Teacher Resource Guide
Inside this guide:
Before the Play
About: The Show, Author and Playwright . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Questions for Discussion and Writing Prompts . . . . . . . . 3
Activity: The Barn Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
As a class, create a large visual display that illustrates the barn
community and ways in which different members of a community interact with and affect one another.
Activity: Setting and Senses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Look closer at the setting of Charlotte’s Web, how language
creates setting, mood and tone, and how this rich language
will be brought to life on stage.
Activity: The Science of Spiders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Spider research ideas, resources, and more! A great way to
add to an existing science unit on spiders (or another animal
from the story).
Activity: Character Webs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Create word webs for characters with adjectives and examples from the story that support those words.
Reading List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Provided by Multnomah County Library SchoolCorps.
Big Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Teacher Info & Important Dates
Friday, December 6, 2013: Full balance due,
last day to reduce seats
Friday, January 17, 7pm: Teacher preview
Length: 60 minutes
Location: Newmark Theatre
Based on the book by E.B. White. Adapted by Joseph
Robinette. Directed by Lava Alapai. Teacher resource
guide by Allison Davis.
About
The Show
Hart White. White graduated from Cornell University in 1921,
after which he worked as a reporter for United Press
International, American Legion News Service, and the Seattle
Times. In 1924, he returned to New York City. He worked as a
production assistant and advertising copywriter before joining the newly established New Yorker magazine. There he met
his wife, Katherine Sergeant Angell, who was the magazine’s
literary editor, and they married in 1929. For eleven years,
White wrote satirical sketches, poems, essays and editorials
for the magazine. White and his wife became friends with
other famous writers, such as Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley,
James Thurber, and Stephen Leacock.
Wilbur is an ordinary pig — a slops-loving, mud-wallowing,
pig. He’s also the runt of the litter and first in line to be
butchered and eaten. Fern Arable persuades her father to
allow her to raise the pig for six weeks and then sell him to
her uncle, Homer Zuckerman, whose nearby farm allows her
to visit Wilbur daily. The Zuckerman farm is home to a
remarkable community of animals: busybody geese, wise
but cynical sheep, and a self-absorbed rat. Although
Wilbur’s fate has been delayed, it hasn’t been avoided.
Although Fern’s visits are comforting, Wilbur struggles with
loneliness and despair, until he is noticed by a kind and
remarkably articulate spider named Charlotte A. Cavatica.
The barn near White’s Maine home and the animals he kept
there inspired many of the characters in his stories for children. White said he found writing difficult and bad for one’s
disposition, but he kept at it. He was a slow and deliberate
writer. He began the classic Stuart Little in the hopes of amusing his six-year old niece, but before he finished writing it, she
had grown up.
Charlotte is exceptionally clever and devises a plan to save
Wilbur’s life. By weaving words in her web above Wilbur’s
head, she causes the humans to wonder at the miracle.
Wilbur grows more confident and believes that he really is
as Charlotte describes him: SOME PIG, TERIFFIC, RADIANT,
and finally at the county fair: HUMBLE.
About the Playwright
However, a spider only lives for a single year, and Wilbur’s
triumph coincides with the end of Charlotte’s life cycle.
Before she dies, she lays her eggs, and Wilbur repays her
acts of kindness by protecting her eggs through the winter.
In the spring, the spiders hatch. Most sail away on silken
balloons, but three remain in the barn with Wilbur. Although
Fern is growing up and doesn’t spend much time with
Wilbur any more, Wilbur is content. In White’s words:
“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders
ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by
herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a
true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”
Joseph Robinette is the author or co-author of 55 published
plays and musicals. His works have been produced in all 50
states and in 17 foreign countries. Twelve of his works have
been translated into foreign languages and another five have
been anthologized. Robinette collaborated with E.B. White
on the authorized stage version of Charlotte’s Web, and he
wrote the musical version with Charles Strouse (Annie, and
Bye, Bye, Birdie). Other commissioned dramatizations include
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Chocolate War
and The Paper Chase. He is also the librettist for the musical
version of the motion picture A Christmas Story. Robinette is
the recipient of numerous playwriting awards including the
AATE’s Charlotte Chorpenning Cup and Best Dramatization
of the Year for Sarah, Plain and Tall. In 2006, he received the
Children’s Theatre Foundation of America Medallion for his
“body of dramatic works for family audiences.”
