ESL Voices

After sixty years, E.B.White’s wonderful book, Charlotte’s Web, is still a favorite with young children. The author grew up during the time when instead of noxious gas-guzzling vehicles, people rode in lovely carriages, pulled by beautiful horses. According to his biography The Story of Charlotte’s Web… by Michael Sims, White enjoyed farm life, especially the animals which is reflected in his classic.

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key.

Book Cover. Photo- McKinley School site.

Excerpt; Some Book! ‘Charlotte’s Web’ Turns 60, by NPR STAFF

“Sixty years ago, the book Charlotte’s Web first appeared in print. This children’s classic is often seen as a story of a spider and a pig. But when E.B. White recorded a narration of the book, he said something different: “This is a story of the barn. I wrote it for children, and to amuse myself.”

E.B. White with his dog Minnie. Photo- Wikipediatiff

And the way he describes it, Homer Zuckerman’s barn is a character with its own, complex personality — smelling of hay and manure, of grain and axle grease and new boots and fish heads for the barn cats, but mostly hay, which was a familiar smell to White. He grew up in a New York City suburb at a time when people rode horses and carriages, and his parents had a stable. 

E.B. White and his wife feed sheep on their Maine farm. Photo Courtesy of Walker & Co.

His favorite thing was to care for animals, says author Michael Sims. Chickens, ducks, mice, dogs of course. Sims is the author of The Story of Charlotte’s Web: E.B. White’s Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic…And it was White’s experiences in his own barn that led him to the story of Charlotte and her web.

E.B. White Quote. Creative Thinking

One of the pigs he was raising died,” Sims says, and while he was carrying the pails of slops every day to the replacement pig in the barn, he noticed there was a spider attending its web every day, expanding the web, rebuilding what had happened the night before, and then one day he saw that it had spun an egg case. When White had to go back to New York City, he cut down the spider’s egg case and took it with him.” read more…

The Story of Charlotte’s Web- E.B. White’s Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic. by Michael Sims.

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Level: Low intermediate-Intermediate

Language Skills: Reading, writing, speaking and listening. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.

Time: Approximately 2 hours.

Materials: Student handouts (from this lesson) access to news article, and video.

Objective:  Students will read the article with a focus on reading comprehension and new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through discussions, and writing.

I. Pre-Reading Tasks

•  Prediction

Analyzing headings and photos

Directions:  Ask students to read the title of the post, and of the actual article they are about to read. Then, have them  examine the photos. Based on these sources,  ask students to create a list of  words and  ideas  that they think might be related to this article.  Have students use the pre-reading organizer by Scholastic to assist them in finding the main ideas from the reading.

II. While Reading Tasks

•  Vocabulary

Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. They may use a dictionary or thesaurus for assistance.

1. This children’s classic is often seen as a story of a spider and a pig.
2. But when E.B. White recorded a narration of the book…
3. …Homer Zuckerman’s barn is a character with its own, complex personality…
4. …smelling of hay and manure, of grain and axle grease and new boots…
5. He grew up in a New York City suburb…
6. …a time when people rode horses and carriages, and his parents had a stable.
7. E.B. White’s Eccentric Life in Nature…
8. …”and while he was carrying the pails of slops every day to the replacement pig in the barn…
9. …there was a spider attending its web every day, expanding the web…
10. Eventually the baby spiders hatched…

• Reading Comprehension

True / False

Directions:  The following statements were taken from the article.  If  a statement is true, students write (T) if  a statement is false they  write (F)  and  provide the correct answer from the article.

1. Fifty years ago, the book Charlotte’s Web first appeared in print.
2. This children’s classic is often seen as a story of a spider and a pig.
3. E.B. White said this is a story of a spider named Charlotte.
4. In 1933, [White] and his wife, Katharine Angell, moved to Maine, and bought a farm.
5. Homer Zuckerman is the name of author who wrote E.B.White’s biography.
6. It was Katharine’s experiences from her childhood  that led him to the story of Charlotte and her web.
7. White had to go back to New York City.
8.  Before he went, he cut down the spider’s egg case and took it with him.
9. Michael Sims owns the farm in the story Charlotte’s Web.
10. During the audio of the book, White took 17 takes to get through Charlotte’s death without his voice cracking or beginning to cry.

• Grammar Focus

Using Adjectives to describe pictures    

Directions: Have students choose a picture from this lesson and write a descriptive paragraph using adjectives.

For a review visit ESL Voices Adjectives

III. Post Reading Tasks

• Reading Comprehension Check

WH-How Questions

Who or What is the article about?

Where does the action/event take place?

When does the action/event take place?

Why did the action/event occur?

How did the action/event occur?

Discussion /Writing Tasks

Directions: Place students in groups and have then answer the following questions. After, have the groups share their thoughts as a class. To reinforce the ideas, students can write an essay on one of the topics.

1. In the article E.B. White states, “This is a story of the barn. I wrote it for children, and to amuse myself.” However, people usually view this children’s classic as a story of a spider and a pig. Explain the difference between the two views.
2. While he was completing the video version of the book, the article describes E.B. White as having to do “17 takes to get through Charlotte’s death without his voice cracking or beginning to cry.”  Why do you think he began to cry each time? Describe his  personality.

Note: For this next task students either discuss or write the next chapter for the following summary. It can be a paragraph in length. Then have each group share their endings with the class.

Charlotte’s Web By E.B. White, (Summary)

“The book begins when John Arable’s sow gives birth to a litter of piglets, and Mr. Arable discovers one of them is a runt and decides to kill it. However, his eight-year-old daughter Fern begs him to let it live. Therefore her father gives it to Fern as a pet, and she names the piglet Wilbur. Wilbur is hyperactive and always exploring new things. He lives with Fern for a few weeks and then is sold to her uncle, Homer Zuckerman. Although Fern visits him at the Zuckermans’ farm as often as she can, her visits decrease as she grows older, and Wilbur gets lonelier day after day. Eventually, a warm and soothing voice tells him that she is going to be his friend. The next day, he wakes up and meets his new friend: Charlotte, the grey spider.”

Source: Charlotte’s Web By E.B. White, (Summary) Wikipedia