charlotte's web studyguide

© Arden Theatre Company Education Department. Reproducible for classroom use only.

Supplemental Study Guide


November 17, 2011

Dear Teacher:

We are thrilled that you are interested in using the Study Guide for Charlotte’s Web in your classroom. We look forward to interacting with you and your students this winter. We hope that you will use the following Study Guide as you discuss E.B. White in your classroom and possibly attend a performance of Charlotte’s Web at Arden Theatre Company.

The following academic standards are met in this curriculum:

PA Academic StandardsReading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening 1.1C,D,E,H; 1.2D; 1.3A,B,C,E,F; 1.4A,B,C; 1.5C; 1.6A,C,D,EArts and Humanities 9.1A,B,C,D,E,F,G; 9.3A,BHealth, Safety and Physical Education 10.1.CEnvironment and Ecology 4.4

NJ Core Curriculum Content StandardsReading--Literature 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.9Writing 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.7Speaking and Listening 3.4, 4.1, 4.2Language 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5Visual and Performing Arts 1.1.2.C.3, 1.2.2.A.1, 1.3.2.C.1Health and Physical Education 2.1.BScience 5.3

National Arts Education Standards:Theatre Content Standards 1-6

Feedback, comments, and concerns are always welcome. Please feel free to contact me directly at any time if you would like to discuss our program. Our teaching artists look forward to visiting your schools before and after your trip to the theatre. We look forward to hosting you here at Arden Theatre Company soon.

Sincerely,

Maureen Mullin FowlerMaureen Mullin FowlerDirector of EducationArden Theatre CompanyPhone: 215.922.8900 [email protected]


Table of ContentsAbout the Author.......................................................................... 4Synopsis...................................................................................... 5Who Am I?...................................................................................7Our Production............................................................................ 8Our Cast...................................................................................... 9Character Costumes..................................................................10Friendship.................................................................................12Farm Friends.............................................................................13Eating Like a Pig!........................................................................15Adjectives Abound.....................................................................16Describe Yourself....................................................................... 17Pig Facts....................................................................................18Spider Facts..............................................................................19Lots in Common... ...................................................................20Help Templeton Navigate the County Fair!.................................21Templeton’s Wordsearch...........................................................22Draw Charlotte’s Daughters......................................................23Barnyard Math ...........................................................................24Discussion Questions................................................................25Compare and Contrast.............................................................. 26


About the Author: E.B. White

Elwyn Brooks White was born in Mt. Vernon, New York in 1899.

He started writing for The New Yorker magazine in 1929 and continued writing and editing for the magazine until the end of his career. In 1939 he moved to a farm in Brooklin, Maine. Almost ten years later, he published his first book for children, Stuart Little. Soon after, he wrote Charlotte’s Web, and in 1970 he published The Trumpet of the Swan.

E. B. White is known for his reworking of William Strunk, Jr.’s Elements of Style, which is used as a grammar textbook by many students and writ-ers. He also wrote essays and books for adults.

He held a degree from Cornell University, as well as honorary degrees from seven colleges and universities. He won the gold medal from the Na-tional Institute of Arts and Letters, and a Pulitzer Prize special citation in 1978.


SynopsisOne spring day on the Arable family farm, a litter of pigs is born. Mr. Arable decides to do away with the runt of the litter because he’s small and weak, but his daughter Fern stops him. She names the piglet Wilbur and raises him as her pet. Under Fern’s care, Wilbur grows healthy and strong, and is soon too big for the family to care for him. Fern’s Uncle, Homer Zuckerman, buys Wilbur and he moves to the Zuckerman’s farm.

Wilbur meets many new animals in the barnyard, including a goose and gander, sheep, and a rat named Templeton. He also meets a beautiful spider named Charlotte, who lives above him in the barn rafters. While Wilbur and Charlotte are very different, they soon become friends.

One day, when Fern is visiting, the goose’s eggs hatch and seven new goslings join the farm. As the animals talk to each other, Wilbur learns that he is being fattened up to become bacon and ham. He is very upset by this news, but Charlotte promises to save him somehow.

During the night, Charlotte tears down her old web and spins a new one with the words “some pig” woven into it. When Lurvy, the farm hand, sees the web hanging above WIlbur’s pen the next morning, he runs off to find the Homer and Edith Zuckerman to show them. Wilbur believes Lurvy has gone to fetch them so that they can kill him, and so tries to make his escape. The Zuckerman’s and Lurvy (with the help of the other animals) return Wilbur to his pen. They finally see Charlotte’s web and call it a miracle.

