Charlotte’s Web Unit Study for Elementary Students & PreK/K

This multi-subject Charlotte’s Web unit study for elementary homeschoolers includes math, science, history, language, and more! And there are extension activities for your younger Preschool & Kindergarten kids.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White is a beloved classic tale of friendship that develops between two unlikely friends in a fun barnyard setting full of unforgettable animal friends.

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I recommend reading the book together aloud as a family even if everyone in the family will not be completing the Charlotte’s Web unit study.  Shared stories create shared family bonds!   

This literature unit study based on Charlotte’s Web has thirteen scheduled days of activities. You could condense it by doing more than 1 or 2 chapters a day, or you could extend it to a full month by doing one chapter per school day (there are 22 chapters).

Or, if you are like me, and prefer to listen to the story along with your kids, get the audiobook version.

As you read through the book, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, complete the activities listed below for each chapter.

The vocabulary words listed are words found in the chapter that your student might not know.  You can look up the definitions and create a vocabulary book, or print out a second set of the Charlotte’s Web Vocabulary cards (included in the Charlotte’s Web Unit Study Bundle in the HHO Shop) to play a memory game while using the words in sentences.

Both the “Just the Printables” and the “Unit Study Bundle” also have preschool farm animals worksheets included for your younger children, that are not in the Free Resource Library

Charlotte’s Web Unit Study Book List:

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Non-fiction Spider books such as:

National Geographic Readers: Spiders

or Spiders by Gail Gibbons

Farm life books such as:

DK Readers: A Year on the Farm,

Living on Farms (Rookie Read-About Geography: Peoples and Places) by Allen Fowler

A Year on the Farm (Season to Season) by Christina Mia Gardeski

Springtime Babies (Little Golden Books) by Danna Smith

Topsy and Tim: On the Farm by Jean Adamson

or my very favorite for showing what farm life was like during the same time frame when E.B. White wrote this charming story, The Farm Book (A Super Golden Shape Book) by Jan Pfloog

Non-fiction Swine books such as:

Pigs by Gail Gibbons

or Know Your Pigs (Old Pond Books) by Jack Byard

or this cute early reader, Pig-Piggy-Pigs (Penguin Young Readers, Level 2) by Bonnie Bader

Books about County Fairs like County Fair (Little House Book) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

or A Fabulous Fair Alphabet by Debra Fraiser

For your younger kiddos listening along to the story, there’s also a set of picture books (created from the Charlotte’s Web story) by E. B. White with sweet illustrations by Maggie Kneen that you may find at your local library. Look for Some Pig! and Wilbur’s Adventure.

Activities for Charlotte’s Web Unit Study:

Day 1

Chapter 1

Fern gets to have the pig because she is an early riser. Think of common sayings that show this philosophy. (The early bird gets the worm.) Many idioms or sayings in the English language come from the farm. Use the Charlotte’s Web Farm Idioms worksheet in the Charlotte’s Web Unit Study Bundle or Just the Printables Pack to learn about more farm idioms and sayings.

Discuss the setting of the book (where it takes place). Complete the Literary Analysis: Story Setting Worksheet in the Free Resource Library

Find out what kind of care a newborn pig needs.

Vocabulary: injustice, runt, nevertheless

Day 2

Chapter 2

Find out why pigs like to roll in the mud. Read the non-fiction books about pigs. Complete the Pig Anatomy worksheets, Swine Breeds and Pig Facts worksheets and notebooking pages, & the Swine Notebooking Pages. (These are all included in the Charlotte’s Web Unit Study Bundle)

Vocabulary: enchanted, vanished

Chapter 3

From the descriptions in this chapter, draw a picture of the barn, complete with all of the animals. Watch this “How to Draw a Barn” video from Art for Kids Hub

Learn about the day-to-day life on a farm. Read the farm life books.

Vocabulary: grindstones, scythes, pitchfork.

Day 3

Chapter 4

Wilbur is gloomy because all of his plans are ruined because of the rain. Make a list of things you can do on a rainy day. Use the Rainy Day worksheet in the Free Resource Library.

Choose one of the activities to help someone overcome their gloom by doing that activity with them.

Finally, use the information from the Swine notebooking pages to complete one of the Swine notebook pages (also in the Charlotee’s Web Unit Study Bundle or Just the Printables Pack).

Vocabulary: spattered, gloomily, glutton

Day 4

Chapter 5

Learn about spiders:  their anatomy, if they are insects, how many varieties there are. Read the non-fiction books about spiders. Finally, use the information from the spider notebooking pages to complete one of the Spider notebook pages Record your findings on one of the notebooking printables (also in the Charlotee’s Web Unit Study Bundle or Just the Printables Pack). 

