Why We Chose to Have Our Students Read

Why we chose to have our students read

Charlotte’s Web….

We chose the novel, Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White, because we love this classic book and would love to introduce it to our future classrooms. I also think that spiders are very interesting and unique creatures. Their life cycle is fascinating and my hope is for our students to enjoy and become fascinated with the unique arachnid, themselves, as well as the unique habitat in which they live. I want students to see that learning through reading can be a remarkably fun journey. Students will be entertained by Wilbur and the other fun characters but will also learn factual information that is included in the novel. Students will also be able to expand on their spider knowledge through reading Melvin Berger’s informational book, Spinning Spiders. This book is a simply written and clear text that shares the physiology of a spider, their environment/habitat, behavior, adaptation, and lifestyle as well as spinning information with the reader. This book’s illustrations are attractive and eye-catching to any reader.

Charlotte’s Web and the multiple texts’ purposes are to provide the students with factual scientific information about spiders. I chose this book because students learn about the habitat in which spiders live and how they survive, as well as information about spider’s web spinning. Part of the 4th grade science curriculum from the NCSCS is to learn about animal behavior and adaptations. This novel discusses the Farm life and the animals involved, including a spider in a light-hearted and entertaining manner. Students will enjoy learning about the friendly and unforgettable, Charlotte and her life cycle as a spider. Although animal fantasy, the novel does contain factual information that students will recognize when they read the informational text, Spinning Spiders, and the various other books that will be available to them. Spinning Spiders, which is written on a Kindergarten- Second grade reading level, provides lots of illustrations and informational text that is easy and concise for students to learn the information this Study is based upon. This book could also be useful in allowing lower reading levels to join in on this fun discovery by accompanying Charlotte’s Web with a book at a lower level, such as Spinning Spiders.

Charlotte’s Web and Spinning Spiders are “radiant” books that will enchant readers and provide information they will not soon forget. Charlotte’s Web is a classic masterpiece that will take students back to a time and place that is almost forgotten.

Content Connection/Topic: Science: Spider Unit

Target Grade: Grade 4

Main Novel: Charlotte’s Web by: E.B. White

 Reading level: Ages 9-12

 Paperback: 192 pages

 Publisher: HarperCollins (October 2, 2001)

 Language: English

 ISBN-10: 0064410935

Companion Informational Text:

Spinning Spiders by: Melvin Berger (2003), New York Harper Collins

Additional Books:

Spiders and Their Websites by: Margery Facklam (2001) Little Brown Austin

Diary of a Spider by: Doreen Cronine (2005) Joanna Cotler Books

Spiders by: Nic Bishop (2007) Scholastic

Spiders by: Seymour Simon (2007) Collins

Spiders and their webs by: Darlyne Murawski (2004) National Geographic

How Spiders and other silk makers build their amazing homes by: W.Wright Robinson (1999) Black birch Press

Dreamweaver by: Jonathan London (1998) Silver Whistle

Each of these books will be available for students to self select and use as additional resources for expanding their knowledge of spiders. They can each be found in the ASU IMC or at your local library. Each book allows the students to explore spiders and their surroundings. These books have beautiful artwork and amazing information.

North Carolina Language Arts Standard Course of Study:

Grade 4

Unit Activity / NC Language Arts Grade 4
Students define Tier 2 vocabulary with their student packet and complete various vocabulary. The student’s knowledge of the vocabulary words is assessed at the end of the unit using a multiple choice final vocabulary test. Students also examine the author’s craft by investigating similes and onomatopoeia within the novel, Charlotte’s Web. Then, students create an artistic representation of two similes found within the text in order to compare the two. During “Discussion Director” students create text based on discussion questions for their small groups. / 1.03Increase reading and writing vocabulary through:
wide reading.
word study.
knowledge of homophones, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms.
knowledge of multiple meanings of words.
writing process elements.
writing as a tool for learning.
seminars.
book clubs.
discussions.
examining the author's craft.
Before, during and after reading students will complete a K-W-L. I will use this to assess what the students know before, want to know and learned from reading the texts. Students also interact with the text and make inferences and evaluations by perusing and browsing three different areas full of books and information on spiders, their habitat and life cycle. Students will use an Internet workshop to seek additional information about spiders. Students will create higher level thinking questions to ask classmates, complete with pages numbers in the text to support their answer. / 2.02Interact with the text before, during, and after the reading, listening, and viewing by:
setting a purpose using prior knowledge and text information.
making predictions.
formulating questions.
locating relevant information.
making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas.
Students will complete a character sketch that asks students to focus on implied character traits by looking at a character’s actions and words. Students will add to this throughout the entire text. And complete a visual to accompany the information. Students support their evidence of implied traits by the citing page numbers and passages on which they found the supporting evidence. / 3.02 Analyze characters, events, and plots within and between selections and cite supporting evidence.
3.03 Consider the ways language and visuals bring characters to life, enhance plot development, and produce a response.
Students develop a Reader’s Theatre presentation of sections from Charlotte’s Web / 4.01 Read aloud grade-appropriate text with fluency, comprehension, expression, and personal style demonstrating an awareness of volume, pace, audience and purpose.
Students will write an “I Am” poem using a main character from Charlotte’s Web. Students will create a Reader’s Theatre script from a section of the novel and perform it in class. / 4.07 Compose a variety of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama using self-selected and assigned topics and forms.