The animals hold a meeting to decide what word should be spun into the web next, and Charlotte enlists Templeton to help her find inspiration. News of the miracle spreads throughout the county.

That night, Charlotte weaves “terrific” into her web. The next day visitors flood the farm. Templeton helps Charlotte choose a new word -- “radiant” -- and she weaves it into the web before the families and photographers arrive. When they do, Homer Zuckerman announces that he plans to take Wilbur to the County Fair, and guarantees that if Wilbur wins the blue ribbon, they’ll never make bacon or ham out of him.


Summer ends, and the County Fair arrives. Wilbur moves into a comfortable, straw-filled pen with plenty of water to drink and slops to eat. Templeton and Charlotte also move in, hidden inside Wilbur’s crate. When Fern, her brother Avery, her parents, Lurvy and the Zuckerman’s leave to explore the Fair, Charlotte sends Templeton out to find a word for her to weave into her web. Uncle, the pig in the stall next-door, is very large and attracts a lot of visitors. Wilbur and Charlotte worry that he will win the blue ribbon instead. When Templeton returns, he and Charlotte decide that the next word for the web will be “humble.” The families return and wish Wilbur good night and good luck before driving home. Charlotte, who is very weary, wishes Wilbur good night and begins weaving her final web for him. When she finishes with the web, she works long into the night on a project for herself -- an egg sac.

The next morning, the judges make their rounds to determine the prize-winning animals. Templeton returns from a night of feasting on the remains of the Fair, and tells Wilbur that Uncle has won the blue ribbon. When the families return, they are shocked to see the blue ribbon on Uncle’s pen. But Homer Zuckerman reassures them that people will still come to visit Wilbur. As they tidy up the pen and feed Wilbur his breakfast, an announcement comes over the loudspeaker asking fairgoers to assemble near Wilbur’s pen. A crowd arrives, and the announcer awards a special prize of two hundred fifty dollars to Mr. Zuckerman and a bronze medal to Wilbur.

Charlotte tells Wilbur that she won’t be going back to the farm with him, because she has come to the end of her life. Wilbur sends Templeton up to collect her egg sac so that he can take it back to the farm. Wilbur and Templeton go back home with the Zuckerman’s.

When everyone is back together on the farm, they are excited for Wilbur but everyone misses Charlotte. Wilbur cares for her egg sac until it hatches. Almost all the young spiders fly away, but three of the children stay to live on the farm. Wilbur promises to tell them all about their mother, and hangs his bronze medal where Charlotte’s web used to be, as a memorial to her.


Who Am I?Word Bank

Charlotte Templeton Avery FernMrs. Zuckerman Mr. Zuckerman Wilbur

Read the sentences below and write in the correct characters’ name. Some namesappear more than once.

1. Every morning after breakfast, _________________ walked out to the road with Fern and waited with her ‘til the bus came.

2. _________________ often brought a trout home in his pocket, warm and stiff and ready to be fried for supper.

3. _________________ did not allow her to take Wilbur out.

4. _________________ tried to hit the Zuckermans’ spider with a stick.

5. There were eight eggs but one egg didn’t hatch and the goose told _____________ she didn’t want it any more.

6. “Just in time for a piece of blueberry pie,” said _________________.

7. _________________ says that the animals in Zuckerman’s barn talk.

8. _________________ lay dreaming about a deep freeze unit.

9. _________________ crept stealthily along the wall and disappeared into a private tun-nel that he had dug.

10. _____________ was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice.

11. We now present _________________’s distinguished pig.

12. _________________ laughed a tinkling little laugh.© 2006 abcteach.com


Our Production

CastWilbur Aubie MerryleesFern Arable Emilie KrauseMartha Arable / Goose Leah WaltonJohn Arable / Gander Charlie DelMarcelleAvery Arable Brandon PierceCharlotte Sarah GlikoLurvy / Templeton Anthony LawtonHomer Zuckerman / Sheep Brian Anthony WilsonEdith Zuckerman / Lamb Amanda Schoonover

Production TeamDirector Whit MacLaughlinAssistant Director Mark KennedyStage Manager Alec FerrellScenic Designer David P. GordonLighting Designer Drew BilliauCostume Designer Rosemarie E. McKelveySound Designer and Composer Christopher Colluci

Sponsors and Partners


Wilbur

John Arable / Gander

Edith Zuckerman /Lamb

Avery Arable

Lurvy /Templeton

Homer Zuckerman /Sheep

Charlotte

Fern Arable

Martha Arable /Goose


Character CostumesWhat do the characters from Charlotte’s Web look like in your imagination? Beside the costume sketch-es from our play, draw your favorite characters and design their costumes.

