Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
This tiny passage is the chapter's hinge, and the body moves first. The old sheep has just painted a terrible picture - a zero morning in January, an empty trough, no warm slops - and the narrator gives us four quiet words: 'Templeton's whiskers quivered.' The whiskers admit what the rat never would: the picture scared him. Only then come the words, and listen to how they are dressed - 'Maybe you're right,' he said gruffly. 'Maybe' protects his pride; 'gruffly' keeps his toughness; but the answer is yes. As you copy, notice how the writer lets a whisker tell the truth one beat before the mouth does.
Templeton's whiskers quivered. "Maybe you're right," he said gruffly.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell the meeting in order: Charlotte calls the roll and the gander answers three times, Templeton never answers at all, Charlotte reports that her trick is working, the animals hunt for a new word, the old sheep wins Templeton over with talk of warm slops, and Charlotte ends the night planning to tear her web apart. Then tell which moment mattered most for Wilbur, and use the chapter's words to say why.
Discussion Questions
- Charlotte tells the meeting that people are 'getting sick of reading' the words SOME PIG, so the web needs something new. Why would words that worked a few days ago stop working now? Use Charlotte's words about the message and the Zuckermans to explain your thinking.
- The lamb suggests 'Pig Supreme,' and Charlotte turns it down because it 'sounds like a rich dessert.' Then she trims the goose's three terrifics down to one. Compare those two choices. What does Charlotte want a web word to do? Use her words at the meeting to defend your idea.
+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary
Item 1
a time when a group comes together to talk and plan
Item 2
a clever plan that fools someone
Item 3
a short saying made to catch people's attention
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
+ 4 more questions in the complete study guide
Get the complete study guide — free
Sign up and get your first book with every chapter included. Copywork, discussion questions, vocabulary, and critical thinking.
Sign up free