About the Author
Elwyn Brooks White (1899-1985) was born in Mount Vernon,
New York, and was the youngest of the many children of
Samuel White, a prosperous piano manufacturer, and Jessie
2
The Big Ideas
Questions for Discussion
and Writing Prompts
• Being a friend involves listening, responding, encouraging and helping while remaining true to yourself.
1. What is Wilbur like at the beginning of Charlotte’s Web?
How does he change over the course of the story?
• Words are powerful.
• Strong characters do not let labels like “runt of the litter” or “bloodthirsty spider” define who they are.
2. Why do the adults on the farm (Mr. Arable, Mr.
Zuckerman, Lurvy) want to slaughter Wilbur? Why does Fern
want to save Wilbur? Who do you agree with, and why?
• Death is not the worst outcome. Living a life without
friends or purpose is worse.
3. Have you ever had a close friendship with an animal?
Describe.
• Communities are places in which very different individuals combine to create harmony and a richer life
than a single person could create on their own.
4. Why does Fern love visiting Zuckerman’s barn?
5. Describe a favorite place that you like to visit. What
does it look like? Sound like? Smell like? Is it indoors or
outdoors? How does this place make you feel?
• Even the most selfish of characters can find a way to
contribute to the community.
6. When Wilbur first meets Charlotte, she makes him
uncomfortable and he is uncertain about being her
friend. Why is this? What changes Wilbur’s mind?
“It’s my home.
I know it looks fragile.
But it’s really very strong.
It protects me.
And I trap my food in it.”
7. When Mrs. Avery dismisses the idea that Fern can talk
to the animals on Zuckerman’s farm, Mr. Avery says “ …
maybe our ears aren’t as sharp as Fern’s.” What does he
mean by this?
8. If you were Charlotte, what words would you choose to
write about Wilbur?
9. What does Wilbur learn from Charlotte?
10. Why does Templeton agree to help the other animals in
the barnyard (fetching words from the dump, getting
the egg sac to Wilbur)? Do you think of Templeton as a
hero or a villain? Explain.
11. At the fair, Fern leaves Wilbur alone in his pen and again
while he is getting his medal. Why does she do this?
What does this tell us about what’s happening to Fern?
12. How does Wilbur react when Charlotte says she is going
to die? How does Charlotte herself feel about her death?
3
Activity: Setting and Senses
Materials
Overview
Five senses worksheet (younger students), page 6
Conduct a close reading of one of E.B. White’s rich descriptions of summer on Zuckerman’s farm. Examine the effects of
White’s descriptions on the tone of the novel, and have students practice descriptive writing of their own. Connect the
activity to the production by comparing an author’s descriptive language to a theater’s use of staging to create a setting.
Copies of Charlotte’s Web (or photocopies of the beginning
of Chapter Six for students to follow along)
Paper and pencil
Vocabulary
Grade Level
K-4 (see variation for younger students)
Standards
Setting
Descriptive language
Five senses
Mood or tone
Production vocabulary: set, lights, sound design, costumes, props
Language Arts: Literature: Key Ideas and Details
Activity Instructions
K.RL.1–4.RL.1 Read closely to determine what the text
says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it;
cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking
to support conclusions.
1. Prep: If students are reading Charlotte’s Web independently, make sure they’ve read at least to Chapter Six,
Summer Days. Have students reread, or read aloud the
first three pages of Chapter Six (until the goose eggs
begin to hatch). Ask students to pay attention to the following details:
Language Arts: Literature: Craft and Structure
1.RL.4–4.RL.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are
used in a text … and analyze how specific word choices
shape meaning or tone.
• Use of the five senses: Sight, smell, touch, taste,
hearing.
Language Arts: Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing
• Specific details: names of plants and animals, names of
characters, etc.
3.W.4, 4.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in
which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
2. Prompt: After students have completed the reading, ask
them what they noticed about this passage. Where did
they notice use of the senses and specific details? What
effects did this have on the writing? What is the mood or
tone of this passage? How does it bring the setting of
the novel to life? Discuss as a class.
Language Arts: Language: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
K.L.5, 1.L.5, 2.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in
word meanings.
Length
30-45 minutes
4
Activity: Setting and Senses cont.
Variation: Younger Students
3. Senses: Allow time for a class free write on one of the following topics or assign as homework. Encourage students
to incorporate all five senses and to use specific details:
names of people, places, plants and animals.
