Welcome to Kids Chapter Check-Ins, a space where we pause, think, talk, and write about great books together. Books are better together. So grab your book and let's check in. Hey readers, welcome! Today we're beginning a brand new novel. We are checking in on Because of Wendixie by Kate DeCamillo. This is episode one of our Because of Wendixie series. Before we begin, make sure that you've read chapters one through four. If not, you can pause the episode, read those chapters, and come right back. It might be helpful to have your book and some paper handy for this episode. If you're following along with your companion pack, now is a great time to grab that as well. Take a moment to gather your materials if you need to. Ready? Let's check in. In chapters one through four, we meet Opal, a 10-year-old girl who's recently moved to Naomi, Florida with her father, the preacher. While Opal's at the grocery store, she meets a big scruffy dog who's causing a lot of trouble. Opal quickly claims the dog as her own and names him Wendixie. Opal convinces the preacher to let Wendixie stay with them, and it doesn't take long for the two of them to become friends. Wendixie even helps Opal feel comfortable enough to ask the preacher about her mother, who left when Opal was really young. The preacher shares 10 things about Opal's mother so that Opal can learn a little bit more about who she was. Let's pause for a vocabulary check-in. In today's reading, we hear a form of the word mutter. On page 24, we see the word muttering. To mutter means to speak in a low, quiet voice that can be really hard for others to hear. You might mutter to yourself when you're trying to solve a tricky math problem. Or maybe you forgot to bring your homework to school and you quietly mutter, I can't believe I forgot it again. Now let's take a moment to check your understanding. You'll hear three questions about the word mutter. Listen to each one and answer yes or no. You can answer out loud or in your head. Are you ready? If you are getting in trouble for speaking too loudly, are you muttering? Could someone mutter to themselves when they're annoyed or thinking about something? If your teacher asked you to speak up because they can't hear you, could you have been muttering? If you said no, yes, yes, great thinking. It's time for our reading focus. Today we're going to focus on character traits. Character traits are words that describe what a character is like on the inside, their personality. When readers are trying to determine a character's traits, the author doesn't always come right out and tell us. Instead, we have to look for clues. We can pay attention to what the character is saying, what the character is thinking, what the character is doing, and even how the character interacts with other characters. Then we can use those clues to decide which character trait fits them the best. For example, let's think about Opal at the Windexie grocery store. There's this big, unfamiliar dog running around the store causing chaos. But instead of staying away from him, Opal steps in and claims that he belongs to her. What could that tell us about Opal? You might say she's brave because she isn't afraid to approach Wendyxie. And honestly, you may have thought of a completely different trait, and that's okay. When we describe characters, there can be more than one right answer as long as we can support our thinking with evidence from the story. We're going to practice this with a little game. We're going to play a game that I call trait face-off. I'm going to give you two character traits. Your job is to decide which trait you think describes Opal better based on what you've read so far. But there's a catch. You need to be ready to prove your choice with something that Opal said, thought, or did in the story. Throughout this game, you may need to pause, and that's totally okay. You might want to write down your thinking, or you could just talk it out with someone nearby. You'll probably want to use the word because that will help you to prove your thinking and defend your answer with evidence. Okay, are you ready? Let's get started with round one. Is Opal more outgoing or shy? Is Opal more outgoing or shy? Which choice would you make? Once you have your choice, think of something that Opal has said or did that supports your answer. Jot it down or talk it out loud with someone nearby. Round two. Is Opal more brave or more cautious? Brave or cautious? Choose your trait and think about your evidence. Round three, is Opal more determined or easy going? Think about everything that Opal has done in these first four chapters. Which trait fits her better? Determined or easygoing? Alright, it's time for our final round. But I'm going to make this last one a little bit trickier. For our final round, I want you to tell me, is Opal more caring or more determined? Hmm. That one is tough because you could probably find evidence for both. Maybe you chose caring because of the way that Opal rescues Wendixie and takes care of him. But you could also choose determined because she doesn't give up on convincing the preacher to let her keep him. There isn't always just one correct character trait. The important part is being able to prove your thinking with evidence from the story. Awesome job with this game. Grab a piece of paper if you can, or find a thinking partner. If you have a companion pack, now is a great time to grab that too. In chapter four, the preacher tells Opal 10 things about her mother. These 10 things help Opal to picture what her mother was like, even though she doesn't remember her very well. I want you to turn that idea toward yourself. Imagine that someone wants to get to know you, but you could only tell them 10 things. What would you want them to know? Maybe you would include something that you love to do, or a food that you eat every day, or someone who's really important to you. Maybe you'll want to tell them about something that you're really good at, or even something that makes you really unique and special. Your challenge is to create a list called 10 Things About Me. Try to choose things that really help someone to understand who you are. You can write down your list, you can draw pictures to go along with it, or you can simply talk out your list with someone nearby. Pause the podcast here and get creative. Opal meets Wendixie at the grocery store and very quickly decides that this dog needs to come home with her. Of course, there's one little problem. She has to convince the preacher. Think about a time when you convinced, or maybe you tried to convince, your family that you just had to have something. Maybe it was a pet, a toy, a new game, or something completely different. What was it? And most importantly, how did you try to convince them? Think about your answer in your head or talk it out with someone nearby. Before we end today's check-in, here's something to think about as you keep reading. How do you think having Wendixie in her life might change things for Opal? Think about what Opal's life is like right now and make a prediction about what might happen because Wendixie is now a part of it. Keep this question in mind as you read the next section of the story. Thanks for checking in with me today. I'll see you back here soon for episode two, where we check in on the chapters five through eight of Because of Wendyxie. That's it for today's chapter check-in. If you'd like additional support, check out the link to our companion packs in the show notes below. If you're enjoying Kids Chapter Check-Ins, make sure to follow and subscribe so you don't miss an episode. New chapter check-ins are released weekly. I'll see you back here soon. Until then, keep reading, keep thinking, and be sure to share this episode with a friend. Because books are better together.