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Charlotte's Web
Scouts · 1st–3rd
Wilbur loves Charlotte's daughters dearly, yet none of them ever quite takes her place. Can a new friend fill the place of an old one, or only stand beside it?
The tension Wilbur's joy in three new friends and his many happy years, against the chapter's plain statement that none of the new spiders quite took Charlotte's place in his heart.
Notice what Wilbur keeps of Charlotte and what he gains from her daughters.
Wilbur comes home with the egg sac and a medal, and he is happy through the autumn and winter. In spring the baby spiders hatch and most sail away on balloons, leaving Wilbur in tears. Three stay: Joy, Aranea and Nellie. The chapter closes with the years passing and Wilbur never forgetting Charlotte.
Start with Wilbur at the empty doorway. Ask what he is thinking about, and who speaks to him.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the homecoming, the winter watch, the hatching, the balloons, the three who stay, and the years that follow.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: a long sentence about someone special, then a very short one that finishes the thought.
Debate Take sides on the big question: can a new friend fill the place of an old one, or only stand beside it? Each side must use one line from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why a story might end with a friend who is remembered and new friends who stay.
Easier Read the part where the spiders leave aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 5 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student answer one critical-thinking question aloud with two reasons from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to say what Wilbur might tell Joy, Aranea and Nellie about Charlotte, using what he says in the chapter.
1. Wilbur cries himself to sleep when the baby spiders sail away on their balloons. Why does it hurt him so much? What makes you think so?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to work out what Wilbur feels as the spiders leave, from what he says and does.
He is afraid of being left alone again.
You can't all go. I would be left alone, with no friends.
Wilbur was frantic.
He is grieving for Charlotte all over again.
He couldn't bear to watch any more.
He was standing there, thinking of her
A strong answer Wilbur is afraid of being alone: he says he would be left alone with no friends. He is also grieving, since he walks to the doorway where Charlotte's web used to be and stands there thinking of her. A strong answer says which feeling seems bigger and uses one thing he says and one thing he does.
2. Wilbur keeps his promise and lets Templeton eat first, and Templeton grows gigantic. Was it right to keep the promise? Why or why not?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether a promise should be kept when keeping it has a side effect, and whose choice the eating is.
Yes: a promise is a promise, and Wilbur gave his word.
Wilbur kept the promise he had made. Wilbur let the rat eat first.
Not quite: it is making Templeton too big, and the old sheep warns him.
As a result of overeating, Templeton grew bigger and fatter than any rat you ever saw.
You would live longer," said the old sheep, "if you ate less.
A strong answer One answer is yes: Wilbur promised, and the chapter says he kept it every mealtime. The other is that the promise helps make Templeton huge, although the old sheep warns him and he says he gets untold satisfaction from the feast. A strong answer takes a side and says what the other side would answer.
3. Fern says the most fun there is is the Ferris wheel with Henry, and later she stops coming to the barn. Is that sad, or just growing up?Theme
What it asks It asks whether a change in what someone loves is a loss, a gain, or both.
It is sad: she no longer sits with Wilbur and her friends.
Fern did not come regularly to the barn any more.
It is just growing up: she has a new fun that fills her thoughts.
I think about it all the time,
She was growing up, and was careful to avoid
A strong answer It can feel sad: Fern no longer comes regularly to the barn, so Wilbur loses a friend from the old days. But it is also just growing up, since she has a new fun and says she thinks about it all the time. A strong answer picks sad, growing up, or both, and says why.
4. The last lines say Charlotte "was in a class by herself." How does the narrator sound when speaking of her? What tells you?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to hear the voice of the final paragraph and decide what feeling is in it.
Warm and loving: the narrator is fond of her, as Wilbur is.
Wilbur never forgot Charlotte.
none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart
Plain and sure, like someone stating a fact.
It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.
Charlotte was both.
A strong answer The narrator sounds warm: Wilbur never forgot Charlotte and none of the new spiders quite took her place. The voice is also plain and sure, saying it is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer, and that she was both. A strong answer reads one line aloud and says which voice it hears.
5. The author lets most of the spiders sail away but three stay. Why might the author choose both going and staying?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author has some of the spiders leave and some remain, and what each one does for the story.
The leaving makes the loss real, and the staying gives Wilbur new friends.
This seemed like the end of the world
Three of us are staying. We like this place, and we like you.
Together they show how life goes on, year after year.
Each spring there were new little spiders hatching out to take the place of the old.
Most of them sailed away, on their balloons. But always two or three stayed
A strong answer The leaving lets the reader feel the loss, since Wilbur thinks it is like the end of the world. The staying gives him friends again, with three small voices saying they like the place and him. A strong answer says what the reader feels in each part and why the author put both in.
1. Joy, Aranea and Nellie each get a name in a different way. What does that show about them? Give two reasons from the chapter.
What it asks It asks what the three ways of choosing a name show about each spider and about Wilbur.
Two of the names tie the spiders to Wilbur and to Charlotte.
I'm trembling with joy,
What was my mother's middle initial?
Nellie shows a spider who wants her own say, with a plain name.
Will you just pick out a nice sensible name for me - something not too long, not too fancy, and not too dumb?
Fine, I like that very much,
A strong answer Joy gets her name from Wilbur's trembling, and Aranea gets hers from her mother's middle initial, so two names tie the spiders to Wilbur and to Charlotte. Nellie wants a name that is not too long, not too fancy and not too dumb, so she wants a plain one of her own. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and says what the names show.
2. All winter Wilbur watches over Charlotte's egg sac. What does that show about him? Give two reasons from the chapter.
What it asks It asks what Wilbur's winter of waiting shows about how he has changed and what he cares about.
He is loyal, and he gives up his own comfort.
On very cold nights he lay so that his breath would warm it.
He had scooped out a special place in the manure for the sac, next to the board fence.
He finds meaning in waiting, and he is patient.
Patiently he awaited the end of winter and the coming of the little spiders.
Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch.
A strong answer Wilbur is loyal: he scoops out a special place for the sac and warms it with his breath on very cold nights. He is also patient, awaiting the end of winter, and the chapter says life is rich and steady when you are waiting for something to hatch. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and a word for Wilbur.
3. In his speech to the three spiders Wilbur speaks of Charlotte. What does that show about how he sees her? Give two reasons.
What it asks It asks what Wilbur's words about Charlotte show, and what he wants the new spiders to know.
He is grateful: he says he owes her his life.
I owe my very life to her.
I think it is only fair to tell you that I was devoted to your mother.
He admires her and wants to keep her memory.
She was brilliant, beautiful, and loyal to the end.
I shall always treasure her memory.
A strong answer Wilbur is grateful: he says he owes his very life to Charlotte and that he was devoted to her. He also admires her, calling her brilliant, beautiful and loyal to the end, and says he will always treasure her memory. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and says what Wilbur wants the new spiders to know.