Share the same passage with students and focus on the five
senses. Discuss with students how those details really fuel
their imagination. Instead of free writing, share the attached
worksheet with students and have them write or draw
responses about either a favorite season or favorite outdoor
place (what does summer smell like, what does the park in my
neighborhood taste like, etc.).
• A season – spring, summer, winter or fall (or students’
favorite)
• A favorite outdoor place
• A farm or another outdoor place students have visited
on a field trip
“The early summer
days on a farm are
the happiest and fairest
of the year. Lilacs and
apple blossoms bloom.
The days grow warm
and soft.”
• A place or location otherwise connected to your
curriculum
Follow-Up Discussion: Seeing the Play
After students have read the entire novel, discuss other
moments in the text in which White uses rich descriptive language to create a vivid setting. Encourage students to point
out specific examples. Before seeing the play, make predictions with students about how OCT might use the Newmark
Theatre (an indoor space) to create a vivid outdoor setting.
Highlight how, while authors have descriptive language as
one of their tools to transport an audience, theaters have to
use visual and auditory elements: sets, lights, sound effects,
costumes, etc. to bring a setting to life. After seeing the play,
revisit predictions and note any differences.
5
Worksheet: Five Senses
Name and date
6
_____________________________________
Activity: Character Webs
Overview
Activity Instructions
After students have read the book, or at different points in the
story, brainstorm adjectives that describe different characters
in Charlotte’s Web (Wilbur, Charlotte, Fern, Templeton, Mr.
Arable, etc.). Use the included web worksheet to record these
character traits, and then have students recall and record
characters’ actions that support their word choices.
1. Prep: Print a class set of the Character Webs worksheet.
Decide in advance if students will all focus on a particular
character or be assigned different characters, and if students will be working independently or not.
2. Prompt: Ask students to recall the words that Charlotte
wove in her web, and define or review adjectives and
character traits. Explain that students will be brainstorming web words that describe different characters in the
story, and then acting as detectives to recall actions that
support their word choices.
Grade Level
1-4 (can be modified for younger students by working as a class)
Standards
3. Web Weaving: Distribute Web worksheets to students.
Allow time for students to complete. At the top of the
page, students write the name of their character. In the
blank space in the center, they write one to three adjectives about that character. In the grid spaces in the web,
they can write examples from the story that support their
choice of words (older students).
Language Arts: Literature: Key Ideas and Details
1.RL.1–4.RL.1 Read closely to determine what the text
says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it;
cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking
to support conclusions.
1.RL.3–4.RL.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events
and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
4. Use the finished worksheets in additional activities (for
example, The Barn Community activity on page 9), or display in character clusters so students can see the different
word choices of their classmates.
Language Arts: Language: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
1.L.5 (d), 2.L.5, 3.L.5 (b), 4.L.5 (c) Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and
nuances in word meanings.
“It is clear we have no
ordinary pig.”
Length
20-30 minutes
Materials
Class set of Character Webs worksheet
Variation
Pencils
For a classroom community building exercise, instruct students to bring in a photo or draw a picture of themselves.
Then at random, assign each classmate a partner, and complete a web worksheet with two or three positive adjectives
about their partner. Display the word webs in your classroom
next to the picture of each student.
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Your Name: __________________________________________________ Character’s Name: ___________________________________________
8
Activity: The Barn Community
Overview
Activity Instructions
With students, create a large visual display that illustrates the
different characters of Charlotte’s Web, their individuality, and
the roles they play in the larger community. Reflect with students on how both positive and negative qualities can help
define a character’s role in a larger group.
1. Prep: Prepare a large sheet of butcher paper with an outline of a barn or an outlined brainstorming space. Inside
the barn space, write the names of the following main
characters: Wilbur, Charlotte, Fern, Templeton, Goose,
the old Sheep, Mr. Arable and other characters from the
story you’d like to include. Leave room under each name.
Grade Level
2. Prompt: Distribute small cards to students. Using words
from the Character Web activity, or by brainstorming on
the spot, have students write a descriptive adjective (one
per card) for the different characters, and tape them
underneath the corresponding character name.
1-4
Standards
Language Arts: Literature: Key Ideas and Details
3. The Community: As a class, discuss the ways in which
these characters contribute to the larger barn community around them. Record these on the outside of the
barn shape. Ask students to discuss what makes a community (group of diverse individuals that contribute to
a larger whole).
