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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage shows young students how E. B. White slides a great truth into the middle of a silly scene: Charlotte loves Wilbur not in spite of his smelly pen but because she notices he keeps trying. The sentence holds three gentle lessons at once — that true friends see the good in each other, that courage looks like trying again, and that even a smelly pig can be loved on purpose.
Charlotte watched in delight. Like Fern, she was truly fond of Wilbur, whose smelly pen and stale food attracted the flies that she needed, and she was proud to see that he was not a quitter and was w...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell the story of Chapter 9 in order. Begin with Wilbur asking about Charlotte's hairy legs, tell how he tries twice to spin a web and fails, and end with the quiet good-night chorus as Wilbur falls asleep.
Discussion Questions
- When Wilbur jumps off the manure pile the first time and lands with a thump, Charlotte laughs so hard her web begins to sway, but she also tells him it was a nice try. How do you know from the text that Charlotte is laughing with Wilbur and not at him?
- Charlotte tells Wilbur, Never hurry and never worry! How can you tell from the story that Charlotte is trying to teach Wilbur something important about how to be, and what makes you think she really lives by this herself?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Covered with many small hairs.
Item 2
To teach and guide someone how to do something.
Item 3
To throw something with great force.
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Critical Thinking
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