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Copywork
About This Passage
E. B. White opens the chapter by reaching for four of the five senses at once — hearing the music and the sheep, seeing the Ferris wheel and the balloons, smelling the dust and the hamburgers. The passage rewards the Trailblazer who notices how the author builds a whole world in three sentences by trusting concrete nouns (Ferris wheel, sprinkling cart, hamburgers) instead of abstract description.
When they pulled into the Fair Grounds, they could hear music and see the Ferris wheel turning in the sky. They could smell the dust of the race track where the sprinkling cart had moistened it; and t...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Narrate Chapter 17 in five or six sentences. Begin with the family arriving at the Fair Grounds, move through Fern and Avery running off with their money, Wilbur being set up in his grassy pen, Charlotte's careful interview with Uncle in the next pen, Charlotte's growing tiredness, and the hot noontime lunch under Lurvy's Indian blanket.
Discussion Questions
- Mr. Arable says, 'Well, they've got to grow up some time. And a fair is a good place to start, I guess.' What does his decision to let Fern and Avery run off by themselves reveal about how Mr. Arable sees the Fair and his children?
- Charlotte tells Wilbur, 'It's a good thing you can't see what I see,' before she describes Uncle. What does this choice show about how Charlotte protects Wilbur's feelings even when she is telling him the truth?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
The land or area set aside for a specific purpose, such as a fair.
Item 2
The loud, bleating cry made by sheep or calves.
Item 3
Made slightly wet, as with water.
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Critical Thinking
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