1.RL.1–4.RL.1 Read closely to determine what the text
says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it;
cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking
to support conclusions.
1.RL.3–4.RL.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events
and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
• For example, the old Sheep is wise and knowledgable.
He convinces Templeton to help with Charlotte’s plan.
Although cantankerous, he is also honest and tells
Wilbur the truth about the plan to butcher him in the
winter time.
Language Arts: Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing
3.W.4, 4.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in
which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Extension
Length
During in-class journaling time or as homework, instruct each
student to write about a community that they are a part of —
your classroom, their family, their neighborhood, their city,
etc. Communities can be large or small. Who are the members of that community and what roles do different members
play in keeping their community strong?
30 minutes
Materials
Length of butcher paper
Markers
Small index cards or slips of paper (1-2 per student)
9
Activity: The Science of Spiders
Suggested Research Topics
Overview
If you’d like to use a more focused research topic, here are
some ideas:
Charlotte is a barn spider (araneus cavaticus), which is an orb
weaving spider. Orb weavers create the kind of symmetrical
web most frequently associated with spiders. Charlotte’s full
name, Charlotte A. Cavatica, is a reference to the Latin name
of a barn spider.
• Venomous spiders
• Compare and contrast an Oregon species of orb spider to one from a different continent.
Share some of the resources below with students. Check out
some library books and prepare a spider research center in
your classroom or allow time for students to research independently or online. Have students research spiders and
prepare a short article, or for older students, a longer
research paper.
• Different spider webs and hunting strategies
• How do spiders spin their webs?
• How do spiders help the ecosystem?
• The life cycle of a spider
Grade Level
Vocabulary
1-4
Standards
Science: Structure and Function
1.1L.1 Compare and contrast characteristics among
individuals within one plant or animal group.
2.1L.1 Compare and contrast characteristics and behaviors of plants and animals and the environments in
which they live.
Arachnids
Prey
Spinnerets
Habitat
Cephalothorax
Barn spider (Araneus cavaticus)
Abdomen
Orb weaver
Venom
Resources
See spiders reading list on page 11.
Science: Interaction and Change
University of Arizona Center for Insect Science Education
Outreach http://insected.arizona.edu
Information about different species, handling and care
information, lesson plans with hands-on use of insects.
Includes information about spiders.
1.2L.1 Describe the basic needs of living things.
2.2L.1 Describe the life cycles of living things.
3.2L.1 Compare and contrast the life cycles of plants
and animals.
Awesome Stories: Charlotte’s Web
http://www.awesomestories.com/flicks/charlottes-web
Contains lots of information about spiders, background
information on E.B White and his farm, and ties science
background to the story of Charlotte’s web. Includes
lots of interesting spider facts and photographs.
4.2L.1 Describe the interactions of organisms and the
environment where they live.
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Spiders Reading List: K-4th grade
Nic Bishop Spiders by Nic Bishop. Text and photographs introduce readers to different types of spiders and their behavior.
Silk & Venom by Kathryn Lasky. Readers are invited to join a
researcher on a passionate hunt for Loxosceles taino, a dangerous recluse spider.
Spiders by Valerie Bodden. A basic introduction to spiders,
examining where they live, how they grow, what they eat, and
the unique traits that help to define them, such as their ability
to spin silk threads and webs
Jumping Spiders: Gold-medal Stalkers by Sandra Markle.
Introduces jumping spiders, describing their body parts and
what they eat.
Life Cycle of a Spider by Ron Fridell. How many legs do spiders
have? What are baby spiders called? How long do spiders
live? Explaining concepts through stunning photographs
and simple text, Life Cycle of a Spider takes an in-depth look
at this familiar but fascinating animal.
The Tarantula Scientist by Sy Montgomery. Describes the
research that Samuel Marshall and his students are doing on
tarantulas, including the largest spider on earth, the Goliath
birdeating tarantula.
Freaky Facts about Spiders by Christine Morley. Introduces a
variety of arachnids and the amazing ways they live, hunt,
breed, and defend themselves
Stronger than Steel : Spider Silk DNA and the Quest for
Better Bulletproof Vests, Sutures and Parachute Rope by
Bridget Heos.Readers enter Randy Lewis’ lab where they
come face to face with golden orb weaver spiders and
genetically engineered goats, whose milk contains the proteins to spin spider silk--and to weave a nearly indestructible
fiber. Learn how this amazing material might someday be
used to repair or replace human ligaments and bones,
improve body armor, strengthen parachute rope, and even
tether an airplane to an aircraft carrier! A timely addition to
the acclaimed Scientists in the Field series.
