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Charlotte's Web
Scouts · 1st–3rd
Mrs. Arable worries that Fern is pretending the animals talk, while Mr. Arable says maybe they do. Which of them is listening to Fern more carefully?
The tension Mrs. Arable's worry that Fern's stories about the barn are not normal, against Mr. Arable's easy answer that maybe their ears are not as sharp as Fern's.
Notice how each person at the breakfast table listens to Fern, and what each decides about what she says.
On Sunday morning Fern tells her mother and father that the goslings have hatched and describes her friends in the barn, including Charlotte the spider. Her mother grows worried. After Fern goes upstairs, Mrs. Arable says she will ask Dr. Dorian about her, and Mr. Arable laughs and says maybe their ears are not as sharp as Fern's.
Start with Fern's list of everybody in the barn cellar. Ask who she names, and what her mother does when she hears it.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: Fern's news, the questions about Charlotte, Sunday School, and what her mother and father say once Fern has left.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences about someone they worry about: a short one with she said, then a longer one that asks if you noticed something.
Debate Take sides on the big question: which of them listens to Fern more carefully? Each side must use one line from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why a story might let Fern's mother and father disagree about her.
Easier Read the talk at the table aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 4 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 Fern might answer to her mother's worry, using what Fern says about the barn in the chapter.
1. Mrs. Arable stares at Fern with a worried look. What do you think is worrying her? What makes you think so?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to work out what is behind Mrs. Arable's worried look, from what she asks and what she says.
She is worried about what Fern says: the talk about the animals.
Did you hear the way she rambled on about the animals, pretending that they talked?
You know perfectly well animals don't talk.
She is worried about how much Fern is in the barn and how she acts about the pig.
Aren't you spending quite a lot of time there?
how queerly she is acting about that pig and everything
A strong answer Mrs. Arable seems to be worried about two things. One is Fern's talk about the animals, which she calls rambling and pretending. The other is how much time Fern spends in the barn and how queerly she is acting about that pig. A strong answer picks which seems to worry her most and shows it with one thing she says.
2. Fern lists everybody in the barn cellar as "us", and she counts herself in. What does that show about how she sees the barn?Theme
What it asks It asks what Fern's long list says about where she feels she belongs.
She feels she belongs: the barn is a group of friends and she is one of them.
Wilbur and the sheep and the lambs and the goose and the gander and the goslings and Charlotte and me.
I like it there,
She speaks for the whole barn as if she knows what every one of them thinks.
None of us like him much.
Oh, everybody in the barn cellar.
A strong answer Fern's list is long and she ends it with "me", so she sees herself as one of the barn's company. She also speaks for all of them when she says none of us like Templeton much. A strong answer says what the list shows about where Fern feels she belongs, and uses one name from it.
3. Mrs. Arable says she will ask Dr. Dorian about Fern. Is that a caring thing to do? What makes you think so?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether going to someone else about Fern shows love, or whether it leaves Fern out.
It is caring: she asks a friend who loves Fern too.
He loves Fern almost as much as we do
I do worry about her
It is not very caring: she speaks about Fern when Fern is not there, and decides it is not normal.
After she had left the room, Mrs. Arable spoke in a low voice to her husband.
I don't think it's normal.
A strong answer Mrs. Arable's plan comes from love: she wants someone who loves Fern almost as much as they do to know about it. But she says it in a low voice after Fern has left, and she decides it is not normal without asking Fern. A strong answer takes a side and says what the other side would answer.
4. Mr. Arable chuckles and says, "Maybe they do talk." Is he joking, or does he half mean it? What makes you think so?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to hear Mr. Arable's voice and decide whether he is teasing or wondering.
He is joking: he chuckles and grins, and says his ears are not as sharp as Fern's.
Mr. Arable chuckled.
Mr. Arable grinned.
He half means it: he says he has sometimes wondered.
I've sometimes wondered.
Maybe our ears aren't as sharp as Fern's,
A strong answer He chuckles and grins, which sounds like teasing. But he also says he has sometimes wondered, so there may be some wondering in it. A strong answer reads one line aloud and says which sounds truer, a joke, a half-meant thought, or both.
5. Most of this chapter is people talking at breakfast. Why might the author let us hear the family talk instead of telling us what happens in the barn?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the reader gets from hearing the family's talk, and why the author chose it for this chapter.
It lets us hear how Fern's mother and father each react.
Mr. Arable chuckled.
Mrs. Arable spoke in a low voice to her husband.
It lets us hear Fern tell about her friends in her own words.
She's Wilbur's best friend. She's terribly clever.
Oh, yes, Wilbur adores Charlotte
A strong answer The talk lets us hear Fern's own words about her friends and also how her mother and father react. We learn about Fern from what she says and from what they say once she is gone. A strong answer says what the reader gets from the family's talk and why the author may have chosen it.
1. Fern tells her family what Charlotte said when the goslings hatched. Why does she tell it, do you think? Give two reasons from the chapter.
What it asks It asks why Fern retells Charlotte's speech to her family, and what she hopes they will think.
She wants them to like Charlotte.
Don't you think that was a pleasant thing for her to say?
"Yes, I do," said Mrs. Arable.
She is proud of her friends and eager to share what happens in the barn.
Do you know what Charlotte said when the goslings hatched?
I was sitting on my stool in the corner and Charlotte was on her web.
A strong answer Fern may be hoping they will like Charlotte: she asks if it was a pleasant thing to say, and her mother answers yes. She may also just be proud to share what happens in the barn, since she remembers where she sat and where Charlotte was. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and a reason.
2. Mrs. Arable keeps asking Fern who and what: who Charlotte is, what she looks like. What does that show about how she listens? Give two reasons.
What it asks It asks whether Mrs. Arable's questions show interest, unease, or both.
She listens with interest: she asks follow-up questions and agrees the speech was pleasant.
Charlotte?" said Mrs. Arable. "Who's Charlotte?
"Yes, I do," said Mrs. Arable.
She listens with unease: her answers are vague and she stares at Fern.
"Does he really?" said Mrs. Arable, rather vaguely.
She was staring at Fern with a worried expression on her face.
A strong answer Mrs. Arable asks real questions, who Charlotte is and what she looks like, and she says yes, it was a pleasant thing to say, so she does listen. But her answers are vague, and she stares at Fern with a worried expression. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and says whether her listening shows interest, unease, or both.
3. Fern says Charlotte "catches flies and sucks their blood." She also says Wilbur adores her. What does that show about how Fern sees Charlotte? Give two reasons.
What it asks It asks how Fern can say something rough about Charlotte and still speak so warmly of her.
Fern accepts Charlotte as she is, and says it plainly.
She catches flies and sucks their blood.
She's terribly clever.
Fern cares about Charlotte because of what she is to Wilbur.
She's Wilbur's best friend.
Wilbur adores her.
A strong answer Fern says what Charlotte does without any fuss: she catches flies and sucks their blood. She also calls her terribly clever and says she is Wilbur's best friend, so she sees Charlotte as a whole friend, not only the rough part. A strong answer gives two pieces of evidence and says how Fern can say both.