Preschool extension: Print out this spider counting activity that uses plastic links to help your kids learn their numbers. Your little ones may also like these additional lessons for the book The Very Busy Spider activities.

Vocabulary: clashes, appropriate, salutations

Day 5

Chapter 6

Baby geese are called goslings. What are other baby animals called? Watch this video to learn what the other farm animal babies are called. Complete the Baby Animals Worksheet.

Let your younger kids complete the Farm Animals Beginning Sounds worksheets found in both the “Just the Printables” and the “Unit Study Bundle”

Vocabulary: cramped, gratified, conscience

Day 6

Chapter 7

What kind of meat comes from pigs? Where do other meats that you like to eat come from? Use the Types of Meat worksheet in the Free Resource Library.

Vocabulary: anesthetic, conspiracy, butchered

Chapter 8

For discussion: Do you think animals talk to each other? 

Think about the differences between Charlotte and Wilbur.  Complete the Character Comparison worksheet in the Free Resource Library. 

Vocabulary: faintest, rambled

Day 7

Chapter 9

Learn about spider webs and how they spin them. Do all spiders spin the same kind of web? Use the information from the non-fiction spider books and the videos and links in the spider notebooking pages post.

Vocabulary: summoning, thud, sedentary

Chapter 10

Make a blueberry (or other fruit) pie. This one from Taste of Home is perfect for beginner cooks and kids. Or to make one with a lard crust like Fern’s mom would have, check out this video and recipe from Just One Bite, Please.

If your kids would like to learn more about blueberries, check out this Blueberries for Sal Unit Study.

Vocabulary: gullible, affectionately, crisis

Day 8

Chapter 11

To discuss with your kids: Was it really a miracle? Look up the definition of a miracle. What do you think of as a miracle?

Vocabulary: glistened, veil, exertions, bewilderment

Chapter 12

What words would you suggest to Charlotte to write in her web? Using white chalk, draw a web with a word in it on black construction paper.

Vocabulary: slogan, acrobat, destiny

Day 9

Chapter 13

Look through newspaper or magazine ads like Templeton does to find words that would work for Charlotte’s web.  Cut them out and make a collage of words that would describe Wilbur.

Vocabulary: journeyed, wondrous, disgusted

Chapter 14

Discuss as a family: Why was Fern’s mother concerned?

Vocabulary: fascinating, sociable

Day 10

Chapter 15

Find out about the spider’s egg sacs. How many babies usually hatch from an egg sack? Use the links and videos from the spider notebooking pages post to help you with your research. Record your findings on one of the spider notebooking printables.

Vocabulary: reputation, modest, distinguish

Chapter 16

For discussion: Why did Wilbur faint? Was Charlotte’s plan working?

Vocabulary: announcement, trampled, veritable

Day 11

Chapter 17

The kids each got 70 cents. Would that buy a lot at a fair today? Discuss inflation. Watch this age-appropriate video that actually uses a county fair in its explanation of inflation. Use this Inflation Calculator to figure out how much money that would be today, using 1952 and $0.70 as your basis.

Use the Daily Change worksheet in the Free Resource Library to practice “buying” some items and to practice making change.

Vocabulary: enormous, ascended, listless

Chapter 18

Learn about county fairs near you. If you can, try to find a local county fair to attend and experience; they are so much fun! Read the Little House book, County Fair, or A Fabulous Fair Alphabet with your younger children.

Vocabulary: messenger, schemes, masterpiece

Day 12

Chapter 19

Learn about the life cycle of spiders. Draw pictures of the different life stages or use the Spider Life Cycle Worksheets in the Free Resource Library. to help your students learn about the life stages of a spider.

Vocabulary: occupied, languishing, hoarsely

Chapter 20

Use the Charlotte’s Web notebooking page to draw a picture of a scene from the book and write a brief summary of the story so far.

Vocabulary: extraordinary, phenomenon, complimentary

Day 13

Chapter 21

For discussion: What does it mean to be a friend? Was Wilbur a good friend? Was Charlotte? Templeton?

Extend your study of social-emotional issues and label Wilbur’s emotions using the Emotions of Wilbur worksheet (included in both the “Just the Printables” and the Charlotte’s Web Unit Study Bundle in the HHO Shop).

Vocabulary: ceremony, tremendous, sentiments

Chapter 22

Use the Story Map worksheet in the Free Resource Library. to identify the different parts of the book’s plot.

Vocabulary: untold, constructed, trembling

More Charlotte’s Web Farm Life Fun

Watch the animated Charlotte’s Web 1973 movie or the 2006 “live-action” movie that stars Julia Roberts’ voice as Charlotte.

Buy this Charlotte’s Web Coloring Book for your kids to color as they listen to the story.

If you are into yoga, try these Farm Animal yoga actitivites

Get these farm animal toys or these to retell the story.

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