Goose

Templeton


Wilbur

Homer Zuckerman


Friendship“But I can face anything with friends like you. Friendship is one of the most satisfying things in the world.” --Wilbur

In Charlotte’s Web, Wilbur and Charlotte have a special and unusual friendship.

Think about a friend of yours and answer these questions.

Friend’s Name _______________________________________

When did you meet? ________________________________________

How long have you been friends? ____________________________________

What things do you and your friend have in common?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What interests do you have that are different?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What does your friendship with this person mean to you?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________© 2006 abcteach.com


Farm FriendsMany animals live on farms because they make things that we can use. Think about the things you eat, drink, and wear. Can you think of anything that comes from animals? As you color in the animals below, list and draw some of the products we get from them. Hint: sometimes we use one thing they provide to make other things.


Eating like a pig!Did you know that pigs eat a mixture of table scraps, peelings, and leftovers called “slops”? This means that they eat many of the same foods you eat! If you had a pet pig, you could feed it your left-overs. Think of all the things you’ve eaten in the past few days, and draw pictures of them in the pig’s belly! Bonus: include foods from every part of a balanced meal.


full of happiness and enjoyment

completely delighted or captivated; fascinated; charmed

causing disapproval or protest

restless, unable to sleep

accustomed to sit and rest a great deal

easy to fool

exceedingly or unexpectedly excellent or great

of an exalted moral character or excellence; magnificent

bright with joy or hope

friendly, able to get along with other people well

free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions

not suiting one’s needs or purposes

without interruption

true

having or showing little or no interest in anything; spiritless

characterized by approval or support; positive

having or showing great mental ability or judgment

greatly worried; full of mental distress because of fear

very talkative

blissful

enchanted

objectionable

wakeful

sedentary

gullible

sensational

noble

radiant

sociable

modest

inconvenient

incessant

veritable

listless

favorable

keen

anxious

garrulous

Adjectives Abound


write

some wordsthat

describe you!Charlotte writesadjectives inher web todescribeWilbur.


Pig FactsA male pig is called a boar. A female pig is called a gilt if she hasn’t had piglets yet and a sow if she has.

Pigs are very intelligent and learn quickly. They pick up tricks faster than dogs. Pigs rank #4 in animal intelligence behind chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants.

A sow can give birth to a litter containing 7 to 12 piglets, about twice a year.

Weaning occurs at three months of age, but young pigs continue to live with their mothers. Two or more sows usually join together in an extended family.

Pigs are much more tolerant of cold than heat. Pigs have no sweat glands, so they can’t sweat. They roll around in the mud to cool their skin. The layer of dried mud protects their skin from the sun. If available, pigs, who are great swimmers, prefer water to mud.

Some pigs have straight and some have curly tails.

Pigs have a great sense of smell. Their powerful but sensitive snout is a highly developed sense organ. Pigs also have a great field of vision, because their eyes are on the sides of their heads.

A pig can run a 7 minute mile.

Sourcewww.veganpeace.orgpictures: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/10/06/article-0-06B810C3000005DC-595_634x337.jpg, http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2009/04/large_dartnorm.JPG http://media-3.web.britannica.com/eb-media/20/75620-004-6558C561.jpg


Spider FactsSpiders are not insects. Insects have three body parts and six legs. Spiders have eight legs and two body parts, the abdomen and the thorax. Spiders have exoskeletons, or skeletons on the outside of their bodies (like skin).

Spiders have silk spinning glands called spinnerets, at the tip of their abdomen. Not all spiders spin webs.

There are more than 30,000 species of spiders. Spiders belong to the Arachnid family.

Most spiders have either six or eight eyes and fangs through which venom is ejected.

Fear of spiders is called Arachnophobia. It is one of the most common fears among humans.

Tarantulas shed their furry skin as they grow, leaving behind what looks just like another tarantula.

Spiders eat many types of harmful insects, helping to keep your garden free of pests.

Most spiders are very nearsighted. To make up for this, they use the hair on their body to feel their way around and to sense when other animals are near.

Webs get dirty and torn, so lots of spiders make a new one every day. They don’t waste the old one, though--they roll it up into a ball and eat it!

Male spiders are usually smaller than female spiders.

