Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
This single sentence is one of E. B. White's great comic lists — ten verbs of mistreatment tumbled into one breath. The passage rewards the Pathfinder who notices how accumulation (pummeled, crushed, squashed, buffeted) creates rhythm and humor at the same time, and how the precise, slightly fussy diction tells you everything you need to know about Templeton as a character.
Templeton poked his head up through the straw. "Struggle if you must," said he, "but kindly remember that I'm hiding down here in this crate and I don't want to be stepped on, or kicked in the face, o...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Narrate Chapter 16 in six to eight sentences, tracing the movement from the night of dreams to the moment the truck pulls away carrying one pig, one rat, and one spider.
Discussion Questions
- The chapter opens with each character dreaming about the Fair. What does E. B. White accomplish by letting Avery, Fern, Lurvy, Mr. Zuckerman, Mrs. Zuckerman, and even Charlotte each have a different private anticipation?
- Charlotte reverses her earlier hesitation and declares, 'I shall go, too. I have decided to go with Wilbur.' What does this moment reveal about how Charlotte understands the duty of friendship in the face of her own limits?
+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
In a careful, watchful manner to avoid danger.
Item 2
Struck or knocked about repeatedly by blows.
Item 3
A rounded hole in a board left by a fallen-out knot of wood.
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
+ 6 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