Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
White ends Wilbur's story with one long, gathering sentence that piles detail upon detail, the geese, the seasons, the sun, the swallows, the rats, the sheep, the spiders, even the smell of manure, until it arrives at 'the glory of everything.' Notice how the cumulative list, humble things and grand things side by side, builds to a quiet celebration of ordinary life made precious. Copy the passage attentively and study how a writer can make a single sentence hold a whole contented world.
It was the best place to be, thought Wilbur, this warm delicious cellar, with the garrulous geese, the changing seasons, the heat of the sun, the passage of swallows, the nearness of rats, the samenes...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell the events of this chapter in order, from Wilbur coming home with the egg sac to the three little spiders staying in the doorway. When you reach the babies hatching and most of them sailing away on balloons, slow down and tell how Wilbur feels and why.
Discussion Questions
- All winter, Wilbur scoops out a special place in the manure for Charlotte's egg sac and lies so his breath warms it on the coldest nights, and the book says 'nothing else mattered.' Why does caring for the egg sac matter more to Wilbur than anything else that winter? Use the details of what Wilbur does to explain your thinking.
- When the baby spiders make their balloons, Wilbur is 'frantic' and begs them to come back, but the little aeronaut explains, 'We are going out into the world to make webs for ourselves.' How are Wilbur's feelings about this moment different from the way the baby spiders feel about it, and why does each one feel the way they do? Use the details of what Wilbur and the spiders say to explain your thinking.
+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary
Item 1
Loving and faithful with one's whole heart; how Wilbur describes himself toward Charlotte in his speech to her daughters.
Item 2
To keep and hold something as dear and important; what Wilbur promises to do with Charlotte's memory always.
Item 3
A solemn, lasting promise; what Wilbur and the daughters give each other when they vow friendship forever.
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
+ 5 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