Additional Standards:

N.C. Standard Course of Study: Science, Grade 4

Competency Goal 1:

The learner will make observations and conduct investigations to build an understanding of animal behavior and adaptation.

Objectives:

• Observe and describe how all living and nonliving things affect the life of a particular animal including:
• Other animals.
• Plants.
• Weather.
• Climate.
• Observe and record how animals of the same kind differ in some of their characteristics and discuss possible advantages and disadvantages of this variation.
• Observe and discuss how behaviors and body structures help animals survive in a particular habitat.
• Explain and discuss how humans and other animals can adapt their behavior to live in changing habitats.
• Recognize that humans can understand themselves better by learning about other animals.

Literary Packet Outline

WEEK ONE

Day 1: (Before Reading)

☼“What I noticed about these Areas” activity

• Students will view books, pictures, and articles related to: Spiders, their webs, and their lifestyle.

☼K-W-L On Spiders

☼Predictions of Story Elements

Day 2:Page 1-7 aloud in whole group

Page 8-12 silent individual

☼Create Acrostic poem about Wilbur (Individual)

☼Character Sketcher (1) (Individual)

Day 3:Page 13-31 (Chapter 3 & 4) (reading individual)

☼Discuss ABC Book Assignment (Whole group)

☼Vocabulary Activity – day 1 (Individual)

☼Character Sketcher (2) (Individual)

☼Introduce and create Character Log

Day 4:Pages 32- 47 (Chapter 5 & 6) (reading in pairs)

☼Vocabulary Activity – day 2 (Individual)

☼Discussion Director (Small group)

☼Begin Authors Craft (Small group)

Day 5:Pages 48-66 (Chapter 7, 8, 9) (reading Individual)

☼Vocabulary Activity – day 3 (Individual)

☼Character Sketcher (3) (Individual)

☼Discussion Director Continued (Small group)

WEEK TWO

Day 6:Pages 67-85 (Chapter 10 & 11) (reading in pairs)

☼Discussion Director Continued (Small group)

☼Complete Authors Craft (Small group)

Day 7:Pages 86-104 (Chapter 12 & 13) (Reading & Activities are Individual)

☼Vocabulary Activity – day 4

☼Double – Entry Diary

Day 8: Pages 105-112 (Chapter 14) (reading in pairs)

☼Reading Spinning Spiders by Melvin Berger (Whole group)

☼Internet Workshop (Pairs)

Day 9: Pages 113- 129 (Chapter 15 & 16) (reading individual)

☼Complete Internet Workshop (Pairs)

☼Discussion Director Continued (Small group)

☼Vocabulary Activity – day 5 (Individual)

☼Advertise Wilbur for the Fair (Individual)

Day 10: Pages 130-143 (Chapter 17&18) (Reading & Activities are Individual)

☼Create I-Poem

☼Wrapper with “Sparkle word” to describe Charlotte

WEEK THREE

Day 11: Pages 144-162 (Chapter 19 & 20) (Reading & Activities are Individual)

☼Vocabulary Activity – day 6

Day 12: Pages 163-171 (Chapter 21) (Reading & Activities are Individual)

☼Create cinquain poem

Day 13: Pages 172-184 (Chapter 22) (Reading & Activities are Individual)

☼Vocabulary Activity – day 7

☼Create a spider web with an adjective describing student.

