A hushed silence falls over my classroom. My thumb sinks into the pages’ seam. I tuck the comprehension strategies bookmark in front of the back cover of E.B. White's Charlottes's Web and read.
“Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider’s web?” “Oh, no,” said Dr. Dorian. “I don’t understand it. But for that matter I don’t understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle.” “What’s miraculous about a spider’s web?” said Mrs. Arable. “I don’t see why you say a web is a miracle–it’s just a web.” “Ever try to spin one?” asked Dr. Dorian. I delight in introducing my students to characters like Fern, an eight-year-old girl who listens to animals; Wilbur the pig who doesn’t want to die; and Charlotte the barn spider who spins words into her web. Will she save Wilbur from becoming the Christmas ham? Through Dr. Dorian and Mrs. Arable’s dialogue, I lead a discussion about the beauty in ordinary things and ask, “Does growing up mean one must lose their imagination?”
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Chavon BarryChavon is a new writer from Victoria, British Columbia. She wrestles with simple answers and is learning to listen, to be still with God. Archives
April 2022
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