Charlotte's Web

Author: E.B. White

Illustrator: Garth Williams

Age: KS2

My reactions:

After the first chapter I was left anticipating what would happen to Wilbur (lucky to be alive), then by chapter four I was feeling sorry for the character, as he seemed lonely, but I was glad that a possible friend was being introduced to the story. I enjoyed Charlotte as a character, because she appeared to be a friendly, calm and intelligent. My initial reaction to Templeton was dislike, as he seemed devious and sly. As the book progressed it was nice to see him soften as a character, but he always kept his greedy trait! The book has moments that shock and excite, building tension, but also there are humorous parts and touching moments as well.

Lesson ideas:

This book has a lot of dialogue and emotions, so would lend itself easily to a task focusing on writing speech or drama activities (e.g. role-play, hot-seating etc.). The setting is on a farm, so children could visit a farm, develop knowledge around the different animals and discover what life is like on a farm. As children progress through the book, they could create character profiles which can be added to and developed - then character descriptions could be written and illustrated. When thinking about the animals links to science could be made by looking at habitats and adaptations. Te book also has lovely seasonal descriptions, which could be focused upon and children could create art work with this. There are moments when Templeton is persuaded by other characters to help, providing opportunities for a focus on persuasive writing (perhaps write letters to the character). Another link can be made to Computing, children could create spider web designs using code (Logo). To develop vocabulary children could use thesauruses to think of words to put in Charlotte's web. When the characters go to the fair, an activity could be to write a senses poem, anticipating what the characters would experience.

A great book which can be developed in many ways, could be focused on through a half term, with links across the curriculum.

The film could also be used to enhance the story: