Charlotte's Web is a wonderful story for character mapping. The animals and humans in the story come to life with E.B. White’s descriptive language and dialogue. In this activity, students can create a character map for all of the characters in Charlotte's Web. They can describe character traits and provide textual evidence to support that trait. They can also explain how the different characters contribute to the sequence of events. Students can do this for just a few main characters, or for all of the characters in the story.
Here is an example:
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a character map for the major characters.
Discuss the central theme of the story with the students beforehand. In easier terms, teachers can ask the students what they learned from the story and what is the purpose of the story. Initiate a discussion on central topics such as friendship and kindness. Understanding themes will help students understand the purpose of characters and predict their actions.
Ask the students to make a list of all the characters in the story from the most important characters to the least important characters. In the same sequence, the students can discuss the role of each character in the story.
Usually, stories have both a protagonist and an antagonist and side characters who choose to support one of them. To better understand character motivations, students can distinguish characters as heroes or villains to understand if they will have positive or negative contributions to the narrative.
Discuss how the character's surroundings, society, and connections may have an impact on their motives. These elements may influence a character's goals and deeds.
Link character motives to relevant real-world events or hypothetical circumstances that students may identify with. This enables students to use their knowledge of incentives outside of the text.
Charlotte is primarily motivated by friendship and empathy to help Wilbur. She believes in the value of doing something significant for a buddy and wants to make sure Wilbur is secure and content.
Each of the farm animals has a unique personality. For instance, the sheep are submissive and obedient, the cows are nice and helpful, and the geese are amiable and talkative. The community on the farm is diverse and intriguing as a result of these characteristics.
Wilbur is a kind, compassionate, and occasionally worried pig. He has a great deal of affection for his pals and goes through a broad variety of emotions while reading the narrative, from fear and loneliness to joy and appreciation.
E.B. White expertly conveys human emotions, values, and difficult topics like friendship, mortality, and the enduring power of love using anthropomorphic animal characters. In Charlotte’s Web, many human actions and feelings such as being scared, giving up hope, and helping others have been used to teach important lessons and the value of friendship especially to younger students.