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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage is the low point of Wilbur's day. E.B. White picks three strong words — dreary, friendless, sobbed — to show how sad Wilbur feels. Copying the passage slowly helps young writers feel the weight of each word and notice how the writer stacks hard feelings on top of each other.
This was almost more than Wilbur could stand: on this dreary, rainy day to see his breakfast being eaten by somebody else. He knew Templeton was getting soaked, out there in the pouring rain, but even...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 4 in your own words. Start with the rainy morning and Wilbur's big plans for the day. Then tell who he asks to play with him (the goose, the lamb, Templeton) and what each one says. End with the voice Wilbur hears in the dark.
Discussion Questions
- Wilbur makes a very long plan for his whole day — breakfast, a nap, digging, watching flies, supper. What in the story tells you that Wilbur is lonely even before the rain starts? How do you know?
- The goose, the lamb, and Templeton all say no when Wilbur asks them to play. What makes you think each one is different in the way they refuse him? What in the story helps you tell them apart?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Ideas about what to do later in the day or week.
Item 2
A long, open container that farm animals eat or drink from.
Item 3
Full of rain; wet and cloudy outside.
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Critical Thinking
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