How Do Spiders Make Webs? by Melissa Stewart. Provides
comprehensive information on spiders and the process of
how they make webs.
11
Reading List: K-2nd grade
Farm communities
Protagonists who are different
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin. A bunch
of literate cows go on strike after Farmer Brown refuses to
give in to their demands of electric blankets when the barn
gets too cold.
Heidi Hecklebeck Gets Glasses by Wanda Coven. When she
gets glasses, Heidi’s friend Lucy gets a lot of attention at
school, and eight-year-old Heidi decides that she must have
glasses too, until her Aunt Trudy helps her to see that she
really does not need them.
Plants on a Farm by Nancy Dickman. Describes the types of
plants that are grown on the farm throughout the year and the
different things they are used for.
The Monster Who Lost His Mean by Tiffany Strelitz Harber.
Teased by the other monsters for being nice instead of mean,
Onster prefers playing with children and helping them with
their chores to frightening them.
Seasons on a Farm by Nancy Dickman. Describes all the activities that take place on a farm during the four seasons of the
year.
T. Runt! by Derek McCulloch. Vegrandis, a tyrannosaur, is tired
of being picked on by his brother and sister because he is
smaller, but when he encounters some animals that are smaller
than he is, Vegrandis learns to appreciate his own size. Includes
a word find activity.
The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice
Harrington. A young farm girl tries to catch her favorite
chicken, until she learns something about the hen that makes
her change her ways.
Kindness and friendship
Up We Grow! A Year in the Life of a Small, Local Farm by
Deborah Hodge. Up We Grow! is an informative and inspiring
book highlighting the importance of small, local farms.
Heartwarming photos invite children into the world of a small,
co-operative farm over four seasons. Readers will get to know
the hardworking farmers who plow, plant, compost, mulch,
harvest and market fruits and vegetables, and care for
animals.
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. When Ivan,
a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circusthemed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added
to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson. When Ms. Albert
teaches a lesson on kindness, Chloe realizes that she and her
friends have been wrong in making fun of new student Maya’s
shabby clothes and refusing to play with her.
To Market, To Market by Nikki McClure. An introduction to
the concept of and products found at a farmer’s market,
including how some of the foods and other items are actually
produced.
Math on a Farm by Tracey Steffora. This book looks at math on
the farm, and includes chapters on counting, measuring,
shapes, and telling time. The final page of each chapter ends
with a relevant math teaser question for the reader, so they
can put their own math skills into practice.
12
Reading List: 3rd-5th grade
Farm communities
Kindness and friendship
Our Farm: Four Seasons with Five Kids on One Family’s
Farm by Michael J. Rosen. A journal of one year on the
Bennett farm in central Ohio. Shows how one family, with
the help of relatives and friends, creates a life and livelihood on a 150-acre farm.
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The escapades of four animal friends who live along a river in the
English countryside--Toad, Mole, Rat, and Badger.
Shiloh by Phillis Reynolds Naylor. When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to
hide it from his family and the dog’s real owner, a meanspirited man.
Local Farms and Sustainable Food by Julia Vogel. Sends the
reader on a fact-finding mission to learn about local farms and
sustainable foods.
A Farm Through Time by Angela Wilkes. Have you ever wondered what life on farm was like hundreds of years ago? This
beautiful book tells the story of one farm and the people who
worked on it from medieval times to the present day.
“A good life is much
more important than
just having a long life.”
Protagonists who are different
This Journal Belongs to Ratchet by Nancy J. Canavaugh.
Homeschooled by her mechanic-environmentalist father,
eleven-year-old Rachel “Ratchet” Vance records her efforts to
make friends, save a park, remember her mother, and find her
own definition of “normal.”
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who
was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not
expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to
entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan,
which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates
as he struggles to be seen as just another student.
Runt the Brave by Daniel Schwabauer. JaRed, a small mouse
who has been given the nickname Runt, cannot believe the
course his life takes when he discovers rats are planning to
invade Tira-Nor and that he has been chosen to save the city
and become the next king.
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