Text Dependent Questions for Chapter 1 of Charlotte’s Web
NAME:
At the beginning of the story, did Mrs. Arable agree with Mr. Arable or with Fern about the pig? How do you know?What evidence from the text supports that Fern was strong-willed?
What can you infer about Mr. Arable from these sentences in the text?
“A queer look came over John Arable’s face. He seemed almost ready to cry himself.”
What conclusions might be drawn about Mr. Arable based on his decision?
How did Fern’s brother feel about Fern getting a new pet?
POSSIBLE RESPONSES
At the beginning of the story, did Mrs. Arable agree with Mr. Arable or with Fern about the pig? How do you know?Mrs. Arable agreed with Mr. Arable at the beginning of the story. She said that Mr. Arable was right and the pig would probably die anyway.
What evidence from the text supports that Fern was strong-willed?
She yelled at her mother.
Her father told her she needed to learn to control herself.
She tried to pull the ax out of her father’s hands.
She argued with her father about killing the pig.
What can you infer about Mr. Arable from these sentences in the text?
“A queer look came over John Arable’s face. He seemed almost ready to cry himself.”
You could infer that Mr. Arable was upset by the way his daughter felt about his killing the pig. Although he disagreed with her, he didn’t like that he had made her feel this way.
What conclusions might be drawn about Mr. Arable based on his decision?
Mr. Arable loved his daughter and didn’t want to hurt her. This was evident in the fact that he changed his mind about killing the pig since it upset her so much. He still felt it was foolish since he said, “And may the good Lord forgive me for this foolishness”, but he saved the pig for Fern anyway.
How did Fern’s brother feel about Fern getting a new pet?
Fern’s brother made fun of her pig, but asked if he could have a pig, too. This shows that he wishes he could have a pig like her.