Charlotte's Web - Tanya Beers

Tanya Beers

IST571: Children's Literature Lit Kit

Book: Charlote’s Web by E.B. White

Lesson Plan and Selling Tool:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oHFXxFc9_ftJd72XGF9PUs2fje8ZvNQyqBWW-rYuVdk/edit

Tanya Beers

IST571: Charlote’s Web by E.B. White - Lit Kit

Title: Charlotte’s Web

Author:  E.B. White

Lexile Level: 680L

Grade Level:  3rd – 7th grade

Age Range: 8 through 12 years

ISBN #: 0061124958

Fern is a young girl who lives on a farm with her parents and her older brother Avery. Fern 
saves a run piglet on her farm from being killed by her father and decides to keep him for a 
pet and she names him Wilbur. He lives in the barn with the rest of the animals who he makes 
friends with and Fern visits him and plays with him every day. This is a story of life on a farm: 
birth, death, love, and new life; a tale with heart and life lessons that are timeless!

Lesson for 6th graders:

Students will read Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.

Students will research two scholarly sources of their choosing about farming and use them 
to write a 2-page essay about farms and the farming way of life.

a. daily life

b. types of animals common on a farm

c. the purpose that these animals serve

d. anything they found interesting about farming

e. address whether they think that farming is a worthwhile way to make a living today

After the reading and submission of the writing assignment, students will engage in a class 
discussion about the reading by verbally addressing these questions:

1. How would you feel if you were Fern and your father wanted to kill the runt of the litter 
of pigs? Would you see this as part of farm life and accept it or would you feel the way Fern 
did?

2. Why does Fern’s father let her keep Wilbur as a pet instead of killing him?

3. Do you think Fern has matured by the end of the book? If so, how?

4. What are the relationships of the animals in the barn to each other? Are they all friends/
family/enemies?

5. How do you feel about Charlotte’s death and Wilbur’s reaction to it?

Learning Standards:

AASL Standards for the 21st – Century Learner.

1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.

1.1 Skills

1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and 
make the real-world connection for using this process in own life.

1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.

1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding.

1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.

1.2.2 Demonstrate confidence and self-direction by making independent choices in the 
selection of resources and information.

2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, 
and create new knowledge.

2.1 Skills

2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical-thinking skills 
(analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to 
construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.

2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular 
areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.

Learning Goal:

Students will engage in a lesson about the farming way of life and how the main character 
in the reading, Fern, lives her everyday life encountering real-life issues and situations that 
students can identify with.

Learning Objectives:

1. Through an essay, students will describe the farming way of life (that Fern also lived) and 
how they feel about farming as a way to make a living today in order to learn about an 
occupation that is fading. (Affective and Psychomotor)

2. Students will discuss their opinions and knowledge of the main characters and their lives 
in Charlotte’s Web through a class discussion as a way to identify with real-life issues in the 
reading. (Cognitive)

Learning Outcome:

Students will express their thoughts and emotions about farming and real-life issues in the 
assigned reading through writing and class discussion.

Works Cited:

American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2007). Standards for the 21st- Century 
Learner. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/
guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_LearningStandards.pdf.

New York State Department of Education. (2011). New York State P-12 Common Core 
Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. Retrieved from  
https://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-p-12-common-core-learning-
standards-for-english-language-arts-and-literacy.

White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web. HarperCollins, 1952.

Selling Tool: Poster:

From: https://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-24350/Charlotte_s_Web.html

Flora & Ulysses Lesson Plan -Tanya Beers

Tanya Beers

IST571: Children's Literature Lit Kit

Book: Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

Lesson Plan:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oEGAVAxsoNZ1CzvVlGtyPxVjY7kdE6fb5R4Wd0MBiNg/edit

Book Talk:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx77YIjj3mbtbnJxNFY2TWF1OTQ/view

Tanya Beers

BookTalk - IST 571-Children’s Literature

September 14, 2017

Newbery Medal Award Winning Book

Title: Flora and Ulysses

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Lexile Level: 520L

Age Range: 8 to 10 years old

Grade Level: 3rd  through 7th grade

Flora Buckman is a young girl whose parents are divorced and she lives with her mother, 
Phyllis. One day, Phyllis vacuums up a squirrel in the yard and Flora rescues him, gives 
him CPR and brings him back to life. She decides to name the squirrel Ulysses and keep 
him as a pet. However, something magical happened when Flora brought Ulysses back to 
life; something which makes Flora’s life and the people’s lives around her an exciting 
adventure! Through faith, love, and a little magic, this story reminds readers that we all 
have people in our lives that love us and need us.

Learning Standard:

Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy.

Writing Standards K-5:

3.1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

a. Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an 
organizational structure that lists reasons.

b. Provide reasons that support the opinion.

c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect 
opinion and reasons.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section.

 

3.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information 
clearly.

a. Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to 
aiding comprehension.

b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.

c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within 
categories of information.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section.

3.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective 
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

a. Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence 
that unfolds naturally.

b. Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and 
events or show the response of characters to situations.

c. Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.

d. Provide a sense of closure.

(https://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-p-12-common-core-learning-standards-
for-english-language-arts-and-literacy/file/736).

Lesson for 3rd graders:

There are two parts to this lesson. Part 1: Students are asked to write a 2-page essay based 
on Flora and Ulysses. The essay will be answering the following questions:

1. Do you feel Ulysses helped Flora in her life? If so, how?

2. Do you think Flora has healed inside by the end of the book? Why or why not?

3. If you could have a superpower what would it be and why?

Part 2: Students will read the novel’s “Squirrel Poetry”- “What It Said” (p.65) and from the 
epilogue, “Words for Flora” (p.233).  The will either write their own squirrel poem from Ulysses 
to Flora or a poem response to Ulysses poem from Flora to Ulysses.

Learning Goal:

Students will engage in analyzing the characters in Flora and Ulysses to determine how the 
characters evolve by the end of the story. The student’s observations will be written in an essay. 
Students will also be able to identify with the characters by writing a poem from one character 
to another as that character.

Learning Objective:

1. Students will imagine what Flora is feeling as she evolves throughout the book and write
down their observations in an essay. (Affective and Psychomotor)

2. Students will identify with the characters through a poem from one character to another 
(Cognitive).

Learning Outcome:

Students will be able to apply some issues within the reading to real life (love and support of 
loved ones, the meaning of family, loneliness).

Works Cited:

DiCamillo, Kate. Flora and Ulysses. Candlewick Press, 2013.

New York State. Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy.  
Retrieved from https://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-p-12-common-core-learning-
standards-for-english-language-arts-and-literacy/file/736.