☼Complete “L” on K-W-L

Day 14: (After Reading)

☼Final Vocabulary Assessment (Individual)

☼ABC Book Due

☼Begin watching Movie

Day 15:

☼Finish Movie

☼Complete Venn diagram –Movie VS Book (Pairs)

What I Noticed About These Areas:

AREA 1

AREA 2

AREA 3

K-W-L

You will be completing a K-W-L on Spiders. Think about what you know, what you want to know, and finally what you have learned. Use the following words to help you come up with questions you would like answered for the “W” column.

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, & HOW

K
What I Think I KNOW / W
What I WANT To Know / L
What I LEARNED

After readingCharlotte’s Web by E.B. White and gaining an understanding of spiders, go back to the “K” column and see if any of the ideas you ‘”thought you knew” were inaccurate. Check any of them that are inaccurate, according to the text. Rewrite any of your statements that were inaccurate so that they are correct. Then go to the “L” column and begin grouping or categorizing what you have learned.

Predictions of Story Elements

Setting (Time and Place): When and where do you think this book takes place?

Characters (The people, animals, or objects around which the action of the story is centered): Who do you believe the main characters in the book will be?

Problem(s) & Solution(s) (What goes wrong in the story and how is it solved?): What do you predict will be the most significant problems in this book? How do you believe the problems may be solved? ______

Write down any other questions or predictions:

______

Wilbur

Write an Acrostic poem on Wilbur.

Begin each line with a letter of Wilbur’s name.

W______

I ______

L ______

B ______

U ______

R ______

Character Sketcher 1

You are invited to learn more about Fern. Please take notes on how Fern acts and looks.

• To begin, reread the following passages, determine “descriptive words” that capture Fern’s personality and explain why the words describe Fern.

• Reread page 1 and 2. Which words describe Fern? ______

• She acts ______because______

______

Focus on page 3 paragraph four.

• Reread page 4 paragraph three, four, and five. Which words describe Fern? ______

• She acts ______because______

______

• Reread page 5 paragraph three through page 7 paragraph one. Which word describe Fern?______

______

• She acts ______because ______

______

Charlotte’s Book of Words

Charlotte needs our help developing a larger vocabulary to use in her webs. Choose 1 or 2 items from the chart below to create pages for an alphabet book to share. Each page should include a large capital letter, an illustration or some artistic impression, and a paragraph (at least 5 sentences) explaining your letter representation. Design your page with an interesting format and type font. Your page should bevertical. The following are examples you may use but are not limited to:

A
Axle
Appetizing
Avery
Aeronaut / B
Barn
Briskly
Beechnuts
Biscuit / C
Charlotte
Cunning
Chevy / D
Distribute
Demanded
Discarded / EEnchanted
Egg
Errand
F
Fern
Frolic
Farm
Ford / G
Grindstone
Gander
Glutton
Gingersnap / H
Harness
Hysterics
Hayloft / I
Injustice
Inheritance
interlude / J
Jelly Roll
Jeep
Jam
K
Kind / L
Loathed
Lurvy / M
Minister
Manure
meekly / N
Nonsense
Neglected / O
orchard
Objectionable
oblige
P
Perspiration
Pail
Pigweed / Q
Queer / R
Radiant
Rats / S
Slop
Spiders
Salutations
Spinnerets
Sheep / T
Templeton
Thistles
Truffles
Tobacco
Trough
U
Untimely
Unremitting / VVoice
Vaguely / W
Weakling
Wilber
Weather-vane / Y
Z
Zuckerman

Vocabulary Activities -1

Sentence Stems/Idea Completions:

·I know that the pig is aruntbecause ______.

·I know the people were enchantedby what happenedbecause

______.

Making Choices:

·Which of the following best describes the word “trough” Circle your answers:

1. A place to raise chickens

2. Where babies are born

3. A feeding area for animals

4. Where animals are kept

Examples and Non-examples:

Which would best describe the word queer?

·A very strange situation

·A wonderful surprise

Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonym / Word / Antonym
Infant
Runt
Enchanted

Character Sketcher 2

You are invited to learn more about Wilbur. Please take notes as on how Wilbur acts and looks.

