Menu
Guided Reading
Charlotte's Web
'Charlotte's Web' is a modern classic about a pig named Wilbur who is saved by a spider named Charlotte. This lesson series particularly focuses on discussing the storyline, while developing children's grammatical skills.
Ideal For
Teenagers who like stories about animals and British farm life. They should have a strong grasp of English vocabulary and diverse sentence structures.
Level
4 (ATOS level: 5.0)
Topic
Guided Reading
Learning objectives
- Learn around 30-50 new words relating to everyday life and British farm/ country culture
- Describe and explain characters, places, activities and key events in the story
Class 1: Introduction + Verb Tenses
Useful info
- This class introduces the story before focusing on the key grammar point – verb tenses
- Pre-reading: chapters 1-2
- Lesson plan
- Worksheet: changing tenses
- Homework: create a poster explaining how to care for a pig / design a new cover for the book (examples)
Class 2: Life on the Farm + Time Phrases
Useful info
- This class focuses on the animals, places and activities around a farm. The key grammar point is telling the time and using it in a sentence.
- Pre-reading: chapters 3-4
- Lesson plan
- Worksheet: what’s the time?
- Homework: Storyboard of the typical activities during a day on the farm (worksheet)
Class 3: Wilbur finds a Friend + Adjectives
Useful info
- This class focuses on describing animals using simple adjectives then adding more advanced details.
- Pre-reading: chapters 5-7
- Lesson plan
- Homework: research spiders and create a poster describing them with lots of scientific details
Class 4: Adventures on the Farm + Direct Speech
Useful info
- This class focuses on explaining feelings and emotions, before moving on to the key grammar point – direct speech
- Pre-reading: chapters 8-10
- Lesson plan
- Activity: wordsearch
- Worksheet: direct speech
- Homework: produce a cartoon strip showing a conversation in the story with speech bubbles. Write underneath the conversation using direct speech. (worksheet)
Class 5: Charlotte's Plan + Describing Personality
Useful info
- This class focuses on teaching new adjectives to describe someone’s personality
- Pre-reading: chapters 11-13
- Lesson plan
- Activity: crossword
- Homework: write a paragraph describing the appearance and personality of one of the characters in the book
Class 6: Getting Ready for the Fair + Expanded Noun Phrases
Useful info
- This class focuses on the seasons and using expanded noun phrases to make descriptions deeper
- Pre-reading: chapters 14-16
- Lesson plan
- Worksheet: expanded noun phrases
- Homework: design a poster advertising the fair, using at least three expanded noun phrases
Class 7: The Fair + Comparatives and Superlatives
Useful info
- This class focuses on the activities/ food of the fair and comparing them using comparatives and superlatives
- Pre-reading: chapters 17-19
- Lesson plan
- Vocabulary: worksheet
- Activity: crossword
- Homework: draw a storyboard for the whole story so far (worksheet) and predict how it will end
Class 8: The End + Similes and Metaphors
Useful info
- This class focuses on summarising the story and using similes/ metaphors to make descriptions richer
- Pre-reading: chapters 20-22
- Lesson plan
- Worksheet: simile or metaphor
- Homework: write a book review (worksheet)