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| Book Companion for Charlotte's Web |
To Life Lessons! It is the very reason we read. Open a children's book and open a window to the world of wisdom. Bringing the literary world to your students in the early years nourishes them in ways that they will hunger for more pages of worldly advice and admirable characters as they grow older. Talented authors teach life lessons that apply to childhood years and reach out to grown-up life, too.
Reading children's literature should be a hallmarked place in your plan book because that practice alone goes straight to the heart of why we teach reading and writing.
Why did the author write the book? What is his message? How does this book's message make us smarter? How does this book's lesson make us a more caring and kind person? What does the book teach?
Select a time during your day that is dedicated to reading and talking about good books. Find, establish and create a comfortable book corner or space. Young children are happy to sit on a carpet; older students do better in a circle of chairs. Center stage is the book. After a short while, you will find that your students look forward to this time of day. They will be attentive to your book choices. They will be inquisitive and talkative about what the book teaches. What does the 'reader-life' look like and feel like in your classroom? What life lessons will you talk about today? Read on to learn what life lessons can be learned by reading Charlotte's Web.
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White was written in 1952 and maintains it's honorable place in Children's Literature... a must read! This book is one of those books that stay with you when you grow up. It is a story that resonates with everyone on a profound and intrinsic level. E. B. White weaves a beautiful story of farm life that teaches the reader about big life lessons of love, friendship, loyalty and death. All the farm animals...and especially, a pig and a spider, show us what perhaps exactly "it's all about". The opening page is dramatic and nothing short of masterful. White hooks the reader in the first chapter. Mr. Arable tells Fern that Wilbur is, "very small and weak, and will never amount to anything." Fern is distraught at the thought of killing an innocent being just because he is small. She doesn't understand and she fights for solace and change for Wilbur with all her heart. The reader quickly becomes immersed and feels compassion for both Wilbur and Fern. This author gains our respect as we can imagine the awful plight of these characters and want resolution early in the story. We read on to learn more. We laugh and we learn as we are introduced to the many characters on the farm. There are many places to stop and talk about this book. There are many springboards for class discussions. You can find discussion task cards and 'book talk' questions here for Charlotte's Web.
When autumn leaves begin to fall, there is a need to read and re-read this classic story. Everything in this book seems to make us aware of the many changes and new adventures in our lives. White uses the mundane and the ordinary to show us the inexplicable and the tragic. There is great learning in simple things. As the story unfolds, the reader becomes aware of the many important issues and puzzlements we share as human beings. Matters such as animal rights, the innocence of being a child, the corrupt nature of human beings, and at the same time, the pure wonderment and joy of being human. But most importantly, in my opinion, White teaches us how to become better adults by holding on to all the endearing moments we lived in childhood.
Charlotte's Web is a universal story. It has entertained thousands of readers for decades. It teaches important life lessons about kindness and love. Charlotte's Web is an all time best-selling children's paperback. E.B. White describes his book as a story of friendship and life on a farm; yet it is so much more. The story plot and character situations show the reader how to be a good friend, how to appreciate diversity, how to embrace change, how to appreciate farm life, how to cope with loss and how to reach out to others. E.B. White lived as a true friend to animals and he writes from his own experiences.
As every writer knows, research, research and more research is essential to even fiction writers. Readers need to believe that what they are reading is the truth...even when the story is imaginative. The need to immerse oneself in the book world is crucial to a reader's enjoyment of a book, and thorough research is how a writer makes that so. You must get the right moon in the night sky. White researched every detail for his three books for children. Stuart Little was written in 1945, Charlotte's Web in 1952 and The Trumpet of the Swan was written in 1970. For Charlotte's Web, his research was close to home as in lived on a farm in Maine. His farm experience and color shows on every page. The habits of the animals are characteristic and believable. It is the best realistic-fiction for any child's bookshelf.
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Where Magic Happens
Where Magic Happens
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| Find Reader Response Pages HERE for Charlotte's Web |
Life Lesson #1
Never underestimate small things.
Life Lesson #2
Wilbur stands perfectly still and thinks of what it is like to be alive." Taking time to immerse yourself into deep thought and contemplate your existence isn't such a bad way to spend your time, really.
Life Lesson #3
Life Is Everywhere
Life Lesson #4
Show Compassion Whenever Possible
Charlotte shows compassion by insisting that her victims are sleeping before eating them. She doesn't want them to feel or know pain. This small act of compassion in the story makes the reader think about our actions and choices. People may be just as fragile as flies; or maybe more so.
Life Lesson #5
Spiders Are Amazing
"Spiders can produce several kinds of thread. They use a dry, tough thread for foundation lines, and a sticky thread for snare lines — the ones that catch and hold insects." The study of nature and animals is fantastic, interesting and profound!
Charlotte's Web ends with a 'light-bulb moment'! Yes! most certainly, out of an egg the many baby spiders hatch! Life continues. The magic of children's literature embraced by life lessons! What could be better?!