• To begin, think about “descriptive words” that capture Wilbur’s personality and try to find passages in Chapter 2 and 3 that show how Wilbur is acting. Think about why or how those words describe Wilbur in the passages. Remember these will be implied traits. Use the traits below to help you.
• Choose 3 of the following traits and find passages in Chapter 2 and 3 that demonstrate Wilbur acting:

joyful / Clever / affectionate / devoted
imaginative / astonished / confused / appreciative

• On page _____ paragraph ____ Wilbur acts ______

because/when ______

______

• On page _____ paragraph _____ Wilbur acts ______

because/when ______

______

• On page _____ paragraph ______Wilbur acts ______

because/when ______

______

Character Log

At the beginning of a novel; authors usually introduce the main characters. As we read, we will discover more about some of these characters and come to know many of them very well. Create a section in your notebook for characters-a character log. In this section you will record the name of each main character below and describe what you found out about each character as you read pages 1-41. Note something that the character said, did, how the character acts, and looks.

Fern / Wilbur / Mr. Arable / Mrs. Arable
Mr. Zuckerman / Charlotte / Goose / Templeton
Avery / Lamb / Old Sheep / Mrs. Zuckerman
Lurvy / Gander

Vocabulary Activities (2)

Word / Meaning
Frolic
Pg 29
Glutton
Pg 29
Meek
Pg 35
Scruples
Pg 46
Conspiracy
Pg 49

Sentence Stems/Idea Completions

·I know that the puppy was a glutton because I saw him ______.

·I could tell that the lady had no scruples because ______.

Making Choices

·Which of the following best describes the word “frolic” Circle your answers:

1. Running around a track

2. Skipping happily

3. Walking lightly

4. Jumping up and down

Examples and Non-examples

Which would best describe the word Meek?

·Being very gentle and mild

· Being very silly and loud

Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonym / Word / Antonym
Glutton
Scruples
Meek

☼What people, things, situations, or words come to mind when you think about the wordConspiracy?

Use the bubble map to document these people, things, words or situations

Discussion Director:

Charlotte’s Web

Read pages 25-47 (section 2) and pages 52-76 (section 3)

• Your job is to involve the students in your group by thinking and talking about the selection of the book you have just read. You are going to ask questions that really help the students in your group think about the reading. Your questions should require students to discuss their interpretations of the text and connect background experience and knowledge with the text. You want all students involved in the discussion and talking about the issues that come up during the reading.

• Your job as the Discussion Director is to come up with 5 thinking questions. Your teacher really wants you to help the students in your group to go back to the book to find their answers if they don’t know them. So, to help this run very smoothly, you need to write down the questions, your answers, and the page numbers where the students can reference the text to justify their responses to your questions.

When developing your questions, think about the following main events:

The conversation that Wilbur had with the Lamb / Wilbur’s thought when he heard someone would be his friend / Wilbur’s thought when he found out how Charlotte gets her food
When Wilbur couldn’t sleep / The arrival of the goslings / Templeton takes the rotten egg
Wilbur hears about what Mr. Zuckerman will do to him / Fern talking to her parents about the animals talking / Avery trying to take Charlotte

• You are limited to these events.
• Remember to ask good thinking questions to really get the discussion going.

Author’s Craft

Find twoexamples of each listed below. Then explain how each passage adds meaning to the story.

Page Number/
Example/
What does this passage add to the story? / Page Number/
Example/
What does this passage add to the story?
Personification- giving human or “person” characteristics to non-human objects.
“My name,” said the spider, is Charlotte.” “Charlotte what?” asked Wilbur, eagerly. “Charlotte A. Cavatica. But just all me Charlotte.”
p. 37 paragraph three
This passage gives life to Charlotte and introduces Charlotte and Wilbur as friends.
Simile: a comparison that includes the words like or as.
“Then the hay would be hoisted, sweet and warm, into the big loft, until the whole barn seemed like a wonderful bed of timothy and clover.”
p.43 paragraph one
This passage describes the barn the in the summer time and adds detail to what the hay will feel like.
Metaphor-a direct comparison between two or more unlike objects.
Onomatopoeia: a word(s) that imitates the sound it represents.
“Wilbur grunted. He gulped and sucked, and sucked and gulped, making swishing and swooshing noises…”
p. 75 paragraph one

Vocabulary (3)

You will complete the following chart writing child-friendly definitionsfor these words. Then, you are invited to complete a set of daily vocabulary activities to go with these words