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Charlotte's Web
Scouts · 1st–3rd
The goose says an hour of freedom is worth a barrel of slops, but Wilbur follows the pail home. Was Wilbur wrong to go back, or wise?
The tension The goose's loud cry for freedom and fun, against Wilbur's fear, his tears, and his wish for food and comfort.
Notice what pulls Wilbur toward the goose's wide world and what pulls him back to his pen.
Wilbur lives in the barn cellar and Fern visits him, but one June afternoon he is lonely and bored. A goose tells him a board is loose, and he squeezes out and digs in the orchard. The farm joins the chase until Mr. Zuckerman taps a pail of slops, and Wilbur follows him home and falls asleep.
Start with Wilbur in his yard saying there is never anything to do. Ask how he feels, and what he wishes would happen.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the lonely afternoon, the goose, the board, the orchard, the chase, the pail, and the nap.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two short sentences of their own: one about a person who did not mind something, and one about what the person smelled or saw.
Debate Take sides: was Wilbur wrong to go back to his pen, or wise? Each side must use one line from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why a story might let a young pig try freedom and then lead him home.
Easier Read the chase scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 3 only.
On level Talk through all four 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 the goose would answer to one of Mr. Zuckerman's kind words, using her own lines from the chapter.
1. Wilbur says, "I'm less than two months old and I'm tired of living." What is making him feel that way?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to work out why a young pig sounds so low, from what the chapter shows about his day.
He is lonely, because Fern has not come and he misses her.
Fern had not arrived for her usual visit.
Wilbur stood in the sun feeling lonely and bored.
He is bored, because nothing in his yard changes and he never gets to do anything.
There's never anything to do around here
But he never had any fun no walks, no rides, no swims.
A strong answer Two things seem to be at work. Fern has not come, and he feels lonely and bored. And his days have no walks, no rides and no swims, so there is never anything to do. A strong answer says which feels bigger to Wilbur and points to something he does, like sniffing the trough or climbing the manure pile, to show it.
2. The goose asks how it feels to be free. Wilbur says, "I guess I like it." Why do you think he only says "guess"?Character
What it asks It asks why Wilbur is unsure about his first minutes outside, and what the word guess tells us about him.
He is nervous: the outside is big and strange, with nothing between him and it.
Actually, Wilbur felt queer to be outside his fence, with nothing between him and the big world.
Where do you think I'd better go?
He likes it more than he lets on: he jumps, twirls and digs, and feels happy.
He gave a jump in the air, twirled, ran a few steps, stopped, looked all around
He felt very happy.
A strong answer Wilbur says guess because he does not know yet. The chapter says he felt queer to be outside his fence with nothing between him and the big world, so he asks where he had better go. But he also jumps, twirls and digs in the orchard, and he feels very happy. A strong answer says he feels both, and says which one shows more.
3. The goose cheers Wilbur on while everyone chases him. Was she a good friend to him? What makes you think so?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether cheering and shouting orders is real help when Wilbur is crying and cannot follow them.
Yes: she told him about the loose board and cheered when he dodged Lurvy.
One of the boards is loose.
The goose cheered for Wilbur.
Nicely done, nicely done!
Not really: her orders mixed with everyone else's and left him frightened.
The goose took command and began to give orders.
Poor Wilbur was dazed and frightened by this hullabaloo.
A strong answer She did him a good turn by telling him about the loose board and by cheering when he dodged between Lurvy's legs. But when the chase began she gave order after order, and so did the cows, the sheep and the gander, and Wilbur was dazed and frightened. A strong answer picks a side and says what the other side would point to.
4. The author says Wilbur was "a very young pig - not much more than a baby, really." Why remind us of that during the chase?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author stops the chase to tell us how young Wilbur is, and how that changes how we read the scene.
It makes us feel sorry for him: he is a baby who wants comfort.
Poor Wilbur was dazed and frightened by this hullabaloo.
He wished Fern were there to take him in her arms and comfort him.
It explains why he cannot manage: he is too young to follow so many orders at once.
he couldn't run downhill and uphill at the same time
he was crying so hard he could barely see anything that was happening
A strong answer The reminder comes when Wilbur is crying and dazed, and it asks us to see him as a baby, not a pig who ought to know better. It also explains why he cannot do what the animals shout. A strong answer says what the reminder makes the reader feel, and why the author puts it here.
1. The news of Wilbur's escape spreads from the goose to the cows, sheep and horses. What does that show about how the animals feel about him? Give two reasons.
What it asks It asks what the spreading news and the shouted advice show about how the other animals see Wilbur.
They care about him: they are glad that one of their friends is free.
became excited to know that one of his friends had got free and was no longer penned up or tied fast
The goose cheered for Wilbur.
They are mostly caught up in the excitement, and their advice does not agree.
Whenever any creature broke loose on Zuckerman's farm, the event was of great interest to the others.
Run downhill!" suggested the cows.
Run uphill!" cried the sheep.
A strong answer The animals treat the news as important: the goose tells the cows, the cows tell the sheep, and soon all of them know. The chapter says they are excited that one of their friends has got free, so they seem to care about him. Yet the cows say run downhill and the sheep say run uphill, so they are also swept up in the noise. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and a reason.
2. While the chase goes on, Wilbur thinks, "Why doesn't Fern come?" What does that show about Fern and Wilbur? Give two reasons.
What it asks It asks what Wilbur's wish for Fern shows about what she means to him.
Fern is his comfort: she is the one he wants when he is frightened.
He wished Fern were there to take him in her arms and comfort him.
He began to cry.
Fern is his company: her visits are what make his days happy.
It made her happy just to be near the pig, and it made Wilbur happy to know that she was sitting there, right outside his pen.
Fern came almost every day to visit him.
A strong answer Wilbur wishes Fern would take him in her arms and comfort him, so he turns to her when he is most frightened. And the chapter says that when she sits near his pen it makes him happy just to know she is there. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and says what Fern gives him that the others do not.
3. Mr. Zuckerman tells Lurvy, "take it easy - don't rush him!" What does that show about how he treats Wilbur? Give two reasons.
What it asks It asks what Mr. Zuckerman's calm way of catching Wilbur shows about how he thinks of the pig.
He treats Wilbur kindly: he is gentle and patient with him.
"Pig, pig!" said Mr. Zuckerman in a kind voice
Mr. Zuckerman scratched Wilbur's back with a stick.
He treats Wilbur as a good animal to be looked after, which is a little different from loving him.
Yes, he'll make a good pig
Lurvy fetched a hammer and some 8-penny nails and nailed the board in place.
A strong answer Mr. Zuckerman is gentle: he says take it easy, speaks in a kind voice and scratches Wilbur's back with a stick. He also says Wilbur will make a good pig and has the board nailed back in place. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and says whether this looks like kindness, careful farming, or both.