Samantha McStraw

DIFF 598
Charlottes Web
Unit essential questions:
-How can words help save lives?
-Why is love and friendship a powerful tool in this story? How does this relate to you?
-How does cause and effect influence the choices we make?
Lesson question:
-Why is friendship so important?
-Why is Charlottes friendship to Wilbur so important?
-What kind of friend is Charlotte to Wilbur?
Common Core or other appropriate standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the
central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
Lesson objectives:
Assessment:
Students will understand what kind of friend
Charlotte is to Wilbur.
Students will demonstrate understanding of
Subway Art by complete their own piece based
on what they think a good friend looks like.

Students pieces of subway art following the

guidelines given.

Opening:
- Begin by asking students what kind of friend Charlotte is to Wilbur?
o Students should recall the nice things Charlotte did for Wilbur.
- Ask students what this means to them about friends.
o After students list some ideas, they will complete a character web for Charlotte.
This will give them some ideas about what Charlotte is to Wilbur.
o Students will complete the character web using words that describe Charlottes
friendship to Wilbur.
Lesson
- After students have finished completing the character web, bring students attention to
posters with subway art on them around the room.
o Do not explain what subway art is yet.
o Students will go around to each chart. They will have 1 minute at each of the 5
charts. For a total of 5 minutes, students will jot down their notices and wonders
about these photos of subway art.
- After students complete the carousal, bring their attention back to the SMARTboard with
the guideline sheet for their pieces of subway art.

Explain to student they will be able to create their own piece of subway art or create a
poem.
o Before we begin we need to brainstorm some words that describe what you think
a good friend looks like.
Give students a few minutes to jot down some ideas. Bring their attention
back to the character web that we filled out for Charlotte.
Ask students if they think Charlotte was a good friend?
Could we include some of the words that we used for Charlotte?
After brainstorming students will have the rest of the period to work on their poems or
pieces of subway art. Make sure students are aware of what subway art is. Display this
definition on the SMARTboard.

Tiered by Product:
-Students will have a choice to create a poem or a piece of subway art. If students choose to write
a poem, they may also have the choice create a different kind of poem; haiku, acrostic, cinquain,
concrete.
Materials:
-SMARTboard and slides
-Character Web sheet
-Guidelines sheet
-Construction paper
-coloring utensils