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Copywork
About This Passage
The announcer is sure he has the mystery solved: the writing came from 'supernatural forces,' certainly not from a spider, because 'spiders cannot write.' The reader knows better, a spider wrote every word, and Charlotte, listening, murmurs, 'Oh, they can't, can't they?' Copying the announcer's confident claim shows how a writer can let a character be wrong in a way the reader can plainly see, turning a grand speech into a quiet joke.
Whence came this mysterious writing? Not from the spider, we can rest assured of that. Spiders are very clever at weaving their webs, but needless to say spiders cannot write.
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell what happens in this chapter in order, from the loud speaker's announcement to the truck driving back to the pigpen. Which moment do you think matters most beneath all the noise and fuss, and what in the chapter makes you choose it?
Discussion Questions
- Far from the cheering crowd, Charlotte rests alone in the pigpen, and White calls this 'her hour of triumph.' Why does White give the word 'triumph' to the silent, unseen Charlotte rather than to Wilbur, who stands in the spotlight? Use the details of what Charlotte does and hears to explain your thinking.
- The announcer assures the crowd that the web writing came from 'supernatural forces' and that 'spiders cannot write,' while Charlotte, the real writer, listens and murmurs, 'Oh, they can't, can't they?' Why is this moment funny, and what does it show about what the crowd thinks is happening? Use the details of what the announcer says and what Charlotte knows to explain your thinking.
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Vocabulary
Item 1
A great victory or success; Charlotte's word, to herself, for this hour that is really hers.
Item 2
Quiet and unwilling to be praised; how Mr. Zuckerman explains Wilbur after he faints.
Item 3
Glowing and bright; one of the words Charlotte once spun into her web.
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Critical Thinking
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