Sourcehttp://www.tooter4kids.com/Spiders/facts.htmpictures: http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dlkAw43cLC0/Sb-K0ffsKQI/AAAAAAAAD3Q/qregZmnCwKY/eye-macros-jumping-spider3.jpg, http://www.wired.com/im-ages_blogs/wiredscience/2009/11/spiders_7b.jpg, http://eleanorhenderson.com/pages/kidstars/KS0708/images/spiderC.jpg


Lots in Common...

Charlotte and Wilbur are unlikely friends. In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different? Fill in the chart above by writing their differences on each side, and their similarities in the center. Then answer the following question:

Why is it good to have friends who are different from you?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________


Help Templeton navigate the County Fair!


N A M R E K C U Z Y U B Y V T R T W L C

I N D I G E S T I O N T T E U S D A D H

Z A V P N E D T G M I Z M B P N N S E A

J F T I H P C O X V L P L I A O T L T R

U G A N D E R I I P L I D D I X S O N L

C S N D H X N T T E W E C T Y T N P A O

E T S T Z U P O T S R T A E B R O S H T

L I C E N A M O M B U S N A C O I L C T

B W R P C E N B E E N J R U E U T J N E

O I U S E T M W L E N N N V R G A Q E B

N N P M S E E R S E Y O A I A H T K V Q

H N L X L J H R E A B R N S L B U A M D

H X E S O O G S R D B A T G N I L S O G

O V S Q U G Y D Z I L B C N B M A L H A

G O R G E I S C A A F I B O A K S R P X

Y S A R C N Y S O I D I W D N I D S M C

T V K G D O W C X Z L F C E A X D E U J

C K R K P I Z K B T E O I S B T T A I I

E X E R T I O N S R C R C H S S P H R H

O Q Q Y O U Z Y N X A P I E F F D B T W

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Word Search Puzzle http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/code/BuildWordSe...

1 of 2 11/22/11 4:27 PM

BACON BARNYARD BEWILDERMENT BRAVE CAPTIVITY CHARLOTTEENCHANTED EXERTIONS FERN GANDER GOOSE GORGEGOSLING HUMBLE IDIOSYNCRASY SLOPS INJUSTICE SENSATIONALNOBLE WEB RADIANT RUNT SALUTATIONS SCRUPLESLAMB SHEEP INDIGESTION SPIDER TEMPLETON TERRIFICTRIUMPH TROUGH PHENOMENON WILBUR WITS ZUCKERMAN


Three of Charlotte’s children stay with Wilbur to grow up on the farm. Draw Joy, Aranea, and Nellie in their webs.

What words do you think they will write in their webs about the farm? About Wilbur? About each other? Choose a word to write in each web.


Barnyard MathSolve these farm puzzles. Remember to show your work in the space provided!

1. The goose lays eight eggs, but one does not hatch. How many goslings are born?

2. Lots of animals have come to the County Fair. There are twice as many horses as cows. There are twice as many cows as sheep. There are three times as many sheep as pigs. If there are two pigs, Wilbur and Uncle, how many horses are there?

3. Charlotte’s egg sac contains five hundred fourteen eggs. If three young spiders stay on the farm, how many spiders hatch and fly away?

4. Wilbur’s brothers and sisters come to visit with their families. If Wilbur has eight brothers and sisters and they each have seven piglets, how many pigs come to visit the farm?

5. Wilbur is a little slower than some pigs, so it takes him eight minutes to run a mile. If Wilbur runs for an hour, how far will he run? (Hint: there are sixty minutes in an hour).


Discussion Questions

Discuss these questions with your friends as you read the book and see the play.

If you were Charlotte, what would you have written in your web about Wilbur?

Why did Charlotte like Wilbur so much?

Is Templeton the rat a hero or a villain in the story? Why?

Have you ever had a really close friendship with an animal? If that animal could talk to you, what do you think it would say?

What makes someone a good friend?

Do you eat meat? If so, do you ever think about the animals it came from? What do you think about vegetarianism? Do you think Fern is a vegetarian?

In the beginning of Charlotte’s Web, Fern saves Wilbur from death. Describe a time when you stood up for someone smaller or weaker than yourself. Who did you stand up to?

When everybody is at the county fair, Fern leaves Wilbur alone in his pen while she ex-plores the sights (and food and rides). Why did she do this?

Sourcehttp://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=8005


Use the chart below to compare and contrast the book, movie, and stage versions of Charlotte’s Web. If you haven’t seen either movie, just compare the book and the play.

movie

book

play

all three

charlotte's web studyguide

Documents

classroom use

theatre content standards

physical education

following study guide

following academic standards

pig facts

pa academic standardsreading

performance of charlottes