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Copywork
About This Passage
Chosen because this passage captures the story's turning point — Wilbur's collapse at his own moment of triumph — and because it carries three of our vocabulary words (complimentary, collapsed, unconscious) in three tightly linked sentences.
Wilbur had been feeling dizzier and dizzier through this long, complimentary speech. When he heard the crowd begin to cheer and clap again, he suddenly fainted away. His legs collapsed, his mind went ...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 20 in your own words. Explain what the loud speaker announces, how Wilbur behaves during the speech, what happens when he faints, what Templeton does, and how Charlotte feels back in the pigpen.
Discussion Questions
- The loud speaker tells the crowd that Wilbur's fame has spread to the far corners of the earth, attracting many valuable tourists to our great State. What does the word tourists reveal about how the humans in White's story view Wilbur — as a creature or as a kind of attraction?
- The loud speaker declares that spiders cannot write, and Charlotte murmurs to herself, Oh, they can't, can't they? Why does White give Charlotte this quiet, private answer instead of letting a human overhear her, and what does her answer show about her character?
+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Speaking in a self-important, showy way that tries to sound grand
Item 2
Shook slightly from fear, excitement, or nervous feeling
Item 3
Took something out of a vehicle or container
+ 7 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
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