Charlotte's Web

 


Dear Blog, 

During our farm unit, I read Charlotte's Web (1953) to my students.  Charlotte's Web was a Newberry Award Honor in 1953.  This fictional chapter book was written by E.B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams.  

I chose to read this book to my students because it gave a light-hearted insight into what life is like on a farm.  This made it go right along with our farm unit perfectly.  At the beginning of the book, Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered when the farmer's daughter, Fern, begs and pleads with her father to give her a chance at raising the pig.  Soon, Wilbur learns while he did avoid the fate of slaughter as a mere piglet, he did not escape it entirely.  To help keep Wilbur from being slaughtered by a barn spider, Charlotte begins to write words in her web to describe Wilbur.  These words soon lead to Wilbur becoming a famous pig, which saves him from being slaughtered.

This story allowed my students to see that just like with everything else there is life and death on a farm.  Some animals get saved, and some do not.  That is just the way life goes on a farm.  Through the talking animals and all the trials and tribulations the animals get into, made the realization easier for my students.  Just because our students are small, does not mean they cannot handle real-life scenarios.  It is our job as teachers, to figure out a way to discuss these topics with our children, in an appropriate manner.  Books are great resources for this!

Happy reading!
Ms. Savannah Smith 

Comments

  1. Tammy McReathNovember 7, 2023 at 2:02 PM

    Charlotte's Web is simply a classic! It is a must read every year. I agree that we need to prepare our students for life lessons like this and books are such a great way to handle that!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ashley McCordNovember 7, 2023 at 8:23 PM

    Children's literature is a powerful tool. Some of life's hardest lessons can become a little softer when explained through a story. Wonderful selection.

    ReplyDelete

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