted to continue with their
reading of Gone with the Wind because “she couldn’t bare to hear anything else sad” or
something similar. Gloria goes along with Opal, and when Opal interrupts the two again
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Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
– this time with plans for the party, or opportunity to have all of her “friends” together,
Gloria doesn’t show a lot of emotion or doesn’t appear to be as enthusiastic about the
idea of a party as Opal. However, when she makes Opal promise to invite Dunlap and
Stevie, we see that Gloria is a rational person, we see that she is encouraging and
thoughtful. Rational describes her wanting to include everyone, or not have a party if
“everyone” isn’t invited. It shows that she is encouraging as she tries to mend the
pettiness amongst Opal and the brothers, and that she is thoughtful for wanting to see
Opal and “all of her friends” happy as they enjoy the party together. She shows the
opposite of what I initially quoted her as saying, that “….the whole world has an aching
heart” because by her actions we can tell that, “she has a heart,” and it’s joyful or not full
of aches and pains. Pps 134-137
After modeling Because of Winn-Dixie by thinking aloud, we were able to complete our
graphic organizer as a team. Great job! Thank you, all, for your help today.
Quickly, before we move to the next activity, please give me a thumbs up if you agree
with the characters and the relative actions, motivations, and/or character trait(s) we cited
from the text earlier.
Please give me a thumbs down, if you either disagree, or you think another trait from the
sample list is more fitting to the character and the actions/motivations as we read the plot
or sequence of events in chapters 17-20. [since I was observing students as we worked
together to complete the graphic organizer and quickly glanced at the students’ work
throughout the guided practice section of this lesson, I have pre-determined what
student(s) to call on to elaborate on his/her opinion.]
Call on one student (observed) to share why his/she disagrees and thinks that being
______ is more fitting for _________, because _____________. [the student will answer
with a logical reason and will spark an orchestrated classroom discussion]
Have another student expand on what the student just shared to further challenge the
group, while also demonstrating the skill of making a claim or forming an argument as it
relates to the character-character traits-actions/motivations-text evidence/inference
Call on one more student, time allowing, (observed student/pre-determined) to share
his/her opinion and how it relates to the trait(s) we discussed as a group, but on a deeper
level. I.e., the student gives a logical reason that is connected to his/her everyday life and
solidifies the evidence in the text by comparing it to his/her own experiences.
Ask the students to please remain seated and have another student (pre-determined) pass
out the “exit tickets” for today’s lesson that will be collected as the group dismisses from
his/her small group reading time.
After Reading: (Questions, graphic organizer, follow up discussion or activity)
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Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
Thank the group, again, for their participation in today’s lesson. Explain that to “exit”
today’s class, he/she needs to write a “text message” to a peer that describes one
character not included on the organizer. Details do not have to be grammatically correct,
and “abbreviated” dialog is okay so that your work mirrors verbiage, lingo, dialect, etc.
that you would typically only use in said communication. Details/responses, or the “meat
and potatoes” of the text message should include: 1. Character from Because of WinnDixie; 2. An action or something this character does/says in the book (it can be from any
chapter); 3. What motivated the character to act/say what they did, or explain why the
character acted the way he/she did; and 4. In the details be sure to include a trait from the
sample list that would describe the character’s actions and motivations, or what makes
the character motivated in such a way that it impacts the story’s plot or sequence of
events.
Students should make sure to write his/her name somewhere on the “ticket,” or index
card that’s being used to by the student to “Text Me!” a response or message.
Review/scan/skim each card as the students dismiss to prepare for the next lesson as I
evaluate for a proper, or fitting, character-trait-action/motivation-evidence used/logical
reasons shared.
Remind students that today’s lesson is not only something they are able to use at ELA, or
small group reading class, but their knowledge and ability to infer a meaning/logic from
the text and think aloud model shows they are developing their conceptual understanding
of characters or elements/things in a text and how to relate the situation/action to their
everyday experiences/background knowledge to describe the subject by using their
resources and ability to make an argument. I.e., if I can listen to my teacher “think
aloud” while reading/presenting information, then I can relate her thoughts to the author’s
intention or purpose and connect these ideas to my personal experiences in order to see
the ”bigger picture.” I can be a good reader and describe characters in a story as well as
their actions as it/they relate to a change in the plot, or sequence of events. I am able to
explain and elaborate on the connection between a character, the character’s traits, and
his/her actions and/or motivations that have, or may, alter the plot of the story.
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Shannon Deaton
TED 641 FA24
References
DiCamillo, K. (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie. SCHOLASTIC INC.
International Reading Council; National Council of Teachers of English. (2024). Sample
Character Traits. readwritethink.
https://www.readwritethink.org/sites/default/files/resources/pas_docs/sample_character_traits.pdf
North Carolina Standard Course of Study English Language Arts for Implementation 20182019. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2020, January 6).
https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/files/ela-standard-course-study/open
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